Soposo Village, Panama

December 29, 2009 - As the year is coming to an end, we at EcoAbroad are excited about 2010! Eight years of persistant struggling to provide a platform for students, administrators, program providers, and facilities a resource to bring sustainable travel to study abroad is happening.

I have spent the last 5 months working with Sustainable Travel International to develop a proposal to introduce options to create a more sustainable study abroad industry. This includes: educational and training materials; a carbon management program; eco-certification standards; service-learning assessments; and re-functioning the EcoAbroad website to list, rank, and promote sustainable study abroad programs, facilities, consortiums, and internships. This effort is a life's work and the feeling of accomplishment is quite satisfying...not only for personal reasons, but because if we can create real change in this one area of travel, we can initiate a meaningful impact at a global level.

We wish everyone a wonderful new year full of peace, love, and happiness.

August 15, 2009 - Just relocated our base of operations to Hood River, OR. What a wonderful place to immerse yourself - wind surfing, mountain biking, backpacking; Mt. Hood, Mt. Adams, the Columbia River and Portland are within 0-60 miles!

The reason for the move was to work with Sustainable Travel International to develop a strategy to refocus the current growth of international education (which at its very core is the act of traveling) and ensure greater sustainability in the industry.

More to come in the months ahead....

March 15, 2009

Abstract for presentation at University of Georgia Global Education Forum for the Globalization on Culture, Research, and Teaching; and the Northeastern Research Recreation Symposium:

The Abraham Lincoln Study Abroad Commission and the Paul Simon Study Abroad Foundation Act of 2009 propose to send one million US students to study abroad annually in one decade and promote study in developing countries. As scholars, practitioners, and students of natural and social sciences we realize the value of “international experiential learning” and its role in higher education. With such great attention being paid to its expansion, the question becomes: “How do we move forward and achieve the multiple goals of nurturing global citizens, ensuring sustainable development, and cultivating the technical skills to do so?” The objective of this conceptual analysis (paper forthcoming) is to propose the integration of community-based research to select study abroad programs to reach the aforementioned goals. Community-based research (CBR) is grounded in service-learning. Service-learning can be defined as a “teaching method that promotes student learning through active participation…directly related to course content…where the emphasis is on the student, his learning and social experience” (Bastidas, 2006). CBR goes further to emphasize community ownership and expects reciprocal benefits for students, faculty, institutions, and community needs. Review of relevant case studies and personal/professional experience in similar study abroad field studies verifies with strict consideration and minor modifications the CBR framework has proven successful and could be incorporated into many program structures to emphasize student growth, community development, and field-specific skills including: park and forest management, sustainable tourism development, sustainable agriculture, wildlife management, and conservation science.

Feb 14, 2009

EcoAbroad is the result of a 16 years of wandering throughout the wilderness areas of the US, and the coastlines and forests of Central America, Caribbean, and the South Pacific, searching for a tool to encourage travelers to reflect on their surroundings when in far away places, immersed in wild regions that have actually been inhabited for millennia. Having been trained in natural resource ecology and preservation, I was believer in nature for nature's sake. After living in Central America and witnessing the impact of "fortress conservation" and the marginalization of peoples who are dependent on land for agriculture and natural resources, a lightbulb in my head went off! Why are't these communities seen as the stewards of their ancestral land? They are the original caretakers and their ancient knowledge far outweighs our current understanding of "management" of these resources. Yes, of course there are conflicts surrounding the idea of community-based conservation, community-based natural resource management and ecotourism, but a large part of those problems are a result of colonization, poor national policy, and the lack of true inclusion of the disenfranchised people of rural areas. These problems are engrained in our psyche as well as indigenous peoples of the world. We must, as a global community, reflect on this and find NEW ways to accomplish our goals - that of biodiversity conservation, sustainable development, and social justice. Preservation and Development. Nature and Nurture. We need collaboration & consensus, expectations & education, and the tools necessary to adapt. And I feel one of the greatest tools is to make more people (students) aware via study abroad and educational travel...

me and jessie, Costa Rica