TAE in Costa Rica

Costa Rica is a stunning tropical paradise. The country's ecosystems are spectacular in their biodiversity and the government is intent on preserving them. Nearly 25% of Costa Rica's land has been protected as national parks or bioreserves. In addition, many local, regional and international groups are working to study and protect as many of these endangered ecosystems as possible. TAE currently conducts all of its programs in Costa Rica at sites which include: Monteverde Cloud Forest; Rancho Mastatal, Puriscal; Quepos-Manuel Antonio; and Osa Peninsula, Cabo Matapala.

"Costa Rica was an exploration. I enjoyed the forest’s beauty, the biodiversity and the humming of life that I found there. And I found even more - a people who live in harmony with the earth, who have so much to teach us about what it means to live in a sustainable way."

~ Carla Mingione, Eastlake High School, Sammamish, WA

Villanova sponsors a service learning program to the community of Mastatal. The primary focus is ecological conservation in the context of community development.