Teach for Climate Justice

Costa Rica Retreats

Join Us in Costa Rica in 2027:

The Teach for Climate Justice Project will be hosting two retreats in the Costa Rican rainforest in 2027:

  • Spring: April 25th - May 1, 2027

  • Summer: July 18th - July 24th, 2027

To learn more about upcoming retreats, contact Matt Cook at: matt@serviceexpeditions.net

You may also contact teachforclimatejustice@gmail.com for questions

Hear from past retreat participants:

  • Attending the Teach for Climate Justice workshop in Costa Rica was one of the most meaningful professional experiences that I've ever had. Immersed in breathtaking biodiversity, I gained perspective on justice and science education that I now carry with me every day in the classroom. I would recommend this experience to anyone looking for deep emotional learning, cultural connection, and unforgettable inspiration.

    - Julie, Alabama Educator

  • This retreat was just the thing I needed to inspire me to come back to the classroom and have the difficult, yet hopeful, conversations with my students about climate justice and how we can move forward as active and mindful members of our community. Pura Vida!

    -Haley, Alabama Educator

  • My trip to Yorkin was more than I could have imagined. The sun and moon were the guides for our sleep and awake rhythm. The sounds of the rainforest and the wellness from a day full of fresh air were the recipe for a sound sleep. Every day was an adventure and an invitation to quiet the mind and listen.

    -Karen, New York Educator

  • “This retreat offered me the opportunity to gather with others who shared my perspectives and allowed me to rest, heal, and regroup in surprising ways. If you are grieving the state of our global environment due to global warming and are concerned about how to articulate this concern to your students in a healthy hopeful way, you won't regret attending this!”

    -Andy, Texas Educator

  • “The retreat reminded me that one way to advance climate justice is by listening to and learning from Indigenous communities, whose deep relationship with the Earth offers invaluable knowledge about sustainability, stewardship, and living in reciprocity with nature."

    -Madison, New York Educator

Summary of 2025 Retreat Written by T4CJ Co-Director Tom Roderick:

In July, 2025, seven educators joined Matt Cook and Tom Roderick for T4CJ’s first Climate Justice Retreat for Educators in the Indigenous Bribri territories of Costa Rica. Head of Latin American Service Expeditions, Matt lives in Costa Rica and works closely with the Bribri people of Yorkin in the rainforest. Traveling by van and dugout canoes to Yorkin, we were warmly welcomed by the Yorkin community and lived with them for five days, experiencing the breathtaking beauty of their eco-forest and their way of life, so different from our own. Along with experiential workshops on chocolate-making, medicinal plants, and tree-planting, we learned the story of their struggles to create and preserve their land- and people-friendly community against incursions by the United Fruit Company—the Yorkin community’s ultimate triumph, an inspiring example of active hope. 


Interwoven with these learnings were workshops in which, con cariño, we wrestled with how to bring our radical, transformative vision of climate justice education alive in our schools and classrooms upon returning home—our own adventure of active hope. All the above worked together for a powerful impact on each and every one of us greater than the sum of its parts. I can’t think of words to express what happened. But, as I said to the group in our final session, “This is what radical, transformative climate justice education looks like!”