Project staff will cast nets into the water and wait for turtles to enter them.  Once the turtle is in the net, volunteers will help get the turtle safely and gently into the boat so they can measure, tag and collect data.  Once the studies are complete, the turtle is released back into the water.  Circumstances permitting, participants may be allowed to get back in the water with the turtles.  Participants can be assured they are contributing to a vital conservation effort with the turtle’s well being as the primary focus.

EcoTeach has partnered with WIDECAST, an international non-profit organization dedicated to sea turtle conservation in the Caribbean region.  WIDECAST encompasses the largest coalition of sea turtle scientists and conservationists in the world and is credited with ensuring that sea turtle projects are professionally managed and protected.  Little is known about the sea turtle population in this area and WIDECAST’s goal is to collect data about population structure, genetic origin, in-water habitat use and health status of the turtle population.  With the help of volunteers, researchers have already collected data on 150 turtles in this region.

Travelers will stay in Playa Blanca, located in the southern Pacific province of Puntarenas, and spend two days and three nights working at the project.  In addition to assisting on research boats, volunteers will work at the on-site turtle hospital, clean beaches and have time for hiking and exploring the area for macaws, monkeys, dolphins and humpback whales.

If you would like to participate in EcoTeach’s “Turtles in Water” project or would like more information about other community service projects in Costa Rica, please visit our web site at www.ecoteach.com.

During the day, explore the local canals for wildlife, hike in the surrounding rain forest or engage in an impromptu game of volleyball or soccer.  You might also participate in volunteer activities such as building a hatchery or cleaning the beach of debris to make it easier for sea turtles to nest or return to the ocean.

Don’t miss the opportunity to help this endangered species that dates back 250 million years.  EcoTeach has nine travel dates available from March – July, 2012 with prices starting at $999 land.  So grab your friends, colleagues or family members and be a part of what our travelers call “a mystical and life changing” experience.

This trip is open to travelers age 10 and over.  (Travelers age 10-17 must be accompanied by an adult.)

Click here to view details and travel dates available for EcoTeach’s 2012 sea turtle volunteer vacations.

What they didn’t anticipate was the disorganization, poor communication and unplanned meals – all strategically planned by EcoTeach Operations Manager, Pika Viquez.   Viquez incorporated “planned chaos” into the trip to see how the guides would react.   He orchestrated changes in the day’s itinerary without telling them, asked the local guiding company to show up late for activities and “forgot” to coordinate meals with the restaurants.

Viquez’s goal was to recreate many of the feelings and experiences that any traveler encounters when visiting a new place. “Our guides are used to being in control and knowing exactly what to expect. We wanted to take away their security and see how they would respond to the unexpected. We shared stories each evening and everyone agreed it was an amazing experience. They laughed hysterically when they found out that we planned a few problems along the way,” said Viquez.

During the expedition, EcoTeach guides also participated in “real life experiences,” a practice developed by Viquez, to encourage each guide to create his or her own connection with Nicaragua and the Nicaraguan people.  They chatted with local people on a ferry ride, tried their hand at horse corralling at a local farm and worked with artisans at a ceramic studio.   “Real life experiences are an integral part of any EcoTeach expedition and we wanted our guides to have the experience of being a traveler instead of a guide,” said Viquez.

EcoTeach guide training is an annual event attended by EcoTeach guides, staff and partners. Viquez has been running guide training for the past three years and focuses the training on continuing education, site visits, safety and fun and adventure.

Five minutes of listening to the news tells us that the world is now a global community. As such, the curriculum at our school, St. Paul’s School for Girls in Maryland, reflects a multi-cultural curriculum. Traveling with EcoTeach to Costa Rica provided the perfect hands-on activity to enhance the more traditional classroom experience.

During the middle-school years, our students study life science and earth science. In the classroom, the students have studied the biology of ecosystems, the development of evolution, and the notion of endangered species.

We often speak of an animal as being endangered, however, it has little meaning until one meets up with an endangered turtle personally. Our students were able to learn about the sea turtles from instructors who were knowledgeable and passionate about saving the turtles. Collecting and safeguarding the eggs of leatherback sea turtles provided an experience that will activate a lifelong commitment to preservation. What better way to make plate tectonics come alive than to see a mountain range on a convergent boundary and to climb an active volcano.

Visiting and learning about a variety of cultures is critical as our world becomes smaller. Visiting the BriBri indigenous community enabled the girls to respect the wisdom and lifestyle choices of people who have rejected the fast-paced, modern life with which they are so familiar. This knowledge will last the girls a lifetime.

During the EcoTeach adventure, each girl was challenged to grow and learn. Each developed a new sense of self and bonded with others in the group. They returned from Costa Rica enriched by their experiences.

Contributed by Lauren Davis & Margaret Green, Trip Leaders, St. Paul’s School for Girls 2011 Costa Rica expedition

Whether you’re considering leading a group of students to Costa Rica, are looking for amazing experiences to bring back to your classroom or just want a summer vacation filled with adventure, this is the trip for you.

Educators are welcome to bring a spouse, partner, or friend at the discounted rate. The trip cost includes: accommodations, meals, activities and entrance fees, local guide, and private transportation – basically everything!

For more information, visit our webpage at www.ecoteach.com/2011/educators/ or contact Stephanie Hall at 800-626-8992 x10 or via email at stephanie@ecoteach.com.

