Hello 2014 Protecting the Pacific Program members!
We can’t believe it’s already been over two months since the last PTP program ended! You’re probably all back at school, and to many of you Costa Rica may seem like a distant [and warm] memory. To all of us that you worked with here in Bahia Ballena, we see constant reminders of your time spent here: Biogardens, water filtration systems, signs, murals, and new brightly colored buildings, just to name a few. We see the evidence of the Protecting the Pacific program nearly every day, and it reminds us of the many excellent times we had this summer!
Your aim this summer was to help protect and preserve the Pacific Ocean, and what better place to do that than at the footsteps of the Marino Ballena National Park here in Bahia Ballena, Costa Rica. Here, you learned to surf with us at Bodhi Surf School — while all of you did just two lessons, we were impressed at the tenacity that you guys possessed for standing up on your board and riding waves! More than anything, we were stoked that you all had so much fun in the water and began to understand why it’s so important for surfers (and all people who spend lots of time in or near the ocean) to work together to keep it clean, healthy, and beautiful.
GLA made a huge positive impact on the community of Bahia Ballena through the service projects that it helped contribute to this summer, and really highlighted the program’s goal of promoting sustainable coastal development and preserving the natural surroundings. Through a number of tours, workshops, and talks, we learned that “Protecting the Pacific” isn’t just for those who are located near the ocean: everything ends up in the sea, so we can all do our part to protect the ocean (and the planet!) wherever we may live. Reducing consumption, cutting back on plastic use, preserving energy and water — all of these actions will help to protect our wonderful Planet Earth, the place that we call home, as well as the world’s oceans.
We worked a lot and we learned a lot, but we also had a lot of fun. Whether it was playing games at night, enjoying the soccer game with locals, hanging out with the kids at Forjando Alas, learning to cook at Canto de Ballenas, walking (or dancing) in the rain, showing off our talents, or stuffing our faces with pizza at the end, it was a blast and even better because we got to share it with all you guys — the 2014 GLA teens!
Thank you so much for all your hard work this summer!
-Adrianne & Team Bodhi Surf
