It’s a Wednesday morning in Kooper Muelle School in La Fortuna, located northwest of the Central Valley in Costa Rica. It’s a cloudy and humid day, but that doesn’t slow down the St. Anne’s School students who know that their work, dedication, and every drop of their sweat will thrill the local kids, as they build a playground!

We work closely with many schools in Costa Rica, and this year we decided to take on a new type of service learning. Building playgrounds! We designed the project based on who will be using the structure. Just like all of our approaches when visiting a community, we work based on the communities’ needs. The structures are made of wood, metal or a combination of both – and even old tires. Recycling at it’s best!

It’s already four o’ clock, the cement is dry and so are the hard-working hands that built the playground. We could feel the cold breeze coming down from the cloud forest, and with it, little droplets of rain. St. Anne’s students waste no time with Lisseth, one of our guides, by inviting the children to come to play! Seeing the local students smile, they feel they know they will be leaving La Fortuna with a rewarding experience to take home and a lasting bond with those whom they’ve helped!

All three playgrounds were a success! The first one is in the community of Martina Bustos, built by The Stanwich School (CT), the second one at the Comadre School, built by Journeys School (WY), and the last playground project is at the Kopper Muelle School, was built by St. Anne’s School of Annapolis (MD).