The 2015 Costa Rica Eco-Study tour will host their annual Chili Frybread and Costa Rican Coffee fundraiser on Thursday, March 12 at 4:30pm in the parking lot of the EBCI Extension Office. The menu will consist of chili and frybread and drink for $6; frybread dessert with choice of toppings and coffee or drink for $4. Costa Rican coffee will be sold by the cup for $1 and one pound bags of coffee, whole bean or ground, are $15 per bag. Proceeds from this fundraiser will go to various “give back” projects the students will be doing for the Cabecar and Malekus tribes of Costa Rica.
The Costa Rica Eco-Study Tour, set for June 7-20, is a leadership development, cross cultural exchange, and environmental education tour developed by the EBCI Extension Office and the Cherokee Preservation Foundation. The Preservation Foundation funds the tour through their grant program, and selected participants of the tour are required to complete 20 hours of volunteer service and assist in tour fundraisers.
Once again, ten students were selected from four schools in western North Carolina. Students traveling to Costa Rica this year are: Mary Ann Driver, Brock Powell, Emily Welch, Nolan Arkansas, Hunter Radford, Renee Griggs, Jasmine Jiang, Nathan DeSarro, Domanique Haney and Damon Ayen. They will be accompanied by chaperones Yona Wade, Hope Huskey, Nikki Crisp, Tim Moser, Yvonne Bushyhead and Tammy Jackson, tour coordinator.
This year will mark the 10th anniversary of the tour and a reunion for past participants and chaperones is being planned for July.
“The Costa Rica Eco-Study Tour team would like to thank the Cherokee Preservation Foundation and the EBCI Extension Office for their continued support and investment in this tour which gives high school students the opportunity to grow in their leadership skills, travel internationally and interact with other indigenous tribes,” said Jackson.
Info: Tammy Jackson, tour coordinator, 359-6934
– EBCI Extension Office
