Due to limited resources, students at elementary schools in Costa Rica attend school for only four hours per day. Schools also are limited in the amount of extracurricular activities they offer due to strict academic requirements. Therefore the SCLC After-school Program aims to provide local elementary students with environmental education and enrichment activities not offered at the local schools.

The program is free for students and offers daily programming for 5th and 6th grade students in the mornings and 1st-4th grade students in the afternoon. Lessons focus on environmental themes as the core of student learning. For example, students learn about water and monitor the quality of the Sarapiquí River, the community’s largest river. Environmental themes are incorporated into English and Spanish language, reading, movement, science, computer, geography, and art lessons.