Children and Youth Programs

ENRICHMENT PROGRAMMING

Mangrove Society operates a program in rural Costa Rica where children and youth have little access to quality education and enrichment programs beyond the school basics. Many Mangrove program participants live in poverty or with very limited resources due to economic difficulties and the lack of development and infrastructure in the rural towns surrounding Cobano, Puntarenas.

We offer diverse programs after the school day, on weekends, and over vacations for students (economically challenged families receiving scholarships or sliding scale, while others are fee-based to partially sustain the programs). Our goal is to offer a variety of programming to help children and youth in the area live healthy lives that can be sustained without creating a negative impact on the environment.

These programs include STEM/STEAM, languages, engineering design cycle, environmental education, the arts, physical movement and development – which all aid in creating a more sustainable lifestyle – physically, emotionally and mentally.

Eco-STEAM Camps

Our STEAM camps are fun, dynamic, and help children and youth develop and strengthen a variety of skills. We believe that STEAM (Science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics) is a tool to help students connect responsibly with the nature and environment around them, learn to be problem solvers, better understand that life is about processes and the journey – not just the destination, and that collaboration and synergy can lead to great discoveries and is a means to overcome challenges in a fun and meaningful way. Our STEAM camps are delivered in a bilingual (English/Spanish) format which allows for cultural integration between local Costa Rican children, Central American immigrants and other expatriate groups. Learning by doing then reflecting is our motto!

What does STEAM look like in action? Check out our Eco-STEAM camps that have been running for the last 3 years…

Language Classes

Language is a way to communicate and collaborate with diverse groups of people. The ability to communicate in various languages, especially English as a universal language, is very important for children, youth and adults who live in a rural area which welcomes tourists from all around the globe to visit its beautiful natural sites. Children and youth who learn English at a young age have an advantage for future opportunities both in education and the workforce. Mangrove currently offers weekly English classes, intensive English classes during school vacations, and bilingual camps which allow for language immersion – ALL WITH NATIVE ENGLISH TEACHERS supported by our Program Director and Volunteer Program. Check out more about our English classes which are all about hands-on language learning accompanied by skill development in the four areas of language: speaking, listening, reading and writing.

School Field Trips

Mangrove offers experiential educational opportunities to keep children and youth engaged in learning in a hands-on way in a beautiful countryside setting near beaches, rivers, waterfalls, natural rivers and more. Our multilingual team is composed of both experienced educators and specialists in our focus areas to provide high quality learning experiences for students from abroad, other regions of Costa Rica, and also for our local community.

Currently we are offering day trips, multi-day trips and week long excursions for youth which allow them to learn and grow while accumulating the necessary service/experience hours required by MEP and IB CAS. Our Program Director – with 20+ years of experience in education both in international IB schools as well as local schools, has experience and training in Youth Development, curriculum development, IB CAS coordination, and student engagement in social and volunteer programs – coordinates these learning opportunities and makes sure that students get the absolute most out of each experience while fulfilling the necessary requirements for official tracking of service completion as well as authentic reflection of personal growth and community impact.

Individual students or small groups can join a scheduled Mangrove Society workshop or the workshops can be tailored to fit your school group’s specific learning needs.

Please contact us at katie@mangrovesociety.org to learn more about our focus areas and various programs so we can respond appropriately by providing more detailed curriculum guides for specific workshops and/or programs. Your school can choose from one of the listed areas for a one-time learning opportunity or create a series of experiences for your students.

Your participation helps fund programs for local under-served communities. As we are a nonprofit organization, a portion of the workshop and field trip fees collected from paying participants go directly towards our programs that benefit local children and youth without the financial means to pay for enrichment classes or towards program materials and youth-led community service projects as well as make some much needed infrastructure improvements to continue our offerings. We offer sliding scale payments for all workshops and programs from work/volunteer exchange, to partial and full financial scholarships.

Sports & Recreation

At Mangrove, we believe in a holistic approach to education and that it is crucial to provide a balance of opportunities for development, including social-emotional, physical and academic. We believe these opportunities help to promote physical and mental well-being which is necessary to lead a sustainable life. We aim to provide a variety of physical activities which develop collaboration skills and promote positive team building, increase the opportunities for heart and mind healthy movement, and for students to commit to an activity while enjoying the potential of their bodies and mind in a natural setting.

On our 2 hectare site in the countryside of San Isidro de Cobano of the beautiful Southern Nicoya Peninsula, we host a variety of recreational areas to explore: a 12 meter covered event dome with concrete floor for basketball, dance, tumbling, ceremonies and more, as well as perfect fit size outdoor grass field with 2 soccer goals, an 18 meter wide natural pool with decks and shaded lounge areas. We also have paths that navigate through our labeled food forest which boast gentle countryside breezes and mountain and forest views as well as a year round bubbling brook.

Intercultural Exchanges

We host student groups from abroad to stay onsite and participate in a variety of learning experiences from service learning to environmental impact projects – all while interacting with local people and communities. Our eco-friendly dome structures and underground house offer accommodation for groups up to 20. We can tailor your visit to fit your group’s needs both with onsite workshops to nearby organizations that support turtle conservation, wildlife refuges, nature reserves, and sustainable tourism activities to challenge participants, increase resiliency, and enhance teamwork skills.

Please contact katie@mangrovesociety.org for more details on specific exchange programs depending on the time of year and what opportunities you are interested in for your unique group.

Youth Internships

Mangrove Society provides a safe place for service learning and volunteer hours. We know that many youth are looking for ways to improve their resumes, complete community service hours, and also use their skills to help support the community. Whether you need volunteer hours for your high school community service project or as part of your university program, we might just be a great fit for you. If you believe you would be an asset to our organization and believe in our mission and vision, please email us your current resume and fill out the following internship application:

Calendar

Here at the Mangrove Society we strive to make sure that every step we take is a green one. We want to share our knowledge with our exciting workshops and help you learn more about a self-sustainable life. We also want to deliver valuable information about our plants and their specific use in our catalogue.

With our environmental initiatives we support the UN Sustainable Development goals 4 (Quality Education), 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), and 12 (Responsible Production and Consumption).