day and time activities · case study of costa rican sustainability systems, projects and practice....

Sustainability Field-Research Course:

Case Study of Costa Rican Sustainability Systems, Projects and Practice.

Day and time Activities Academic Themes, Class Content and Topics for Site Visit Explorations

Sunday Arrival Arrival to Costa Rica Airport Pick up

Monday Day 1 SAN JOSE (B-L-D)

07:00 Breakfast with Host Family

09:00 Departure to City Tour San José History and Culture Context Building: The Exceptionality of Costa Rica in the Regional and Global Context.

12:00 City Tour Lunch

13:30– 14:30 Brief Orientation and campus

14:30-17:30 Introduction to each other and course overview.

Activities, assignments, and evaluations introduced.

Introduction to the tropical landscapes and Ecosystems. Introduction to Costa Rica.

Socio-economic and Ecological Features: General natural history, geography, biodiversity, demographics, economic development patterns and land-uses.

18:00 Shuttle service to homestay areas

18.30 Dinner with Host Family

Tuesday Day 2 CENTRAL VALLEY (B-L-D)


9:00-12:00 Introduction to Sustainable Development and Related Concepts and principles.

Sustainable Development defined. Costa Rica´s Advances and Limitations. Conservation History and Shifts Toward Sustainability

12:00 Lunch at VERITAS cafeteria

13:30-17:30 Site Visit: Hotels, schools and Institutions and certification processes and practice.

Public /Private partnerships for Sustainability: Introduction to the Certification for Sustainable Tourism and the Ecological Blue Flag - Part 1.

18:00 Shuttle service to homestay areas

18.30 Dinner with Host Family

Wednesday Day 3 CENTRAL VALLEY (B-L-D)


07:00 Leave for Site Visit: Cartago, Ujarras and Cachi Hydroelectric Dam

Environmental Impacts and industry, Climate Change- Crisis and Costa Rica. PLUS Introduction to Recycling and the Renewable Energy Matrix

12:00 Lunch in San Miguel de Tucurrique: Donde Doña Nela.

13:30-17:30 San Miguel de Tucurrique Village Hike and Coffee Plantation Visit

Coffee and rural economies, sustainability and coffee.



17.30 Meal in village or on route to SJO

19.30 Arrive at Host family (time to pack)

Thursday Day 4 MOUNTAINS OF TAPANTI /CERO DE LA MUERTE (B-L-D)


Pack for Field Research and Extended Site Visits and transfer to campus.

9:00-12:00 Departure to Site Visit and Volunteering at Las Vueltas Eco-Education and Eco-Farm Facility.

Introduction to Eco-Farm Systems and Products. Sustainable Farming Projects, Environmental Management and Authentic Ecotourism

12:00 Lunch at Las Vueltas

13:30-18:00 Primary/Montane forest and Paramo Hike. (On site at Las Vueltas Reserve)

Private Reserves, Biological Reserves, Biological Corridors

18:30 Dinner at Las Vueltas

19:30 Free Time/Early Night at Las Vueltas

Friday Day 5 (B-L-D)

04:30 Prepare for Sun-Rise Paramo Walk at Los Quetzales National Park

Paramo Protection , National Parks, and The Mesoamerican Biological Corridor.

07:30 Breakfast at Las Vueltas

09:00-12:00 Volunteering at Las Vueltas Possible: Vegetable garden work, fixing paths and trails, planting, cleaning stables, improving sustainable system (Depends on the needs of the working farm and eco-facility and will be decided on arrival)

12:30-14:00 Lunch at Las Vueltas

14:00- 18:00 Volunteering at Las Vueltas

18:30 Dinner at Las Vueltas

17:30 Night Hike Optional night hike.

Saturday Day 6 (B-L-D)

07:00 Breakfast at Las Vueltas

09:00 Leave Las Vueltas on route to Carara

12:00 Lunch Tarcoles – Crocodile Bridge Site Visit: Crocodile Bridge

River Biodiversity, Water Issues and Management and Crocodiles

14:00 -17.00 Site Visit: Carara National Park Guided tour with local guide. National Park Management. Tropical Dry Forest and Tropical Wet Forest Ecosystem Exploration. National Park System and Conservation Objectives.

