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Guardianes de la Naturaleza – Costa Rica
What if improving a school didn’t depend only on the government’s budget, but on the willingness of the people who surround it? Our partner Guardianes de la Naturaleza has spent years proving that question has an answer — and that the answer is powerful.
Through Community Days, they bring together students, families, teachers, businesses, and volunteers to work side by side on concrete projects: building gardens, planting trees, restoring green areas, improving infrastructure. Not as charity, but as an exercise in shared responsibility. A school doesn’t just belong to those who run it or fund it — it belongs to the community that lives it.
In 2026, three Community Days mobilized 436 participants, 130 volunteers, and generated 520 hours of collective work. They also brought in more than US$2,200 in donations of materials, tools, and resources from businesses and community members. Numbers that speak to something deeper: people who chose to show up, roll up their sleeves, and build something together.
What remains after each day is not just a garden or a planted tree. It is a strengthened bond between the school and its community, a sense that the space belongs to everyone and that what happens there is everyone’s responsibility. When education, nature, and community work at the same pace, it’s not just a school that transforms — it’s the capacity of an entire community to imagine and build a more sustainable future.