Project Launch:

Costa Rica is a beautiful country that draws many tourists with its eco-friendly vacation opportunities. Guanacaste is often called the “Gold Coast” of Costa Rica because of its many beautiful beaches and national parks. Despite this natural beauty, Costa Rica hasn’t always maintained the most optimal environmental preservation and care standards. Arte por la Paz Guanacaste is an annual regional event where Peace Corps Volunteers and children in 5th and 6th grade from all over Guanacaste, Costa Rica gather at a local university to promote peace in their communities. In support of the 2010 theme, “One man's trash is another man's treasure,” Peace Corps focused on the environment with lessons on trash collection, disposal, consumption, recycling, and conservation. With a $492 grant from World Connect’s Kids to Kids Program, kids from Pueblo Nuevo de Liberia in Guanacaste participated in environmental education workshops and then traveled to a regional event in the National Parks and Reserves in Costa Rica. Children learned about the environment through fun, informal workshops, students created art from recyclables, painted a mural, wrote a group song about the preservation of the environment and played field games. The community now notices not only a reduction in litter but more kids engaged in the environment around them as they not only do their part but also inspire other community members to join them in protecting the environment.