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West Virginia Alumna to Lead
Group of Students to Costa Rica
Karen Beeftink, WVU alumna and
course instructor, is leading 12
students throughout Costa Rica
on an immersive cultural
experience and wilderness
adventure this summer.
This three-credit course,
offered by the WVU Recreation,
Parks & Tourism Resources, will
take place from May 13 to 28.
''This is an exciting
opportunity with a variety of
things to pique different
students' interests,'' Beeftink
said.
''We'll be hiking in national
parks and wildlife refuges, and
traveling by canoe and horseback
into remote villages. We will
not be sitting in a classroom.''
She said that the group will
spend most of its time on the
Caribbean side of Costa Rica,
and will get to travel through
the mountains and the beaches.
During a planned stop in
Tortuguero National Park, the
group will spend time with
conservation researchers
learning about the area's
protected rare turtle
population.
According to the Caribbean
Conservation Company's Web site,
this is the third most visited
park in Costa Rica though it is
only accessible by air or water.
The group is scheduled to spend
a day whitewater rafting through
tropical rainforest on the class
three Sarapiqui River, Beeftink
said.
Students will also get to spend
time with different indigenous
people, learning their customs
and traditions, she said.
''We always travel with
indigenous guides. When we learn
new things, we are learning from
them,'' Beeftink said.
Beeftink has also planned
Caribbean dance lessons from an
Afro-Caribbean instructor.
Beeftink said that she has
incorporated some public service
into the Costa Rican adventure.
In one village that the group
plans to visit, students will
talk to people in the community
and determine a project which
will be completed to benefit the
village.
While spending time in the
Gandoca-Manzanillo Wildlife
Refuge, the group will help with
trail maintenance and
reforestation efforts.
The group also plans to go
boating and snorkeling to see
dolphins and other aquatic life
of the region.
The class is open to
undergraduates as well as
graduate students of any major.
Beeftink said the only
pre-requisite is ''a willingness
to be adventurous.''
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