NATURE CONSERVATION THROUGH
ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION
Awareness of how our behavior affects nature and the interactions on our planet is the key to global transformation. That’s why Tropica Verde actively promotes education in kindergartens, schools, universities and extracurricular places of learning – in Costa Rica, Germany, Switzerland and now also online!
Environmental education in Germany
Since 1989, Tropica Verde has been promoting environmental education in Germany. Many people are unaware that tropical rainforests in Costa Rica are being cleared to make way for our bananas, pineapples, and palm oil. Our educational programs convey the message that we can only protect our planet by working together. Through collaboration and innovative processes, the rainforest can be preserved. Education for Sustainable Development is the key to bringing about these changes. So how can we promote the protection of the tropical rainforest in Costa Rica through awareness-raising and environmental education?
>>> More about our educational program “Airlift Frankfurt – Costa Rica”
Bookable environmental education for
all generations
Multimedia show | all generations
The fascination of the rainforest: unique, mysterious, endangered
Be inspired by our colorful multimedia shows about the tropical rainforest, Tropica Verde and Costa Rica’s biodiversity. Experience it online or live – just as you wish!
Discover Costa Rica’s rainforest! Colorful multimedia shows about Tropica Verde’s projects and the rainforest’s biodiversity will amaze you. Breathtaking photos and captivating stories bring the tropical rainforest to life. Dr. Stefan Rother, a biologist and co-founder of Tropica Verde, visits preschools, schools, universities, companies, retirement homes, and public institutions in Germany and Switzerland. The show can also be booked for private events and as a global online event.
Duration: 90 minutes
Where: Germany, Switzerland or online
For whom suitable: All generations
Price: Contact us for an individual offer (15 % discount for members)
Booking: via Tropica Verde
Implementing partner: Faunity Photography, Stefan Rother
Education module | School: 4. & 5th grade
Water cycle: the source of life
At the Hanau Environmental Center, participants can interactively explore the water cycle of a protected area in Costa Rica.
Experienced speakers from the Hanau Environmental Center offer elementary school in the Rhine-Main region the educational module “The water cycle in Germany and Costa Rica”. The workshop, which is conducted according to the guidelines of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), takes place either at the school or at the Hanau Environmental Center. It includes a theoretical and a practical component in which the children explore and experience the water cycle firsthand. The children build a model of the water cycle in a glass jar that they can take home. The module features authentic educational materials from Monte Alto, Tropica Verde’s reforestation project in Costa Rica. There, reforestation has restored the water cycle, securing the river and the local population’s water supply. Hands-on environmental education and the SDGs.
Duration: 150 minutes (2.5h)
Where: Hanau Environmental Center or school in the Rhine-Main area
For whom suitable: 4. and 5th grade
Price: from 70 € (for 20 participants)
Booking: via Tropica Verde
Implementing partner: Hanau Environmental Center
Education module | School: Secondary level I & II
Macaw and pineapple: rivals in the rainforest?
What does a colorful bird have to do with a tropical fruit? While growing pineapples in Costa Rica, pupils discover the connection between the destruction of the tropical rainforest and the consumption of tropical products in an interdisciplinary way.
The workshop will take place at various locations throughout the Palmengarten in Frankfurt. In cooperation with the Palmengarten’s Green School, the environmental education module “Ara and Pineapple,” focusing on “fair trade” and “organic farming methods,” was developed for middle and high school students. Using a variety of methods—including station-based learning, guided tours of the Tropicarium, and role-playing—students explore these issues, with particular attention paid to the living and working conditions of workers in the pineapple industry and their families. Solutions such as fair trade or organic farming are examined and options for action are developed and discussed. This environmental education module was inspired by the experiences around the Reserva Lapa Verde.
