Preparing for Costa Rica

Hello everyone, my name is Courtney Koffink,and I am a junior attending Burlington High School. This year at BHS I am studying AP Environmental Science. In this class, we study the effects that humans have on our planet. One of the things I have always loved about Burlington is that it is so close to the White Mountains of New Hampshire, the Massachusetts seacoast, and the lakes of Maine. Since I was a little girl, my dad took me fishing on the weekends, which lead to my becoming a camp counselor in Maine last summer, where I taught fishing. Our family spent every summer since I can remember camping in Gunstock, New Hampshire.

These outdoor experiences, as well as taking Environmental Science, fueled my passion for nature and protecting the natural world. Early this year, an opportunity arose to travel to Costa Rica in April to attend the Global Student Leaders Summit hosted by EF Education First on Earth Day. I will be traveling to this conference with six other classmates from my high school, as well as my Environmental Science teacher.This will give me the unique opportunity to share ideas and experiences about the environment with other high schoolers from all over the world. Furthermore, I am excited about the conference where we will hear Al Gore, Dr. Umana Alvaro and Severn Suzuki speak.

Aside from the amazing environmental opportunities, my classmates and I will be visiting local schools where we will interact with the native students. We also plan on visiting the cloud forest, where we will zip-line through the canopy and experience the flora and fauna firsthand. I am writing this article to document my experiences at the conference and our excursions in Costa Rica. I am excited to embark on this trip over April Vacation! Please come back to my blog where I will continue to write more articles about my experiences in Costa Rica.