CREA Field School
	The CREA Field School is located within the Cocobolo Nature Reserve which is set in the heart of rural Panama within the Mamoni River watershed. It covers over 1000 acres of primary and secondary rainforest and harbors endangered wildlife such as ocelots, margays, crested curassows and harlequin frogs to name a few. Within the reserve are important headwaters of the Mamoni river.	One of the sleeping huts set within the forest
The field school, built in 2006, is a rustic complex of wooden sleeping huts and a main meeting hut. Its design is inspired by indigenous architecture but is also intended to demonstrate low impact living. Our electricity is generated by solar energy and our toilets are designed for composting so that eventually organic wastes will be recylced back into the earth and be used to fertilize our crops. In 2007 the school began to plant vegetable and fruits and it is hoped that in a short amount of time the school will be using a large proportion of its own produce. The CREA field school is intended to house student groups of up to 16 people. It's close proximity to rainforest habitat and streams allows students to appreciate at first hand the splendour and variety of animals and plants that live there. This outdoor classroom is second to none in having the potential to demonstrate complex biological systems. Inside the main hut at Cocobolo Field School Las Zahinas Village of the Mamoni Valley The CREA field school is also surrounded by four rural communities that practice subsistence agriculture. Each village has its own primary school where children learn up to the age of 12. Since families have very little money it is often impossible for children beyond the age of 12 to continue secondary education at schools located in a distant town. It is hoped that school groups that visit Cocobolo will also participate in joint exercises with the local school and teenagers from the villages. Up until now the local children have learnt how to use binoculars and identify birds as well as how to monitor stream macroinvertebrates as indicators of river quality. It is hoped that future school groups will also involve themselves with this outreach program and promote environmental stewardship amongst the local people.   If you are interested in bringing a school group to Panama please contact CREA to help you design the best program that suits the needs of your group. "Become a Rainforest Guardian " of Cocobolo Nature Reserve to help us maintain it as an educational and natural resource for all. Click here to find out how.