Future conservationists: SCHS Global Sustainability Project

PICERNE FOUNDATION displays the beauty of the Global Sustainability Project through pictures of wildlife on their website. (Picerne Foundation)

Audrey Folia | Head Editor

December 5, 2024

This year, the Picerne Foundation is partnering with San Clemente High School to offer ten students the opportunity of a lifetime. 

Known as the Global Sustainability Project, SCHS is working with the Piecerne Foundation, an organization that works to better communities by helping individuals to increase “their abilities, knowledge, talent and understanding” through hands-on ecological action, to bring an environmental preservation program to the school. 

The Global Sustainability Project allows “a teacher and a scientist to participate in scientific field expeditions in international wildlife reserves.” It consists of three main parts including local service, research preparation, and overseas expedition. The program always includes a trip to a foreign country and 40 hours of volunteer work beforehand, but depending on the year or school, the details of the program vary. 

This year at SCHS, the students will be working at the San Clemente State Beach Monarch Grove with senior environmental scientist Riley Pratty to guide them as their local service. Pairing with IB/AP Marine Biology Teacher, Ms. Brislen, the students will volunteer by planting nectar-type plants in order to aid in monarch butterfly preservation. Then, over the summer, the students will take an all-expenses paid trip to Costa Rica, working with the area’s felines and primates, using real scientific methods, and being immersed in the culture while on their nine-day trip. 

SCHS STUDENTS will work with the primates in Costa Rica to foster their preservation. (Picerne Foundation)

However, the 10 participants would agree that the application process wasn’t easy. Junior Ashlyn Heller remarked that “when [she] heard free Costa Rica trip [she] knew [she] had to get on it”, but that “the process was a lot harder” than she expected. 

It consisted of a lengthy written application, including an essay on the environmental impacts of ecotourism. After 10 students were selected, they had to give a presentation on Deforestation in Costa Rica to a panel, something most of them found to be very nerve-wracking. 

Still, the program is something that appealed to a large variety of students. Mostly those who want to be part of environmental preservation, but also some, like junior Cara Gerfin, who saw the potential of such an experience for their own future. Gerfin wanted “to continue this type of work as a career,” which makes her thrilled that she was chosen “to experience it with all [her] fellow schoolmates.” 

Before they take part on their journey to Costa Rica, however, the students will work together in making an electronic presentation of the climate, economy, geography, and other aspects of Costa Rica and present the information to their peers, parents, and the members of the Foundation. 

Though neither the application nor the program is easy, the dedication, time, and energy these students are willing to put in to be a force of positive change toward their environment is a beacon of hope for environmental preservation and the health of our planet and its species. 

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