The itinerary and preparatory sessions (to be conducted at Colorado State University) described below are samples. The actual trip itinerary and preparatory session content may vary. Call us (1-877-627-1425) for specific details.
Each day of the Educator’s Workshop will include discussions about how to integrate what we are learning in Peru into the classroom back home.
Day 1. Depart for Peru & Arrive in Lima.
After departing the U.S., we arrive in Lima and spend the night at a hotel in Miraflores, an upscale neighborhood in the capitol city.
Day 2. Arrival in Iquitos, Peru and Travel to Explornapo Lodge
This morning, we catch a connecting flight to the friendly, bustling jungle town of Iquitos. We climb aboard motorized boats, our primary means of transportation for the week, and head off down the Amazon River for a spectacular ride. A few hours later we arrive at Explornapo Lodge, our rustic and cozy home for the next two nights. After settling in and enjoying lunch in the open air dining area, we head out through the forest to learn about the web of life that makes this ecosystem so special. We return to the lodge for dinner and then head out to experience the rainforest on a night float.
Day 3. Ethnobotany & Tropical Aquatics
We begin our day at dawn with an optional excursion to look for, listen to and identify some of the many birds in this area of the rainforest. After breakfast, a local shaman (healer) shares with us his knowledge about the plants he uses and how he prepares them to treat illness. This afternoon we head out for a tranquil boat ride to a black water lake where we learn some basic tropical aquatic biology concepts.
Day 4. Travel to ACTS: Canopy Explorations
An optional float trip along the Amazon begins the day for the avid and emerging birders and for those who simply like to wake up to the sun rising over the Amazon River. After breakfast, we hike to the Amazon Conservatory of Tropical Studies Field Station (ACTS). Built in 1993, ACTS is home to the famous canopy walkway. We explore the canopy and discuss the importance of biodiversity. This afternoon, we examine the social, economic and political challenges of conservation as we explore the many ways the ribereño (riverside) communities use the forest. We discuss how conservation issues can be used back in the classroom as a cross-disciplinary study tool. This evening we stay at ACTS, perhaps seeking out some glowing fungus by starlight.
Day 5. The Yagua Community and Health & Education in the Amazon
We head by boat today to Explorama Lodge where, upon arrival, we experience a craft fair that highlights how forest products are used by local communities for food, handicrafts and home building. In the afternoon, we visit the Yagua tribe, who teach us about the ways of their ancestors, and then stop by a local medical clinic and a library. In the evening we enjoy a presentation from Dr. Linnea Smith, a North American physician who moved to the region many years ago to begin a rural health clinic. We discuss ways we can teach students about the challenges of poverty in developing countries.
Day 6. Community Service Project
Today we visit a community school and conduct a community service project. Service projects might include school painting, building a community garden, working on a thatched hut, tree planting or building community awareness of environmental issues. All projects are conducted alongside community residents in partnership with a local nonprofit organization called CONAPAC (The Civil Association for Conservation of the Peruvian Amazon Environment). Through CONAPAC’s Adopt-A-School Program, the organization provides educational materials and supplies for schools in rural Amazonia. We revisit ways that we can use community service in the classroom as a means of student education. This evening is open.
Day 7. The City of Iquitos
This morning we pack up our things and say goodbye to the rainforest. In the afternoon, we head into the bustling city of Iquitos, where we have the opportunity to get to know a little bit about this historic and fascinating city and do some last minute shopping. We’ll take an evening stroll along the malecon and enjoy the night in a four star Iquitos hotel.
Day 8. Iquitos Market, Travel to Lima and leave for U.S.
This morning, we head out to visit a bustling marketplace and the floating city of Belen. We’ll see many of the products from the rainforest throughout the market. We discuss ways use discussions of the global marketplace to connect students to broader issues of social justice and environmental conservation. We head back on an evening flight to Lima and then onto the United States.
Day 9. Arrive Home.
OPTIONAL: Four day extension to Cusco and Machu Picchu. Please inquire for details if you are interested.
Preparatory Sessions (90 minutes per session)
Each session will require approximately 30 minutes of preparatory reading. Each participant must keep a journal throughout the experience. Depending on the composition and interests of the group, there may be optional 30 minute basic Spanish lessons after each session. The topics of the preparatory sessions are subject to change.
Session 1: Building Connections
An introduction to the program, our team and a discussion of how we experience change.
Session 2: Mucha Suerte
A quick introduction to some basic Spanish phrases that will help you while in Peru. Spanish teachers will meet separately for a discussion conducted in Spanish about the languages of Peru.
Session 3: Protected Areas Management & Sustainable Development
A discussion of conservation issues in the Amazon and an introduction to an interdisciplinary approach to analyzing complex problems with your students. We’ll draw parallels to complex conservation issues in Colorado.
Session 4: The Geography & History of Peru
An examination of everything from Peruvian natural history to politics and a discussion of how to use country case studies as a springboard for learning about social sciences, language and natural sciences.
Session 5: Shamans, Paiche & Chicha Morada
A discussion of the evolving cultures of the Peruvian Amazon and how we teach students to analyze and process what they learn through exposure to another culture.
Session 6: Building Good
A discussion of the principles of sound community service and responsible global citizenship and how we can integrate these concepts across disciplines.
Session 7: Ecotourism
What does it mean to travel in a culturally and ecologically sensitive way and how can we teach students about the impact of the footprints they leave behind. How do these very same principles apply to their lives back home.
Post-Trip Session (90 minutes)
Session 8: Bringing it Home
We share ways that teachers plan to (or already have) integrated the lessons they learned in Peru back into their classroom. Teachers with developed classroom lessons will share them with the group for discussion.