An environmental group has announced plans to build a multimillion-dollar “green” university in the northwestern province of Guanacaste that will train students in sustainable development.
The school, dubbed The University for a Sustainable Future, is a $25 million project being developed by the Celidon Foundation, an international environmental group. Developers of the private university celebrated the first step toward their dream when they announced Sept. 5 the donation by Costa Rican and U.S. landowners of 50 acres, where the school will be built.
Celidon board member Don Jacobs is billing the school as a future center for environmental thought and research. The school expects to have some 3,600 students and could be open by 2010, Jacobs told The Tico Times. Primatologist Jane Goodall, who is an honorary Celidon member, was also at the announcement ceremony.
The university expects to meet U.S. environmental standards and will be located on the donated land, between Triunfo and Playa Cabuyal in Papagayo.
“We feel the power of Costa Rica is a draw for students,” Jacobs said. “We think it’s a good thing that (Costa Rica) becomes a destination for this kind of thinking.”
The project is still in the design phase. Plans include a research center and the creation of an international consortium to design environmental studies.
For more info, see www.celidon.org.
