OREANDA-NEWS. August 13, 2015. Increasing children’s environmental awareness is at the heart of a program that received a \\$10,000 Ford Conservation and Environmental Grant.

Through its Promotion of Local Environmental Leadership Through Education program, Costa Rica’s Corcobado Foundation seeks to educate while promoting conservation and environmental protection on the country’s Osa Peninsula. The foundation was created to lead the fight against illegal hunting and logging in the Corcobado National Park. Its mission is to increase the protection of wild areas, promote environmental education, sustainable tourism and community participation through the sustainable use of natural resources.

The foundation’s environmental focus is the South Pacific region of the country, home to 2 percent of the world’s biodiversity.

The grant will help fund monthly environmental awareness classes in 10 schools in Osa, reaching 500 students and helping 50 children learn how to lead fun and interactive environmental protection activities. Children visit nature areas with guides, help develop demonstrations to teach other children about the environment and use recycled materials to make crafts.

In its grant application, the foundation noted that a “lack of knowledge, leadership and economic opportunities has [resulted in] a predicament for conservation of natural resources.” The hope is that teaching children and adolescents to be proactive will empower them to positively affect conservation policies in the future.

The Corcobado Foundation is one of six groups in Panama and Costa Rica to share \\$50,000 in environmental grants last year. The grants program underlines Ford’s commitment to protecting the environment and supporting projects that protect the environment and educating the community to help bring about a more sustainable future.