Volunteer Teaching English and Environmental Conservation

Project Overview: The aim of this volunteer project is to teach English to the elementary schools and adult members of the communities of the Alexander Skutch Biological Corridor. The secondary purpose of this program is to help the Biological Corridor achieve its environmental conservation goals of reforesting the area and empowering the communities based in this area to protect, rejuvenate and conserve their environment.

To achive the programs goals uVolunteer is working with the Las Nubes Program of York University (Canada) and the TURE-CoBAS Association (Turismo Rural Ecológico del Corredor Biológico Alexander Skutch).

Project Location

The communities of the Alexander Skutch Biological Corridor (Quizarrá, Santa Elena, Montecarlo, San Francisco, and San Ignacio) are rural mountainous villages, located within the districts of General Viejo and Cajón, in Pérez Zeledón County, province of San Jose. The nearest city (about 30 min) is San Isidro del General, which is 3 hours southwest of the capital city San Jose.

Project requirements

The requirements for this project are threefold:

• To teach English to elementary schools in the community: Not all elementary schools in the communities can afford English teachers and the schools that can afford English teachers can only afford to have them teach half of the school. Volunteers work as teaching assistants for the schools that have English teachers and as the sole English teacher for schools who do not have salaried English teachers.
  
  
• To provide English lessons to the community. There is a need for English language education for the young adults of the communities that have finished high school but are in college or unemployed. This demographic of the community is gearing up to be the future eco-tourist guides for the area and English is an essential skill for such a role. These lessons will also be open to other members of the community that are interested in learning English.
  
  
• To reforest the Biological Corridor and to provide community development support. Volunteers will be working with local community environmental groups and with York University's reforestation project to help achieve the overall environmental goals of the Biological Corridor. Volunteers will also be involved in community development activities including non-conservation work.

Role of the volunteer

During the day you will be teaching English to the elementary schools of the communities of the Biological Corridor. Volunteers are also expected to become involved with other school activities such as arts, crafts and sports. There is an option available for sports-minded volunteers to swap the English teaching element of this program for a Sports and Physically Education component.

During the evenings volunteers will be teaching the Community English Classes. These classes will be made up of members of TURE-CoBAS and the general community.

Working Schedule

You will be working Monday to Thursday teaching on average three English classes per day. Teaching sessions are 40 minutes long but volunteers should also factor in time for lesson planning; this can amount to a further hour preparation time for each class.
On Fridays you will be working half a day on the environmental conservation portion of your program. Friday morning's mandatory environmental conservation sessions start at 7AM and end at noon. Your time off the program begins after lunch on Fridays until Monday mornings.

Project Transport Arrangements

You will be working and living in a rural community with limited public services. There are only two buses per day (6AM & 12:30PM) going from one end of one community to the other, with a final destination of the town of San Isidro. Apart from these two there is no public transportation to travel between the communities. You can walk and there is the possibility to ride bicycles or to ask a neighbor for a lift for a small fee. You will have to walk between 15-30 minutes to get to school depending on where you live. After your community evening classes return transportation to your home stay will be provided by the program. This is a very small community where everyone knows each other and where everyone walks everywhere unless they have a car; lifts are always given people you know who are walking. The internet café and local community shops both are within 30 minutes walk from your accommodation.

Language Requirement

Native English speakers are preferred, but the project is also open to non-native speakers of English if the particpant can prove an advanced level of English language. An intermediate level of Spanish is required to get the most out of such a great program and cultural experience.
Although some members of the community speak English the majority do not and you will need to be able to communicate in Spanish with the school's staff and also with your host family.

Volunteer and Study Spanish Language Program

Communications

There are no land telephone lines in the community. However there is one pay phone at the center of each community. These phone boxes accept telephone cards and you can call internationally from them. All the families have cell phones and you can use phone cards with those as well. There is an internet café with a high speed connection in Santa Elena about 20 minutes walk from your accommodation. You can make Skype (www.skype.com) internet calls from the internet café at very reasonable rates, they are equipped with headsets. Feel free to bring your laptop, music, movies etc. The homes in the community are very safe and the town of San Isidro is also very safe; it evens has a few wireless internet cafes. There will not necessarily be a DVD player in your host family's house so if you want to bring DVDs to watch movies you'd probably have to bring your laptop.

Project dress code

You will need to bring smart clothes for when teaching. uVolunteer has a strict dress policy for teaching in schools. But you will also need clothing suitable for tropical climates and also some clothes for the environmental aspects of your program. We will supply you with a full packing list once you reserve your place on the program.

Activities close to the project

There are many interesting activities to do in the Alexander Skutch Biological Corridor. You can:

• Hike/walk in 3 different primary rainforests - Los Cusingos, Santuario Filaverde, and Las Nubes
• Birdwatch and look for monkeys in Los Cusingos or at La Escondida or Valle de Luna
• Go to the internet café!
• Go horseback riding
• Walk to one of the rivers or waterfalls and go swimming
• Eat at one of the local 'sodas'
• Go to one of the 'centro turisticos' to swim in the pools
• Go to a community dance or one of the local bars
• Watch a local football/soccer game
• Go to San Isidro to shop, eat, and watch a pro soccer/football game
• Take the bus to the beaches of Dominical, Uvita or Manuel Antonio
• Hike the highest mountain in Costa Rica in nearby Chirripó National Park

Extra Information

Program Fee: $980 for 4 weeks; add $120 for each additional week
Start dates: Every other Friday
Accommodation: Home Stay Family including 3 meals
Transportation to project: Depending on school and host family location you can either walk or take a short bus journey. Budget $10 per week for transportation. Book Now You only need to put down $150 of your program fee as deposit.