When travelers are not working side by side with researchers, they’ll experience Veragua’s 3,400 acres of tropical rainforest that offer breathtaking views of endless mountains, the world’s largest nocturnal-ambience frog habitat, wild flora and fauna, a zipline tour through the rainforest canopy and amazing waterfalls.

Veragua Rainforest Research & Adventure Park is located near the Caribbean town of Limon and was developed in 2004 by a group of local Costa Ricans. The park was born out of a passion for conservation and a desire to promote education and respect for the environment while introducing sustainable development opportunities to surrounding communities.

If this sounds like your type of learning adventure, visit us at www.ecoteach.com!

Tortuga Coffee works directly with Sol Colibri Coffee in Costa Rica to buy freshly roasted, organic & fair-trade certified coffee.  Sol Colibri Coffee represents hundreds of small, family-owned farms in the Dota region of Costa Rica and keeps all of the labor in their local community from growing to roasting to packaging.

Your group earns $4.00/12 oz. bag of coffee sold. Our easy-to-navigate website, www.tortugacoffee.com, was created to make ordering quick and easy.  Customers simply select your organization from a drop-down menu during the check-out process and your group earns credit for every bag of coffee sold in your group’s name.   Orders are shipped directly to the customer’s home or office.   No inventory, no distribution, no money handling.

To sign up for our fundraiser and learn more about the amazing work being done by Sol Colibri Coffee, contact us at 1-888-894-3603, ext. 10 or info@tortugacoffee.com.

The Huichol Sierra Madre itinerary offers a once in a lifetime opportunity to become completely immersed in an ancient indigenous culture- the Huichol.  Travel to the Sierra del Nayar and stay in cabins built by the community, volunteer at a local health clinic or school, fish with the Huichol, learn their crafts, experience their rituals and play a favorite sport – volleyball.   This itinerary is available year-round.

The Mayto Sea Turtle Camp itinerary is focused on conservation, culture and community service work.  At Mayto, the high season for nesting turtles is July-February – the months where Leatherbacks are not nesting at our Costa Rica projects – and offers a chance to a see a variety of sea turtles.  Spend four nights at the camp and participate in nightly beach patrols, work with the local staff biologist, explore the flora and fauna in the surrounding area, visit a bat cave and perhaps swim with turtles at a nearby beach.  After volunteering at the camp, spend several days in the small, coastal town of San Pancho, go on a jungle tour and participate in service work at the San Pancho cultural center.

Check out all of the details at:  www.ecoteach.com.

EcoTeach is excited to team up with Wild Travelers to share these wonderful Mexico itineraries with our travelers.  Wild Travelers was founded by leaders of several international wildlife and conservation organizations, such as Wildcoast (USA), Global Volunteer Projects (UK), Alexdinamo (MEX), Los Otros Mexicanos (MEX), E.C.O.  (USA), and Save the Rain Forest (USA.)  Wild Travelers has helped promote and enact several progressive environmental regulations that are already making a notable difference.

In conventional, non-organic banana plantations, growers cover the bananas with large blue plastic bags to ensure that the fruit ripens in a uniform way. When the bananas are ready to harvest, the bags are cut down and left on the ground while the bananas are taken to market.

Blue Banana Bags

When the rains inevitably follow, the blue bags are carried from the plantation through canals and to the sea. Bearing a strong resemblance to jellyfish, the sea turtles primary food source, the bags are often mistakenly ingested by turtles. Unable to digest the bags, the turtles die as a result of eating them.

Plastic in our oceans is not a problem only for sea turtles – virtually every marine aquatic and bird species has been harmed by some form of floating plastic in the ocean. Birds, whales, dolphins and fish have all been harmed and killed by inadvertently eating plastic debris.

What can we do to save the animals from death by plastic? We can minimize our use of plastic and avoid products that cannot be recycled. We can “pre-cycle” by selecting packaged foods that, instead of plastic, come in cardboard containers. We can choose wooden toys instead of plastic, use paper bags for groceries (or better yet, bring our own!), use refillable water bottles, and – of course – buy organic bananas.

Honestly, this is why we do what we do!

I have to take the bus to work very early in the morning and it is often full of other people on their way to work. Yesterday there was only standing room and I was glad to stand and hold onto the bars just like we did on the way back from visiting the Bri Bri tribe. I was so happy standing there because I was remembering being soaking wet, sun burned and full of a sense of adventure. Everyday I find something new that reminds me of our trip and I know the same happens to everyone else. From the trees that remind me of the jungle, to smells of fresh fruit or hearing Bob Marley and a million more things. I know that trip changed all of our lives. I still remember the day Marjie (teacher) came up to me and told me about it. I fell in love with Costa Rica and I know one day I will be back.

Pura Vida,
Megan
Scriber Lake H.S., Edmonds, WA

Megan will be working with the students at Scriber Lake H.S. to help them raise the funds needed for their trip to Costa Rica this year. Thank you Megan, and thank you to everyone else who has taken the time to tell us how traveling with EcoTeach has changed their world. And, while we’re at it we’d be remiss if we didn’t remind you that the EcoTeach “How Travel Has Changed Your World” Contest is going on now through the end of April. Write just 250 words or less about that topic and you could win $500 EcoTeach bucks or any of several other prizes. Your odds are great as we don’t have as many entries as we’d like (wink, wink) so please enter today! Check out the contest website at www.ecoteachcontest.com for more details.