The Collage Foundation: Travel

Getting Schooled in the Rainforest of Panama

By Ariana L. Wohl

'Save the Rainforest!' We've all heard the slogan, but how many of us know what it really means? What exactly should be saved -- where, why, and from what threats? How does the existence of some trees in the tropics affect - well - us? If you've ever wondered about these questions, then grab a backpack and some sunscreen and get ready to discover the answers. Conservation Research Education Action (CREA) offers hands-on adventure and science learning programs to quench your passion for the environment.

Based in Panama, CREA offers the ideal opportunity to explore the jungle, as well as the critical social questions it presents. The nonprofit's latest summer course, "Environmental Conservation and Sustainable Development," allows you to learn about important economic, environmental, and cultural issues while basking in the beauty of Panama. Known by locals as, la puente de las Americas, the country connects Central America, South America, and the Caribbean, bridging land and sea. Positioned along the sensitive Mesoamerican Biological Corridor, Panama's landscape offers breath-taking biodiversity. It boasts of at least 961 species of birds alone - and that's despite severe habitat loss due to deforestation. The amazing diversity extends beyond flora and fauna to the Panamanians themselves. The country's social fabric is a remarkable weave of indigenous populations, Spanish descendents, mestizos, people with Afro-Caribbean roots, and Chinese immigrants.

Panama's ecological and cultural richness is, however, sadly shadowed by rising levels of inequality. With one of the Americas' largest income gaps between rich and poor, the country is saddled with the acute needs to both develop the land and preserve the environment. CREA's course on sustainable development allows students to explore this real-life tension through a unique combination of experiential fieldwork and classroom learning.

Classes are taught by renowned experts and leaders in their fields, such as CREA Co-Director Dr. Michael Roy, an environmental and conservation biologist, and sociologist Dr. Olmedo Varela, who works as a consultant with the United Nations Development Program. Conducted in English, classes for international students are held in Panama City on Florida State University's campus.

CREA's field school site, Centro Madroño, is where the real fun happens. Situated in the Mamon’ River valley, the property includes a large organic garden, a series of little houses, known as casitas, and nearly 1,000 acres of rainforest. The site borders tightly on the Kuna Yala, a territory inhabited and governed by the Kuna Indians, with whom CREA also works. If you're partial to modern facilities, there's no need to stress. Madroño is equipped with two bathroom houses with showers drawing from pure, clean, natural springs. The campus has private compost toilets too.

Over the years, the Madroño area lands have been ripped and scarred by slash-and-burn agricultural practices. "The deforestation occurs mostly to create space for cattle grazing," says Dr. Roy, "but it has the unintended consequences of intensifying erosion, spreading animal waste pollution and compacting the soil." Despite these problems, local community members have found few other practical means to eek out their meager livings. During your time at Centro Madroño, you'll have the opportunity to meet and speak with local farmers and their families. You'll learn firsthand of their struggles and successes in this rugged tropical land firsthand, rather than by reading a dry textbook or hearing some paternalistic lecture. What's more, these revealing dialogues with campesinos often happen in the most informal settings-during dinner, or while singing and dancing together at evening social events.

The hottest way to learn about Panamanian ecology, as with its culture, is by experiencing it yourself. With CREA, you'll hike through rainforest with Dr. Roy at your side pointing out majestic tropical plants, sloths, tree frogs, howler monkeys, blue morpho butterflies, and a vast array of birds Move over Discovery Channel-this is the real deal! He'll also help you steer clear of poisonous snakes and jaguars - lest you get on his bad side. While in the field, students also have the opportunity to be part of the solution by conducting independent research or assisting with local conservation projects.

According to past participant Jeanette Bailey of New Jersey, "After a long day on the trail, there is nowhere else in the world quite like Centro Madroño. I was a little nervous before I left the city, but I felt completely enchanted once I arrived."

At Centro Madroño, you can savor a sweet papaya pulled straight from the garden as you gaze out over the thatched roofs of the casitas, watching the Chestnut Mandibled toucan loop across the pale blue sky. Or lay back in a hammock and let the perfume of cilantro and the sound of the wind rustling the roof fronds lull you to sleep. In this place, there is a peace rarely found anywhere else. Experience it for yourself.

Participation in the CREA program in Environmental Conservation and Sustainable Development (June 6-July 8) will earn you 6 college credits. The price runs $2950, including tuition, internal transportation, and housing. To find out more and apply, check out the CREA website: www.crea-panama.org.

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