Sian Ka'an Nature-Based Ecotourism and Conservation Activism

An exciting new course accredited through The Heritage Institute providing:
~ 4 Antioch University credits (undergraduate & graduate level) in Science
from a Social Studies perspective, in a collaboration of the disciplines.
~ 40 clock hours Professional Development Units (4) for educators.
This course provides an excellent opportunity for Spanish language immersion,
a particularly valuable experience for Spanish teachers of all grades.

View from roof of Cesiak Lodge looking south along the Boca Paila peninsula;
Caribbean Sea on left, Laguna Muyil on right in the Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve.

Path at Cesiak with tent cabins on left and Casa Redondo rental house (red roof) on right.
Caribbean Sea in right background; Laguna Muyil in left background.

We will consider the role of Conservation Science (science-based advocacy)
in educating tourists, promoting environmental protection, and securing
sustainability of a local economy rich with Mayan culture.

Dune vegetation restored after hurricane damage, and minimalist beach development
at Cesiak ecotourism and education center in Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve.

Our first day begins with an orientation session,
meeting each other and the staff at Cesiak, which serves as a model
for sustainable development in sensitive tropical ecosystems,
operating with ecologically responsible technologies, including systems
for wetlands wastewater management, rainwater catchment,
and power generation through wind and solar sources.

Minimal ecologically sensitive development at Cesiak in Sian Ka'an.

Experienced local guides will lead natural history investigations
including a hike into a cenote, a kayak paddle to mangrove islands,
and a launch excursion across a lagoon and up a remote river.
We will float back down a kilometer of crystal clear ancient Mayan canal
on our life jackets. From the boat we will witness a wide variety of birds,
fish, crocodiles, manatees, and peer into an underwater cenote.

Course instructor Susanna Bahaar kayaking to mangrove island.

Participants will have an opportunity to experience conservation volunteerism
through an afternoon Caribbean beach clean-up of washed-up debris,
while learning about how the impacts of industrial tourism
threaten sensitive coral reefs and sea turtle nesting grounds.

Instructor Susanna Bahaar immersed in beach clean-up service.

The human component of natural history will include how the Sian Ka’an
UNESCO Biosphere Reserve serves as a model for incorporating indigenous
fishing villages, small scale agriculture, and ecotourism as components
of ecological stewardship and environmental protection.
The local Maya will teach us some Mayan and we will explore
Mayan history at the beautiful coastal ruins of Tulum.

Ruins of ancient Tulum on coastal bluff above the Caribbean Sea.

This course is appropriate for science teachers of all grades who seek skills in
natural history observation, interpretation, conservation and field leadership.
Humanities teachers in Middle and High Schools will find this course
valuable for informing their teaching of reading, writing, history, and social
studies with perspectives from the ecological and environmental sciences.

Especially valuable to Spanish teachers of all grades, the Spanish Language
Immersion option is available to all participants who register for Antioch
University credits or Professional Development Units (PDU) through The
Heritage Institute. The SLI option will include opportunities to converse in
Spanish with Cesiak staff and excursion guides. With adequate number of
SLI participants, some excursions may be conducted in Spanish.
SLI participants will also have the opportunity to teach conversational
Spanish to other course participants. The SLI component will be facilitated
by Susanna Bahaar, a former Spanish teacher, and resident of Mexico
where she studied and taught university classes for several years.

ACADEMIC COMPONENT

At this time we are awaiting final Antioch University approval of the
official course syllabus. Participants will read from the on-line bibliography,
choosing selections to share as brief presentations during the course.
Written work will include a course journal, written notes for oral
presentations, a summary paper, an education lesson plan or
activism plan, and a feedback survey.
Extra written work and participation will be required for graduate credit.

Chant Thomas, MS, began teaching multiple subjects in a remote one-room
school, and brings over 20 years experience teaching natural history, sciences
and social studies at the university level. For over 35 years Chant has operated
a nature-based ecotourism business including a wilderness guide service
and retreat center at a historic trout farm in Oregon's Siskiyou Mountains.

Susanna Bahaar, MA, gained her fluency in Spanish while living, attending
and teaching university classes in Mexico for 5 years. She brings 20 years
teaching secondary Art and Spanish in the Medford (Oregon) School District,
and over 15 years operating nature-based ecotourism activities, classes, and
retreats at Birch Creek Arts and Ecology Center in southwest Oregon.

Course instructors Susanna Bahaar and Chant Thomas at the ruins of ancient Tulum.

Expect to learn and have a great time with an educational Spring Break:
Caribbean Nature-Based Ecotourism and Conservation Science.
Weather in late March typically features cool nights in the 60s and 70s,
sunny warm days in the 80s, and only slight chances of precipitation.
The coast can be quite windy, providing significant electric power.
Dawn arrives early, often punctuated with birdsong and the spectacle
of the sun rising out of the Caribbean Sea. The incessant sounds of waves
breaking on the beach seem even louder around dawn,
penetrating the tent cabins with a pulsating invitation to rise into the day.

Early morning presents a wonderful opportunity for quiet walks along the
beach before our busy days begin. The Cesiak restaurant opens by 7:30 to
serve delicious breakfast dishes and beverages. Choose from the sunrise deck
overlooking the Caribbean, the sunset deck overlooking the jungle and lagoon,
or sit in the dining room and still eat to the serenade of waves.

Most mornings, Susanna will lead optional yoga on the beach for
those participants who want to stretch and center into the day.

