EF has a long tradition of giving back to communities and to the environment. Earlier this year, EF Educational Tours seized the opportunity to take on a serious issue in a major way in Panama City, Panama.

The waterfront near EF’s new offices in Panama City has what you might call a pretty big trash problem. Strong ocean currents bring an incredible amount of garbage onto the shoreline, and a city river deposits tons of household waste directly onto the beach.

The local EF Green Team has organized coastal cleanups to clear trash and plant mangrove trees for years, but they always wanted to do more. When EF Educational Tours suggested using their annual kickoff in Panama City to aid in the cleanup effort, former members jumped at the chance. Drawing on the energy of over 1,000 visiting staff, they made history with EF’s largest-ever service project.

On the morning of the cleanup, 18 buses of EF staff were dispatched to the waterfront, armed with rubber gloves and garbage bags. As temperatures reached 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit), our staff fanned out along the beach, hauling away more than two tons of Styrofoam and plastic trash.

Leading the cleanup operation was Amit Rajendra, the former leader of the local EF Green Team. Amit, who now works at EF’s Zurich office on the global sustainability team, drew on his previous experience to ensure the record-breaking initiative was successful. He also partnered with staff from a local waste management NGO called Ramsar CREHO and enlisted the help of 25 biologists from the International Maritime University of Panama. They advised on the initiative's ecological aspects, safety, and environmental stewardship.

EF supports mangrove reforestation in many ways: Through staff service projects like this one and in STEM Tours, offered by EF Educational Tours, which encourage students to develop imaginative solutions to global problems.

Mangrove trees play a vital role in tropical ecosystems by supporting marshy soils and creating habitats for wildlife. They also absorb 10 times more carbon from the atmosphere than other types of forests. Mangroves, however, are often cleared to make way for beachfront building projects, making reforestation efforts in tropical areas critical.

During the beach cleanup, EF staff planted over 2,200 white and red varieties of mangrove trees at a site close to Panama City. These mangroves will be studied by university biologists over the next year to assess which planting techniques were most successful. This project was designed with long-term impact in mind and will continue to support the local community and environment for years to come.