08/16/2026
This past week, a group of Iona Prep students have been taking part in a service and cultural immersion experience with the Council on International Educational Exchange. Bringing together students from three Edmund Rice Christian Brothers schools, the experience has centered on food insecurity, sustainability and the corporal works of mercy while reflecting the Essential Elements of an Edmund Rice Christian Brother Education.
Mr. Gray ’12, who is traveling with the group, sent along the following update:
"The boys are in Monteverde, Costa Rica, with our brother schools, Bergen Catholic in NJ and St. Laurence in Chicago, IL. We are high up in the mountain rainforest, where we have been exposed to local agricultural and sustainability practices. The Good Neighbor Kitchen program's goal is to enable communities to become self-reliant and look at the older ways of planting food. The campus we are on grows 40% of what we eat and produces 70% of the fuel used from the gases produced by livestock.
The students have had classes on food supply chains and food insecurity and have also been taught about farming and all of the challenges around living in an area like this: high up, with dirt roads and little infrastructure. The students have been working on the farm and even milking cows. On the farm, we made plant beds, worked on composting, and mixed mulch. The farm focuses on cultivating local produce and medicinal herbs.
We were also given a tour of a large family farm. The boys participated in traditional dance as well. The three groups quickly became friends and began playing sports and games. We also began our cooking work, where we made tamales and will work with local groups to distribute the food.
The boys have embraced every aspect of this cultural immersion with enthusiasm and curiosity."
