By Kim Hilsenbeck

Two Buda Girl Scouts recently returned from adventures of a lifetime.

Mackenzie Heldstab, 16, completed Outward Bound Costa Rica’s Scuba & Sea Turtle Adventure Destination. On this 14-day course, she volunteered in Panama in conservation efforts to protect endangered sea turtles and explored new depths while learning to scuba dive coral reefs.

Mackenzie said, “The course was incredibly fulfilling and full of laughter, love, compassion and a new family.”

Megan Garlock, also 16, completed the Costa Rica and Panama Service Challenge Destination. During her two-week course, she contributed to two major service-learning projects and pushed her limits with adventure activities.

“I enjoyed helping at the village,” Megan said. “The staff was all nice.”

In the wetlands of San San Pond Sak, located on the Caribbean coast of Panama, Mackenzie and her fellow Girl Scouts participated in a multi-day service project focused on protecting the endangered leatherback sea turtle population.

The group then traveled to the remote island of Solarte, located in the Bocas del Toro Archipelago, where they learned about the local ecology and marine life and scuba dived. After completing and passing the NAUI Open Water Certification training, Mackenzie is now scuba certified.

After returning to Outward Bound’s rainforest base in Costa Rica, the group tackled Class II and III rapids on the Pejibaye River, ziplined through the canopies, and visited the vibrant artisan market of San Jose to finish up their adventure. 

Megan and her group began their time in Costa Rica by rerouting water flow in a local rainforest reserve located near Outward Bound Costa Rica’s rainforest base. Next, Megan and her group set off to a small indigenous village in the Talamanca region to help paint an elementary school. The group interacted and learned from the local elementary students and community, practicing their Spanish and learning a few words in the village’s dialect, as well as the traditional process of making chocolate, directly from the cacao plant.

In Panama, the girls worked to protect marine life while working on a sea turtle conservation project. Megan helped build habitats, catalog nests and monitor turtles on Patrols.

Megan and her course mates rounded out their adventures with a day of whitewater rafting on Pejibaye River and a zipline canopy tour through jungle valleys.

Since 2006, Outward Bound Costa Rica has been partnered with Girl Scouts of the USA to offer unique and exciting Girl Scouts Destinations trips in Costa Rica and Panama. These trips provide young girls the opportunity to see the world, meet fellow Girl Scouts from across the nation and challenge themselves through adventure in unfamiliar settings.