Winter 2012 Trips
Alternative Winter Break (AWB) is in its fourth year and has expanded to become an integral part of the AB program. Winter break trips last 10 days - this year the dates are January 11-21, 2012.
The Haiti Compact
The Alternative Breaks (AB) program at the University of Maryland is a founding member of the Haiti Compact: Higher Ed with Haiti (www.haiticompact.org) along with Break Away (the national Alternative Breaks organization) and four other universities (American University, the College of William and Mary, Indiana University, and Loyola Marymount University). The primary goal of the Haiti Compact is to engage U.S. campuses in effective, responsible, and sustainable service work in and for post-earthquake Haiti through 2015, ensuring consistent and mutually beneficial support. The University of Maryland’s commitment to Haiti includes an AB trip to Haiti (upon University approval) combined with strong on-campus advocacy and academic engagement.
Andros, Bahamas: Promoting Eco-Tourism and Habitat Preservation through Environmental Conservation Our work will focus on maintaining and constructing infrastructure conducive to conservation of the ecosystems and landscapes of the island. Environmental conservation and management is crucial in the Bahamas because of the high number of tourists that visit the area each year. By building an infrastructure that protects the natural habitats, this encourages visitors to be mindful of the area and to help preserve it. We will be working outside, getting our hands dirty, and having a great time!
We will engage with the community and learn about the current issue of environmental conservation in the Bahamas and by having guest speakers teach us about the issues. We will also hopefully be in contact with the College of the Bahamas campus community during our first few days in Nassau to interact with some individuals there, potentially with students or faculty involved in the environmental management or environmental science program. This will provide a new perspective on the issue in terms of how native Bahamians view eco-tourism and conservation. We will be focusing on the same service project throughout the week, helping us to grow with the project and the organization we are working with. While on Andros, we will have some time to relax on the beaches and play with the local children while learning about Bahamian culture.
We will be working with the Bahamas National Trust, the Andros Conservancy and Trust, and the College of the Bahamas. We also hope to work with Bahamas Reef Environmental Education Foundation and possibly the Bahamas Sea Turtle Conservation Group.
Basic Trip Information and Resources: Location: Nassau and Andros, the Bahamas Dates of Trip: January 11-21, 2012 Student Trip Leaders: Emily Greiner (egreiner@terpmail.umd.edu) and Lindsey Rodkey (link to lmrodkey@umd.edu) Staff Advisor: TBD Cost: $1500 Cost Includes:flights, ground transportation, room and board, meals, and all activities.
Blue Springs State Park, Florida: Environment and Conservation The Blue Springs State Park has more than 2, 600 acres including the largest spring on the St. Johns River. This State Park is also, designated Manatee Refuge. It is home to various endangered plants and animals such as Curtis's milkweed, gopher tortoise and Florida scrub-jay. Environmental conservation is a hot topic in today's globalized world. In order to educate ourselves about the issues facing State Parks and the surrounding communities, we will be working as volunteers for the State Park in various capacities that could include building a trail, which will provide visitors with an opportunity to see and learn about rare plants and animals, assisting with re-planting, facilitating presentations on manatees given to local schools and participating in the morning manatee count. There is also the possible opportunity to collaborate with a few local Universities conducting research in the Park along with hikes, staff led talks and boat tours of the area.
Basic Trip Information and Resources: Location:Blue Springs State Park, Florida (near Orlando, FL) Dates of Trip: January 11-21, 2012 Student Trip Leaders: Kathryn Turner k_turner1988@yahoo.com and Josh Ronning jronning@umd.edu Staff Advisor: TBD Cost: $350 Cost Includes: flights, ground transportation, room and board, meals, and all activities.
Guatemala: Sustainable Community Development The Alternative Breaks trip to the Los Andes Nature Reserve in Guatemala will immerse students in the local community of Los Andes and allow them to participate, first-hand, in the sustainability efforts currently being practiced by the people of the reserve. When considering sustainable development as a social issue within the context of Los Andes, participants will be asked to observe keenly and openly how the reserve meets the needs of the local farmers and citizens in a cost-effective manner, with minimal negative environmental repercussions. Los Andes offers a variety of programs and services that are all conducted with environmental preservation as the moral prerogative. Coffee and tea processing stations produce goods that are C.A.F.E. practices certified through Starbucks. Agro-tourism is advocated for thoroughly to provide outsiders with the opportunity to witness the natural splendor and amazing biodiversity the reserve has to offer, while providing financial gains that help support the reserve economically.
By helping with these efforts, we hope that participants will view the importance of sustainable development not only through the lens of the local Guatemalans whose communities this is directly affecting, but also through the lens of the indirect players involved. If there is any lesson to be learned from this trip, it is that local, grassroots efforts to implement change in sustainability are absolutely essential to creating comparable changes globally. The actions and services in Los Andes provide a great example of what can be accomplished by a group of dedicated citizens who choose to not live off the land, but live with the land. We hope that, upon returning to the greater Washington D.C. area post-trip, participants will have a greater understanding of the connections between sustainability efforts on a micro level and how, with a little bit of extra care for the Earth we live on, such personal efforts can truly incite change on a global scale.
Basic Trip Information and Resources: Location: Reserva Los Andes www.andescloudforest.org on Volcano Atitlán, Guatemala Dates of Trip: January 11-21, 2012 Student Trip Leaders: Gerardo Benavides gbenavi1@umbc.edu and Josh Thompson jat2013@umd.edu Staff Advisor: TBD Cost: $1500 Cost Includes: flights, ground transportation, room and board, meals, and all activities.
