Tortuguero, Costa Rica
Since 2001, The Oxford Society has been active in Tortuguero, Costa Rica. Located in the country's northeast, Tortuguero is a land dominated by water, a patchwork of wetlands, canals, and wet forests bordered to the east by the Caribbean Sea. The name 'Tortuguer' translates to "place of the turtles," and with good reason, as the area's black sand beaches provide invaluable nesting sites for green and leatherback sea turtles.
The Oxford Society works with Tortuguero residents and local organizations to improve the local environment, both for people and non-human life. In partnership with Costa Rican non-profits, such as Tasbayam (which translates as "the land that saw us born") and The Volunteer Association for the Protected Areas (ASVO). The Oxford Society helps fund environmental efforts, education, and research for Tortuguero residents and for international students who come to live, learn, and study in this unique and lovely place. We have funded efforts to study and protect green sea turtles and their nesting habitat, to clean up Tortuguero's beaches, to provide trash removal services (via barge) for the town, and to support environmental education programs in the local high school. To learn more about these projects, follow the links to the right.
With ASVO, The Oxford Society jointly owns seven acres of tropical forest near Tortugeuro. Our goal is to secure an unbroken corridor between the western freshwater canals and the eastern sea coast. Such a corridor is vitally important in order to wildlife and enhance local research efforts. A small house on the property provides living quarters for researchers and a base from which to conduct turtle protection and environmental education programs. We are in the process of designing and funding additional research, learning, and living facilities. Please see the floor plan.
To promote environmental education, we have joined forces with The GREEN Teachers Institute to offer advanced environmental studies in Costa Rica to Ohio teachers. During the course, teachers explore the structure and function of various tropical ecosystems and return with valuable, first-hand knowledge to share with their students.
Our work in Tortuguero has been made possible through the generous support of our donors, including many of the preK-8 teachers who traveled to Tortuguero as part of a course offered through the GREEN Teachers Institute at Miami University. Designed to expose educators to the rich biological and cultural diversity of the country, "The Natural and Cultural History of Costa Rica" was offered from 1999 through 2006. Nearly 200 teachers took part, spending two weeks in-country to explore the structure and function of various tropical ecosystems—including the diverse and interconnected systems that comprise Tortuguero—and to learn about its peoples and customs. They returned to Ohio with valuable, first-hand knowledge to share with their students. Many of these teachers hold annual school fundraising efforts, with the proceeds going to support The Oxford Society's work in Tortuguero.
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