Duration: 210 minutes (3.5 hours) including 30-minute break
Where: Palmengarten Frankfurt am Main
Who it is suitable for: Secondary level I and II (from 7th grade)
Price: from €50 (max. 15 participants); two groups possible at the same time
Booking: via Tropica Verde
Implementing partner: Green School in the Palmengarten Frankfurt
Installation | All generations
Plants from Monte Alto in the Palm Garden
Visit the Tropicarium at the Palmengarten and discover how the southern tamandua lives at the Monte Alto Garden Bed. Original plants from our Monte Alto Forest Reserve in Costa Rica grow here. Thanks to the Palmengarten’s video podcast, our garden bed is becoming increasingly famous. If you are interested, we will be happy to organize a guided tour. Please contact the information office.
Where: Palmengarten Frankfurt am Main
Price: current admission price Palmengarten
Individual educational offers on various topics Guided tours, lectures or stands
We offer tailor-made guided tours, lectures and information stands on topics such as tropical rainforests, pineapple cultivation or consumer behavior for school and company celebrations or birthdays. Let us know your ideas and together we will see how we can realize them. Individual environmental education for every situation!
Environmental education in action: In addition to our educational offers, you can also organize something of your own yourself or together with us!
We cooperate with school classes, associations, networks, municipal and private institutions and individuals. Our supporters independently launch appeals for donations for birthdays or campaigns such as “Haircut for the anteater”. In the spirit of Education for Sustainable Development, we support all ideas and initiatives, so there are no limits to your creativity – just contact us. just get in touch with us!
Organize donation appeal
Joint
educational campaigns
Action and information stands
Tropica Verde participates in events organized by long-standing cooperation partners throughout the year. In addition to information about the association and its projects, we also offer environmental education activities for all age groups. These events are carried out with great commitment by our members and volunteers. You can find us at these (regular) events:
- BioFrankfurt Green Exchange in the Palmengarten
- Experience biodiversity” campaign week organized by BioFrankfurt
- Zoo action days organized by BioFrankfurt and the Frankfurt Zoological Society
- Sustainability parcour from the “Learning sustainability in Frankfurt” network
- Blue plaque on the Römerberg from the “Learning sustainability in Frankfurt” network
- Week of action to close the Mainkai
by the “Learning sustainability in Frankfurt” network
…and even more!
IGS NORDEND: Long-standing cooperation for climate protection
IGS Nordend in Frankfurt has been working regularly with Tropica Verde for years. In 2014, the school held its first charity run to become carbon neutral. As an energy-saving school, it reduces its CO2 emissions by 60 metric tons and saves 15,000 euros annually. Unavoidable CO2 emissions are offset through tree-planting initiatives with Tropica Verde. Donations collected from students—such as those raised during a charity run—support reforestation efforts in Monte Alto or the Reserva Kinkajou. Together with the EnergIGS project, Tropica Verde participates in events such as the Environmental Festival on the Main. In 2021, IGS Nordend won the “Energy-Saving Champion” competition. In December 2024, the IGS even produced a video that provides insight into environmental education initiatives, information about Tropica Verde, and recommendations for rainforest-friendly shopping. You can find more information about the individual initiatives of our collaboration here:
- Handover of donations at the 2023 summer party
- IGS Nordend becomes Energy Saving Champion Hesse 2021
- Charity run 2019: Trees for the Reserva Kinkajou
- Reforestation planned on Finca Alicia – including “IGS hectares”
- Over 5000 euros collected for Monte Alto
- 2nd IGS charity run for the Reserva Monte Alto
Film by the EnergIGS group from IGS Nordend | About cooperation, rainforest show & environmental education
News about our educational campaigns and projects
August 23, 2026 | SAVE THE DATE: 2026 General Meeting
The members of Tropica Verde will meet on August 23 at the Saalbau Bornheim in Frankfurt. Get to know our active members, exchange ideas with like-minded people, and talk to us about the association’s latest developments!
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Thanks to member Jennifer Gatzke, Tropica Verde is now included on the State of Hesse’s list of organizations eligible for funding
“As the former director of the Tropica Verde Information Office and a long-time member, I am very pleased that our association has been included on the State of Hesse’s list of organizations eligible for funding starting this year,” said Jennifer Gatzke. Together with…