Brooke Gonzalez, a 15-year-old Girl Scout from the Girl Scouts of Manhasset, completed the Costa Rica and Panama Service Challenge Destination with Outward Bound Costa Rica. During the 14-day course, Brooke contributed to two major service-learning projects and pushed her limits with adventure activities.
“I most enjoyed the work we did at the school painting and working with the kids,” said Gonzalez.
Her group began their time in Costa Rica by rerouting water flow in a local rainforest reserve located near Outward Bound Costa Rica’s rainforest base. Next, they set off to a small indigenous village in the Talamanca region to help paint an elementary school. The group interacted and learned from the local elementary students and community, practicing their Spanish and learning a few words in the village’s dialect. They learned the traditional way of making chocolate from the cacao plant as well.
In Panama, the Scouts worked to protect marine life while helping with a sea turtle conservation project. Gonzalez helped to build habitats, catalog nests and monitor turtles on patrols.
They rounded out their adventures with a day of whitewater rafting on the Pejibaye River and a zipline canopy tour through jungle valleys.
“Outward Bound Costa Rica’s programs, like the one Brooke participated in, create environments that allow for personal and leadership development through challenges, group effort and cross-cultural understanding,” said Jim Rowe, executive director of Outward Bound Costa Rica.
Since 2006, Outward Bound Costa Rica has been partnered with Girls Scout of the USA to offer unique and exciting Girl Scouts Destinations trips in Costa Rica and Panama. These trips provide young girls with the opportunity to see the world, meet fellow Girl Scouts from across the nation and challenge themselves through adventure in unfamiliar settings.
