The Playa Blanca School in Lepanto held a fashion show featuring outfits made from waste materials, according to an April 29 announcement. Mothers and students designed the clothing using items such as bags, plastic, wood, and paper that were collected during a beach cleanup.
Ana LucÃa Villalobos Zuñiga, a primary school teacher at Playa Blanca School, said the idea had two purposes: to raise awareness about keeping the environment clean and to encourage reusing waste by turning it into art. “What some consider trash can be a treasure for others, and that’s what we turned the waste left by visitors on the beach into,” Villalobos said. “For us, the beach is our backyard and we cannot allow it to look ugly or polluted. The town has potential with its natural beauty and only through environmental education and reuse of waste can we make Playa Blanca a friendly, beautiful, and safe place.”
The event aimed to promote preservation of nature through community collaboration. The school community consists of 36 children who also collect paper and bottles for making eco-blocks.
The article also highlights several educational initiatives across Costa Rica related to environmental awareness, reading promotion, infrastructure improvements in Isla Venado schools announced during a presidential tour of Pacific islands and Puntarenas, as well as ongoing projects like Rescate which supports night school students in completing their studies.
Additionally, national observances such as World Book Day on April 23—established by UNESCO in 1995—and International Mother Earth Day on April 22—set up by the United Nations General Assembly in 2009—were mentioned for their roles in promoting reading habits and harmony with nature.
