Earth Day 2007

Earth Day in Puerto Jiménez was a success! After months and months of planning (Lapa Rios had three members of its staff on the planning committee) the event finally came together…and quite well! Students from over thirty schools around the Osa Peninsula were asked to participate in a drawing contest to which its participants answered the question: “What is your idea of living in harmony with nature?”. Over 500 drawings were submitted, and 22 winners from grades 1 through 6 were chosen. We at Lapa Rios were thrilled when we found out that Karen, one of the students at Carbonera School, was one of the winners for 5th grade!

Citizens from all over the Osa Peninsula, from Rincón to Drakes Bay, traveled all the way to Puerto Jimenez to participate in the day´s festivities. The day´s event included games and activities (such as Recycling Olympics), informational presentations (Jorge Arrieta, general manager of Lapa Rios, gave a talk on global warming), booths hosted by various community groups and much more. Lapa Rios had a booth about our biodigester…we even brought one of our pigs!
Although a heavy rainstorm came in the afternoon, the event proved to be extremely informative and entertaining. More than anything, it was a great way to get the community together and focused on an issue so important to us all. Many people told me that it was the biggest event they had seen in Puerto Jimenez. I really think that we set an excellent standard for the following Earth Day´s to come and only hope that they get better and better in the future…