Jerry Ligon, the seventh grade science teacher at Thomas Hunter Middle School in Mathews, is bent on taking 13 of his students on an environmental trip to Costa Rica during spring break, and he’s hoping for a bit of extra help to make it happen.

Ligon retired from teaching five years ago, but when the previous seventh-grade science teacher sought to resign at the beginning of the school year, Ligon was asked to return, and he agreed.

Because of the positive experience he and a group of former students had on a prior trip to Costa Rica, he set out from the beginning to pull together another group. There was much interest, he said, but only 13 students were able to commit to the trip, along with three parents. In addition, Ligon’s wife Cheryl, who also came out of retirement this year to teach second grade at Mathews Elementary, is going, as well as kindergarten teacher Amy Ashberry.

“If we could have started earlier, we probably would have had more,” said Ligon.

The tour co...