La Fortuna Waterfall and Ziplining!

We had an awesome day yesterday, and today was even better! 

In the morning, we went ziplining through this beautiful forest, and were granted the privilege of witnesses the culture of the indigenous people of Costa Rica. We purchased handmade wood bracelets, cups, and masks, in support of these quickly-diminishing people. Soon after, we had a delicious lunch of rice, beans, and meat. (The food here is awesome!) We just got back from a night out on the town. It was cool to witness the culture and local aspect of Fortuna.

Sidenote: Our hearts go out to the victims of the tragic events that took place today in Boston--stay strong and safe, this is surreal.

INBioparque and a Waterfall!

Our first full day in Costa Rica was filled with excitement. We began by visiting INBioparque, a national park that showcases the great range of biodiversity that Costa Rica is so well known for. As you can see, we saw everything from sloths to iguanas. Afterwords we proceeded west to our destination in the Arenal Region. On the scenic route to Arenal we stopped at a waterfall! Finally, we ended the day by visiting hot springs! Stay tuned for tomorrow, we will be exploring the rainforest by means of zipline!

--Ben and Izzy

Landed in San Jose!

Hi Everyone,
We just landed in San Jose last night, at about 10 local time. Today we are getting up bright and early to go to the Arenal Region. Stay tuned for the Poas Volcano we will visit while there!

--Ben

The Process of Winning the Glocal Challenge

Aida and Ben have written great posts about the Glocal Challenge, and I just wanted to communicate what this project meant to me.
          My team (the Environmental Action Club) started out unsure of what exactly the project would entail. We figured we might as well try it out, and I am so glad that we did. We juggled many ideas of environmental issues, eventually deciding to tackle the Urban Heat Island effect and settling on the idea of green walls and green roofs.
         As we dove into the project, our level of commitment grew and we were finally on track to finishing this project strong. We found our passion in the subject, giving us the momentum to spend many afternoons together working on the project. I admire the Glocal Challenge for helping us to find such a great project and encouraging us to actually go through with it! We are now working on determining whether our school, Cambridge Rindge and Latin, would be able to support a green roof and possibly include an education part to the project. We are trying to incorporate CitySprouts, a Cambridge-based educational gardening program at the elementary schools, into our project in order to further this education side of green walls and roofs. We also hope to include the Mayor's Summer Youth Employment Program in order to pay teens to maintain green walls and roofs. This would provide incentive for businesses in Cambridge to build them, as they would get free maintenance during the summer.
         The Glocal Challenge project has made me really excited about implementing an idea as complex as green walls and roofs around the Cambridge community, especially at the Cambridge public schools and businesses, such as in Kendall sq., an area of high development. I am looking forward to working with students from around the continent at the Global Student Leadership Council in three weeks to learn more about how to effectively convey and complete our aspirations! In conclusion, I am very grateful to have had this opportunity.

~~Clio

Ask Mr. Vice President Questions!

As our departure date creeps closer and closer, we are frantically packing, figuring out passports, and getting excited for the big trip! As Ben mentioned in a previous post, we have the unbelievable privilege to meet the honorable Al Gore. I am still in disbelief that we were granted this unbelievable opportunity. Other youth leaders will be asking the Vice President questions, and if you have anything you would like us to ask him, or ideas on how to MC the event, please feel free to post them in the comments. Also, be sure to stay updated as the trip gets closer and closer!!

--Aida

VIP Meeting with Al Gore!

We just found out that we are going to be meeting with Al Gore in an exclusive VIP meeting before he gives his keynote address. There will only be 2-3 other groups there. The reason that we were selected to attend is because, unlike other schools, we have already experienced a Glocal Challenge. As a result of this, we will be serving as a model for the other groups that are going to be at the conference. The other groups there, groups who will be selected by EF who have completed their own Glocal Challenges online, will present their ideas to Al Gore, and utilize the Vice Presidents experience in reforming the environment to further their plans. We, the students from CRLS, will be serving as the MC's for the event. We're extremely excited for this opportunity and hope that you follow us on our excursion!

--Ben

What is the Glocal Challenge?

Hi everyone!
We're so glad that you have chosen to follow us as we embark on the adventure of a lifetime to Costa Rica. Hopefully this post will answer your questions about what we did to get there, and what we will do once we get there. In January we started our Glocal Challenge adventure. Glocal is a combination of Global and Local. This year's Glocal Challenge was about the environment. Our task? To identify a local environmental issue, isolate the problem, research global solutions to the same problem, and create an implementable solution. After a month of hard work, the competitions started. Fantastic ideas and presentations came together to the climax of the competition. When it was all said and done, two teams won trips to Costa Rica! The two winning teams projects were about paper usage and green roofs (more information to come on our projects!)
So, we have won this challenge, however our journey is far from over, What are we going to do in Costa Rica? We begin our 10 day venture on April 13 and return on the 22nd. Over the course of those 10 days will we explore Costa Rica for 8 days, and attend the Global Student Leaders Summit for the last 2 days. While traveling around Costa Rica we will traverse the rain forests by zipline, visit an active volcano, and participate in the reforestation of mangrove trees. At the Global Student Leaders Summit we will work with other students on our Glocal Challenges, and listen to Al Gore speak! Keep checking in on our blog and keep an eye out for our articles!
--Ben