Hi everyone! My name is Taylor W. and I am a Junior in High School in the Mid-Atlantic region of the USA. Below was taken from Brown University's website and explains in detail the pre-college course I am trying to attend.

Upon graduation from high school, I plan on attending a University that matches both my academic desires and athletic goals. Although I haven't chosen which school I want to attend just yet, this pre-college Environmental Leadership course will help guide my decision about where to attend. I am interested in the field of Environmental Engineering and Sustainable Energy research and development. We, as a race, have a long way to go in this area and I'd like to do my part in developing a long term strategy for growth in this field. We have finite resources and I would like to influence how we move forward smartly.

I need your help in making this trip happen! Thank you for considering donating to my cause. All the best, Taylor.

Brown Environmental Leadership Lab: Costa Rica: Program Overview Monteverde: The Cloud Forest Students will spend several days in Monteverde, located in the highlands of northwestern Costa Rica. The Monteverde Zone spans several different ecosystems, linking Costa Rica's drier Pacific slopes with the country's wet Atlantic forests. Along the continental divide just above Monteverde lies the tropical Montane Cloud Forest, a rare forest ecosystem that is almost continually in mist. This striking contrast of wet and dry ecosystems makes Monteverde an extraordinary place to study plant-animal interactions, ecology, and natural history. The name Monteverde green mountain can mean different things. In general, it refers to the Monteverde Zone, a geographical area that encompasses approximately 14 communities. Historically, these communities produced much of Costa Rica's milk, and the area was popularly known as the milk shed. Monteverde also refers to the original Monteverde village founded by 14 Quaker families in 1951. These Quakers came to Costa Rica in search of a place where they could live out their pacifist beliefs without persecution, after four of their men were convicted, jailed, and eventually released for refusing to sign up for the U.S. draft. Today the village of Monteverde has several hundred residents, and still maintains a strong Quaker/USA influence. Because of its natural beauty and unique history, Monteverde is a prime eco-tourist destination, attracting almost a quarter of all the tourists who visit Costa Rica. Much of this growth has occurred in the last fifteen years, and Monteverde is grappling with the rapid shift from a sleepy, dairy zone to one dependent on tourism.

While in Monteverde, students will conduct research in the cloud forest and meet with local farmers and residents in order to learn how locals are attempting to balance economic development with environmental preservation.