Twenty-two students from the Coast are fundraising for an important trip to the Ostional Wildlife Reserve in Costa Rica where they will help researchers protect, count and record data on Olive Ridley sea turtles.
The wildlife reserve was created in 1984 to protect one of the world's most important nesting beaches of the Olive Ridley sea turtle. This will be the third time students from the Coast have travelled to the reserve to volunteer.
The students, who represent each of the high schools on the Coast, are part of this year's Student Challenge, which got its start on the Coast in 1999. Its intention is "to provide students an opportunity to challenge themselves through three progressively more difficult steps."
The steps include an application process where students write essays and detail their involvement with the local community, a fundraising portion where students create and execute various fundraising initiatives to help pay the $2,500 each needs for travel and accommodation, and the volunteer experience in Costa Rica.
Teachers Dave Lewis, Tanzi Hoover and Paul Bishop will lead this year's team in Costa Rica, set for July 20 to Aug. 4.Fundraising efforts started in March with students completing a 30-hour famine and then holding a car wash. They also spent a day taking off protective covers from Construction Aggregates' saplings at their poplar tree farm.
"All of the money we raise will go toward reducing the cost for the entire group," Bishop said.
Recently the group planted trees in Sechelt Inlet. They are looking for more community building projects to get involved with.
"If anyone has a fundraising opportunity for us, they can call me at Chat," Bishop said.
Working together on the Coast to fundraise is an important part of team building, said Bishop, who noted it also develops a sense of responsibility in the students.
And they will have to be a close-knit team for their 15 days in Costa Rica where they will be working long hours and living in less than comfortable conditions.
"This is an extremely remote environment and many of our comforts won't be there. It won't be a walk in the park. It's not just lazy days on the beach with the turtles," Bishop said.
The trip will introduce students to a culture and lifestyle they would not encounter here in B.C. To prepare, students are now learning about issues such as globalization, gender equity, poverty and sustainable development that are front line issues in Costa Rica.
"This experience provides a safe, controlled opportunity to learn about travelling abroad as well as live in a developing nation. It is my belief that the students also learn that hard work and volunteering both have their rewards," said a write-up on the Student Challenge website.
