Rainforest Service Learning Experience

SIUE offers a course where students can spend fourteen days living and learning in Costa Rica at the Carara Biological Reserve a national park known for its tremendous biodiversity and is home to the endangered Scarlet Macaw, Ara macao and American  Crocodile.  This park  is right off of the Pacific Ocean.  This year some of the activities will be: an adventure park, a night of sea turtle egg rescue, a mangrove boat tour


Service projects involve maintenance of the interpretive trails and outreach to local schools and hosting a Project WET (Water Education for Teachers) teacher workshop for local school teachers.  A structured journal, final exam, and an educational project are other course requirements. Biology 590 Section TS1, 4 credit hour course

Course topics include:

• Language
•  Biodiversity and the environment, rainforest ecology
  
• Culture 
• Religion
• Poverty
• Regional immigration
• Globalization
• Government
• Trade
• Economic Development
• Environmental Education

There will be a fee of $1200 for the trip along with students’ regular tuition and fees. This is a four credit hour course.  There is a reduction in course fees for the course as it is a travel study course and not on campus.  If you are a major in the college of Arts and Sciences, there is often a 100 dollar stipend from this college to support your cost.

C lick here to view typical packing list. 

This is a great opportunity to make a difference and learn!  Knowledge of Spanish is helpful, but not required.  Students interested in this study experience must complete an application and be approved by the faculty members leading the experience.  This is a group, service learning experience, not a vacation and will be unlike many traditional study abroad experiences.