Community, Conservation and an International Peace Park in Costa Rica & Panama Alternative Breaks is partnering with the CRS Outdoor Recreation Center to offer an expedition to the remote natural areas of Costa Rica and Panama. The trip will be based in and near the Parque Internacional La Amistad, a unique International Peace Park that unites the villages and people on the borders of Costa Rica and Panama.
Students will work with International Peace Parks Expeditions, a multi-disciplinary non-profit organization, (www.peaceparkexpeditions.org) to learn about the concept of a peace park and its role in promoting community development, conservation and responsible economic growth through agriculture and eco-tourism. While staying in the villages and working and hiking in the park, students will take on conservation projects as well as work in the communities in both Costa Rica and Panama. Specifically, students will be exposed to the sustainable and organic agricultural practices that are common in the area and learn about the fair trade market for products such as coffee and produce that American’s consume every day.
Program note: Students should be in moderate physical condition (able to hike 5 miles), share a love of being and working outdoors. No experience necessary, just a willingness to try.
Basic Trip Information and Resources: Location: International Peace Park in Costa Rica & Panama Dates of Trip: January 11-21, 2012 Student Trip Leaders: Claire Regan ( ccregan@terpmail.umd.edu) and Sara Edwards ( sedwards@terpmail.umd.edu). Staff Advisor: Amanda Even Cost: $2200 Cost Includes: flights, ground transportation, room and board, meals, and all activities
Gaston, NC: Rural Education We will be traveling to Gaston, North Carolina to learn more about our education system. Gaston is a small town near the Virginia border that has a population of only 895. We will address the specific issue of the achievement gap between students of low-income areas and those of high-income areas, identifying the root causes and discussing its impact on both the Gaston community and our local community. In Gaston, we will be working with a KIPP middle school as well as visiting regular public schools in the region. KIPP (Knowledge is Power Program) is a public charter school that serves low-income areas. KIPP schools nationwide have helped students catch up to peers and raise their test scores through unconventional means. Students at KIPP go to school from 7AM to 5PM on weekdays, two Saturdays each month, and three weeks of the summer. We will be partnering with this school to learn about what it takes to fill in the achievement gap on local, state, and federal levels.
Basic Trip Information and Resources: Location: Gaston, NC Dates of Trip: January 11-21, 2012 Student Trip Leaders: Pamela Barry pamelamarie14@gmail.com and Jeremy Krones jdkrones@gmail.com Staff Advisor: TBD Cost: $225 Cost Includes: transportation to/from/around site, room and board, meals, and all activities.
New Orleans, LA: Poverty, Racism and Disaster Relief New Orleans has been in the news many times in the past decade, usually due to the disastrous Hurricane Katrina. Although it has been nearly 6 years since the hurricane, evidence of its mass destruction is still evident throughout the city, especially within the Lower 9th Ward of New Orleans. Many individuals remain homeless since the disaster took place.
This Alternative Break trip aims to explore many elements of disaster relief. Specifically we hope to learn more about the effects of the disaster on the wealth disparity so evident within New Orleans today, the influence of the immediate media attention that the area received but since has died out, and the effects that experiencing a natural disaster can have on the mental health of individuals and on the racial environment of the city.
Throughout the trip, we will be working with numerous organizations on the rebuilding and reconstruction effort still present in New Orleans, as well as visiting organizations with numerous amenities offered to the public, such as health clinics, legal clinics, and community gardens within the different parishes of the city. In doing so, we will gain a better understanding of the wealth disparity between neighboring parishes, as well as how the disaster relief effort has affected many in various ways.
Basic Trip Information and Resources: Location: New Orleans, LA Dates of Trip: January 11-21, 2012 Student Trip Leaders: Ya Zhou ya.zhou102@gmail.com and Naina Soni nainasoni@hotmail.com Staff Advisor: TBD Cost: $600 Cost Includes: transportation to/from/around site, room and board, meals, and all activities.
Cuzco, Peru: Childhood Development and Poverty in an Indigenous Community Saturday, January 7 to Sunday, January 22, 2012
During this Alternative Break experience we will provide support to educational institutions that assist underprivileged children in an indigenous Quechua community with UBelong. Beyond the well-preserved Inca walls, a large percentage of the children in the city are forced into labor or left behind as their parents travel into the lowlands seeking employment. Abuse, illiteracy and neglect are common, and early childhood malnutrition affects over a quarter of the children in Cusco, most of who arrive from poverty-stricken Quechua communities. We will be involved in a care-giving and educational projects by supporting local initiatives targeted at providing disadvantaged children (ages 3 to 5 years old) emotional and social support. We will work at a center dedicated to the nutritional rehabilitation of malnourished children as well as assist teachers in creating more interactive and student-centered learning environments. Planned activities include a cultural and historical tour of the region including the Inca trail leading to Machu Picchu.
Basic Trip Information and Resources: Location:Cuzco, Peru Dates of Trip: January 8-22, 2012 (Subject to change) Student Trip Leaders:Ana Maia (amaia@umd.edu) and Lily Henderson (lvclark@umd.edu) Cost:$1950 Cost Includes: transportation to/from/around site, room and board, meals, and all activities.