Top High Schools 2024 and Mangroves, Chocolate, Coffee: Kew-Forest School

Mangroves, Chocolate, Coffee: Kew-Forest School Offers a Costa-Rica Excursion

At the Kew-Forest School in Forest Hills, high schoolers have the opportunity to put into practice their knowledge of Spanish, conservation biology, and Costa Rican culture in the ultimate field trip.

Students who have completed level two Spanish can participate in this bi-annual program. The next group will go in March of 2026, leaving plenty of time for interested students to start practicing their Spanish.

In addition to an immersive Spanish-speaking program, students on the last trip helped restore Mangrove trees on the Pacific coast to reforest Palo Seco. Students also visited fairtrade coffee and chocolate plantations. Costa Rica is a major exporter of coffee and chocolate.

I didn’t want the kids to just go on a trip to have fun, said Spanish teacher Catalina Gambra-Sposato. “I wanted them to also appreciatethe culture and do something for the planet.

Before jet-setting, students go through a weekly science and cultural educational program to learn about Costa Rican culture and deforestation in the region. Some of the students cooked Costa Rican foods and brought them to class. Gambra-Sposato said one of the goals was to minimize culture shock. Students arrived in the country knowing some of the Costa Rican foods to expect.

Last trip, eighteen students planted mangrove trees. Mangrove trees, which mostly live in salt water, have been decimated by the shrimp farming industry and deforestation for palm oil, rice, and rubber tree farming. Costa Rica is one of the leading conservationist countries in the world. The country won the Champions of the Earth award from the United Nations Environment Program in 2019.

Hasin Shaykat, a junior who went last school year, said that his classmates planted about 100 mangroves and enjoyed learning about conservation. Shaykat is interested in international relations and wants to pursue environmental engineering. However, he said seeing conservation efforts in action topped his classroom learning.

“But being in the classroom and learning all this data while being in an air-conditioned room is a lot different than actually helping out with it,” Shaykat said.

Ligaya Cullo, another junior, said that the mangrove planting was one of the best parts of the trip. This part also reminded her of helping on her family’s farm. She is interested in conservation biology as well.

Shaykat also said it was fun to see how fair-trade coffee and chocolate farms work, especially after learning about labor issues surrounding production. To be Fair Trade certified, companies have to prove that their production meets guidelines for working conditions and sustainability.

Students also visited beaches, ziplined the Cloud Forest, and kayaked near an active volcano. Shaykat and Cullo remarked how the trip was also a nice getaway from the city.

“You heard trees, you heard the birds chirping,” Shaykat said. “It was such a rejuvenating experience.”

The trip lasts nine days and the school uses EF Tours to plan the trip and the experience costs $3500 per person, Gambra-Sposato said. There is financial assistance available through the school and the group does a lot of fundraising throughout the year. The next trip may be a little different, but will have the same mission if bridging cultural immersion and a conservation service project.

Source: BQE Media - October 2024 (pages 13-16)