After breakfast we will meet, discuss the day, and be off on field trips,
excursions, or other activities until lunch. Afternoon activities will include
more excursions, presentations, discussions, and field work, including birding,
botanizing and checking out some of the local wildlife.

Evenings will feature optional conversational Spanish with Susanna,
and the traditional gathering of Cesiak guests and staff on the sunset decks
for fabulous dinners, drinks, camaraderie, and awesome sunsets.

Sunset begins to get exciting on the Cesiak restaurant deck overlooking lagoon.

Sian Ka'an sun setting beyond the lagoon from Cesiak deck.

Caribbean Nature-Based Ecotourism and Conservation Science
involves several variable costs that are detailed below. All costs except
instructional fees are beyond our control and may change without notice.
All costs and fees in Mexico are quoted in U.S. dollars (USD).

~ AIRFARE: Flights from Pacific Northwest cities transfer through
San Francisco or Los Angeles for connecting flights to Cancun. Approximate
fares as of 12/18/12: round trip from Seattle $665; from Portland $750;
from Medford $750. Fares generally are less expensive for flying Tuesday
through Thursday, and for night “red eye” flights (the quoted fares).
Flights become more expensive to book closer to the flight dates.

~ SHUTTLE from and to Cancun Airport:
The shuttle van service we use provides late model deluxe private vans for
approximately $130 one-way, $225 round trip non-stop to Cesiak.
Participants with similar arrival times can share a van and the cost. Other
shuttle services are available with greatly varying costs. Non-stop shuttles to
Cesiak (approx. 2-2.5 hours) are more expensive than shuttles that stop at
several locations along the Riviera Maya. Least expensive (allow 4-5 hours) are
the public busses that travel south from the airport along the Riviera Maya
Highway as far as Tulum Pueblo, where a private taxi must be hired for the
last leg down to Cesiak. Contact us for sharing a non-stop van to Cesiak.

~ lodging for 8 nights at Cesiak: Cesiak accommodations
consist primarily of rustic tent cabins under thatched-roof frames. Queen bed
cabins have greater views of the Caribbean; garden (jungle) view cabins have
one double and one single bed. Queens $120; doubles $100, double
occupancy. An extra person is $20; sharing a cabin may lower your lodging
costs. Cabins share common shower and toilet facilities. There is one deluxe
house available with one private bedroom with queen bed and private half
bath, another room with one double and one single bed, a futon in living room,
and a large hammock on upstairs balcony; full bathroom and small kitchen are
also in the house, which will have higher rates. Add 14% Mexico hotel tax to
all lodging.
Add tips for room maids.

~ meals at Cesiak restaurant, which easily accommodates
vegetarian and gluten-free diets and features local fish caught each morning.
Add 10% for tips. For three full meals, figure $30-70/day depending on what
you order and how much you eat!

~ Excursion fees for motor launch trip is $79. We are awaiting quotes
on the kayak trip and the field trip to Tulum ruins and cenotes. Add 10+% for
tips to guides.

~ Sian Ka’an Biosphere activity fees
currently run $4/person/day for excursions.

~ Dakubetede Environmental Education Programs
INSTRUCTION AND course fee, including and Heritage Institute fees
for clock hours (PDUs) and Antioch credits, is $450.

COURSE SYLLABUS
We are working with The Heritage Institute and Antioch University
toward final approval of the course syllabus, which contains
detailed information regarding the academic content.
We will post a link to the syllabus here as soon as it is finalized,
and will email a copy to all who have expressed an interest.

CESIAK ARRANGMENTS
We are working with the staff at Cesiak to obtain current quotes and details
regarding lodging and excursions. We will post the latest information here as
soon as it is finalized, and we will email to all who have expressed an interest.

YOUR NEXT STEPS
If you have a serious interest in joining us on the Maya Riviera Caribbean
coast for this course, contact us to let us know at <deep@deepwild.org> or by
phone at 541-899-6906. Contact your travel agent or slog through the internet
airfare sites (we can forward you to our excellent travel agent, well worth
avoiding the hassle on-line!) to research airfare availability.
If you have the time, you may want to spend a couple days
before &/or after the course in Tulum.

We need a minimum of 10 registered participants to qualify
for academic credit through The Heritage Institute.
We have until Sept. 15th to make firm reservations
for facilities and activities at Cesiak.
Without the minimum of 10 participants by Sept. 15th,
we will have to cancel the program.
To facilitate registration, we offer an audit option to spouses and
"significant others" of participants taking the course for credit.
Participants choosing to audit the course may still take part
in all activities, without a requirement to submit any written work.
The audit fee for Dakubetede Environmental Education Programs (DEEP)
is $300, compared to $450 for full academic credit.

Your place is waiting for you at Cesiak Ecologico Centro
Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve south of the Riviera Maya
on the Caribbean coast of the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico.

DEPOSITS AND REFUNDS
Participants must submit the $450 DEEP fee as a deposit to reserve their place
in the course. If we must cancel the course due to inadequate registrations,
the entire amount will be refunded. If we cancel due to causes beyond
our control, the deposit will be refunded minus a $50 processing charge.
If you cancel after we have received your deposit, you will receive a full refund
before Feb. 1st; a full refund minus a $50 processing charge from Feb. 1st ~
15th; 1/2 refund until March 1st; no refund of you cancel after March 1st.

All other costs associated with this program are assumed
by the individual participant, including airfare, ground transportation,
lodging, meals, and excursion fees.
Dakubetede Environmental Education Programs assumes no responsibility
for refunding any of these costs borne by individual participants
in the event of program cancellation for any reason.