Auction fundraiser meets goal to build education programme in Costa Rica

We’re thrilled to announce that our benefit art auction, hosted on Artsy between 22 June and 6 July 2023, was a resounding success – with the funds raised allowing us to progress with the second phase of our conservation project in Costa Rica.

Funds were raised through the sales of 25 artworks donated by Enter Gallery artists from Brighton, UK, and beyond, as well as through independent donations.

Following this spectacular outcome, Connecting the Roots will implement various vital initiatives at Ostional High School, which is located at the heart of our rewilding project in the country’s Guanacaste region. These initiatives will include building a new classroom, providing an environmental education programme, establishing sustainable practices (such as repairing the school’s roof and providing insulation), and creating infrastructure for waste management and recycling.

We’ve chosen to prioritise these items as a result of close consultation with the local community in Guanacaste, the Costa Rican government, and the school, which has communicated a clear need for improvements to its facilities. As well as the space limitations of the school’s sole classroom, its lack of insulation also presents challenges for children’s learning, as they struggle with the heat of the tropical Costa Rican climate.

By developing an environmental education programme, we also hope to extend the impact of the first phase of our project: promoting sustainability and rewilding within the region to counteract the effects of climate change.

Since 2021, we’ve been focused on restoring land in the Nicoya peninsula in Costa Rica – an area that had been shaved of its remarkable biodiversity for agriculture. This project is still going strong, with our nursery very much active and growing hundreds of trees to restore diversity to the area.

It’s our hope that this educational programme and our continued work with the school will be pivotal in raising awareness about environmental conservation – both among the younger generation and, through them, the local community too.

By investing into the foundations of the community, it’s our aim to foster a sense of responsibility and stewardship towards the local ecosystem, ensuring a more sustainable future for the community and the conservation project as a whole.

To follow our progress on the project, subscribe to our newsletter or follow us on Instagram. You can also support the project directly by donating here.

We’d also like to share a final thank you to our supporter Enter Gallery for facilitating this fundraiser, all our bidders and donors, and the generous artists who donated their work:

Chris Levine, Charlotte Rose, Ben Rider, Dan Baldwin, CJP, Pure Evil, Jana Nicole, Mike Edwards, RYCA, Jayson Lilley, Copyright, Marcelina Amelia, Gavin Mitchell, Maria Rivans, Peter Blake, The Connor Brothers, Magnus Gjoen, Haus of Lucy, Elizabeth Waggett, Mark Vessey, Aaron Crascall, Rebecca Strickson, Richard Berner, Craig Keenan, Dave White, Dirty Hans, Joe Webb, Sarah Arnett, Bonnie and Clyde, Sara Pope, Mark Powell, Dan Hillier, Jamie Reid, Chris Kettle, Anthony Freeman, and Mateo Humano.