🦥 Educate Children on Ecology and Sloth Conservation with The Kukula Club

The public schools of Costa Rica hold little to no after-school programs that engage children beyond their academic curriculum. Particularly in Talamanca, an area on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica, there are many low-income families that work long hours and would benefit from a program that provides students additional opportunities.

We created a program that gives children aged 7-12 in the local area access to activities they would never have the chance to do, whilst making it educational. These can range from taking the children to the beach for a fun day out, to learning about venomous snakes and first aid. Many of these children barely have an opportunity to play at the beach, despite their close proximity. By giving them access to these activities we hope to inspire children's bond with nature and just give them the opportunity to be kids-- to play, to laugh, to explore.

What makes the Kukula Club so special?

Education is the central and unifying element in all of our programs. There is no other organization doing what we are doing in the area. An increase in knowledge often leads to an expansion of empathy. The better we understand these fascinating creatures and the challenges they face, the more we can motivate and empower people to be better neighbors to wildlife on a local and global scale. We have designed a hands-on activity booklet, that the children can take home to their families. The classes are currently taught in four different languages: English, Spanish, Japanese, and the local indigenous language of Bribri.

What will be the impact of your donations?

Costa Rica is one of the most bio-diverse places on the planet and we need to preserve its flora and fauna. Education is key to helping children understand the world around them and want to protect it for the future. Our Education Outreach program engages and empowers children to be stewards of their environment by increasing their understanding of sloths and how to address the threats they face. We teach the next generation about sloths through interactive workshops in schools (virtually and locally).

In the end, we will conserve only what we love; we will love only what we understand and we will understand only what we are taught.
-Baba Dioum

By supporting the project, you will help get local children off the streets and into a new educational perspective for future generations:

• Planting trees
• Visiting bee farms to know how important pollinators are
• Building new sloth bridges
• Receiving snake bite & identification courses