Climate Change Mitigation
Enrollment Closed
A Summer for Fun, Friends, and Your Future
Explore
Have fun discovering Costa Rica's beautiful Monteverde Cloud Forest.
Network
Meet new friends and conservationists. Build your own community.
Get Inspired
Launch your future today! Suvery climate-related ecological changes and investigate climate strategies. Discover how to make a difference back home.
The Destination
Welcome to Costa Rica, renowned for its biodiversity and leadership in environmental sustainability.
Costa Rica is a small Central American country (roughly the size of West Virginia), but it has lofty ambitions: It wants to become the world’s first carbon-neutral country. And why not? In 1990, it became the first tropical nation to reverse deforestation and since last year, its electric grid runs on 100% renewable energy. People around the world hold this tiny country in admiration, as an example of what can be accomplished when people unite behind climate change mitigation.
Another remarkable fact about Costa Rica is that it covers only 0.03% of the planet’s surface but it contains over 5% of the world’s total species. Plants and animals are literally crammed in this beautiful country, making it one of the most biologically intense places on Earth. In Monteverde, which is nestled in Costa Rica’s northwestern mountains, monkeys, quetzals, sloths, and orchids are readily on display. This misty cloud forest, which will be your home for 3 weeks, is the perfect place for biodiversity, sustainability, and scientific discovery.
Cultural Awareness
CIEE wants all our students to feel welcomed, supported, and empowered to succeed while studying abroad. No matter where you choose to study abroad with CIEE, our staff will be on hand throughout your program to provide advice, resources, and support.
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Sample Itinerary
Top Rated Activities
Climate-friendly Farming
As the morning mist settles over Monteverde, you and your fellow Global Navigators step onto the eco-campus farm tucked into the Costa Rican rainforest. On the farm's edges, you spot scarlet macaws fluttering through the leaves against a sonic backdrop of howler monkey calls and tree frog chirps. Immersed in this incredible natural setting, you feel the importance of living in harmony with nature. This is precisely why you're here—to learn about climate change mitigation, including sustainable agriculture.
In the tour's interactive demonstrations, you see concepts from class come to life, learning how biodigesters turn waste into biofuel, compost bins transform organic matter, and eco-friendly livestock management supports farm health. You and your friends laugh as a curious calf nudges your hand, and you learn its mother provides the milk you drink each morning. Even the food scraps from your meals contribute to the farm's compost, completing the cycle.
This immersive experience not only teaches you sustainable agriculture principles but also sparks a vision for a future in environmental science, conservation, or sustainable development.
Visit to Bajo del Tigre Nature Preserve
You descend from the cloud forest of Monteverde to arrive at Bajo del Tigre, the largest private preserve in Central America. This isn’t just any forest; it’s the Children’s Eternal Rainforest, protected by youth from around the world who united to save it. In small groups, you set off on a ‘hunt’ for keystone species like the striking bellbird, hoping to spot its vibrant plumage and hear its unique call echo through the forest.
As you hike, local conservationists reveal the incredible story of how young people across continents raised funds to protect this land, creating a lasting legacy of conservation. The thrill builds as you and your friends catch glimpses of rare wildlife, marveling at creatures and learning how they are adapting and performing altitudinal migrations in response to climate change.
Inspired by these young activists, you imagine your own role in conservation. You wonder how the actions and choices you make right now could have a lasting positive impact. You feel that anything is possible.
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Eligibility
- Participants must be 14 years old and above.
- Program open to all current high school students: Freshmen, Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors.
- For scholarship eligibility requirements, please check our Scholarship page.
This program involves engaging in moderate- to high-intensity physical activities, such as hiking, and extended observational time outdoors.
For more information, refer to the detailed Program Essential Eligibility Criteria.
Dates & Fees
Application Fee
$25
Program scholarships and tuition include iNext Travel Insurance, but do not cover the cost of flights. Find additional details about what’s included with your tuition.
More questions? Find answers, get application support, sign up for virtual presentations or contact us!
Program |
Application Due |
Start Date |
End Date |
Costs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Program Summer Session I 2025 3 weeks | Application Due Deadline Passed | Start Date | End Date | Costs $4,950 |
| Program Summer Session II 2025 3 weeks | Application Due Deadline Passed | Start Date | End Date | Costs $4,950 |
Ready to change your life?
What's Included
Interactive Classes
Housing
3 Meals/Day
(Dietary Needs Accommodated)
All Ground Transportation
(Once In-country)
Optional Flight Chaperone
(Flight Cost Not Included)
Pre-departure Advice and Orientation
Access to WIFI
(No international data plan or SIM card included)
All Cultural Activities and Excursions
Comprehensive Medical and Travel Protection
24/7 Emergency On-site Support
Our Staff
Pablo Allen
Center Director
Pablo is a native Costa Rican, born and raised in San José. He is an evolutionary ecologist interested in sexual selection, animal weapons, and phenotypic plasticity. Since rejoining CIEE in...
Program Leaders guide and support our High School Summer Abroad participants through every step of their program.
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