18:00 Arrive at Hotel near Carara with CST Dinner at Hotel



Sunday Day 7 CENTRAL PACIFIC COAST (B-L-D)

07:00 Breakfast at Hotel

08:00-09:00 Breakfast talk and tour of CST Hotel environmental management system.

Certification I Sustainable Tourism – Part 2.

9.15 Leave for the Beach Site Visit: Playa mantas and Punta Leona Some free time at the beach and swimming.

Blue Flag Ecological Certification – Part 2. Critiquing the CST – Greenwashing, Punta Leona (the best and the worst of practice:)

13.30 Lunch in Tarcoles – Coop-Tarcoles

14:30-16:30 Site Visit: CoopeTarcoles Fishing Cooperative

Talk by local people and tour of Co-op fishing systems and objectives. Code of Responsible Fishing.

18.30 Dinner at Hotel

(free time possibly before and after dinner to swim at hotel)

Monday Day 8 (B-L-D)


09:30 Mystery tour (Buffer Zones and Arial Trams)

Exploring MBC Buffer Zones. Impacts of Mass Tourism. Sustainable Tourism

12:30 Lunch at Jaco

14:00- Free time to relax at Hotel and dinner at Hotel (Soft Ecotourism)

Mangroves and Environmental Impacts. Scarlet Macaws and Biological Corridors. Soft V´s Hard Ecotourism

Tuesday Day 9 GULF OF NICOYA (B-L-D)


7:00 Check-out

10:30 Ferry from Puntarenas to the Nicoya Peninsula

13:30 Lunch on the road

14:30-18:30 Site Visit and Stay: Agro ecological project in Nicoya. Green Campus, Environmental Education and Experiential Learning.

Presentation on Permaculture, turtle, marine protection by station staff Volunteer Activity Part 1 – Site tour and allocation of groups and tasks

18:30 Dinner at Station or nearby “soda”

Wednesday Day 10 NICOYA PENINSULA (B-L-D)

07:00 Breakfast together

08:00-12.30 Visit another Station: Sea Turtles, Sharks, Coastal Ecosystems and Communities

Walk through Ario Caleta refuge and Turtle nursery project. Lecture on ongoing research projects by Helen



13:00 Lunch at Cirenas

14:00-18:00 On Site Work and plan structuring exercise

Volunteer Activity part 2

19:00 Dinner Cirenas

Thursday Day 11 (B-L-D)

07:00 Breakfast Cirenas

08:30-12.30 On Site Project Work Activity Part 3 – After volunteering and getting to know the project and staff – recommendations and conclusions for improvement and future projects to be shared.

12:30 Lunch together

13:30 Departure for Monteverde

19:00 Dinner on route or in Monteverde. Discussion of project and volunteer work

Friday Day 12 MONTEVERDE (B-L-D)

07:00 Breakfast in Monteverde

08:00-12.00 Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve Exploration

Cloud Forests, Environmental Impacts and Sustainability.

12:30 Lunch

14:00-18:00 Site Visits CST Hotels: Hotel De Montaña El Establo, Poco a Poco Hotel and Spa, Country Lodge, Cala Lodge.

Exploration and Comparison of CST Hotels in Moneverde. Different levels and a variety of approaches.

18:30 Dinner in Monteverde

Stay at Dreams Lodge Monteverde

Saturday Day 13 (B-L-D)


07:00 Free time to rest and explore

12:00 Lunch in Monteverde

13:30- 18:00 CASEM Women´s Craft Cooperative

Eternal Children´s Rainforest Hike (Bajo de Tigre)

Gender and Sustainability.

Private Reserves, and Payments for Environmental Services.

Key species /bio-indicators and conservation

18:30 Dinner in Monteverde



19:30 Discussion and Briefing Preparation for the final leg of the Field Research and Objectives.

Sunday Day 14 GUANACASTE PROVINCE (B-L-D)


9:00 Leave for Liberia, Guanacaste

11:30 Lunch in Liberia (buy water for afternoon hike Volcano trails )

13:30-17:30 Site Visit: Volcanic Pools and National Park - Rincon de la Vieja National Park.

Exploration of Dry Forest Ecosystems, Sustainability and Geothermal Energy Issues

19:00 Dinner near/on route Bagaces Hotel

Monday Day 15 (B-L-D)

07:30 Breakfast at hotel in Bagaces

08:30-12:00 Site Visit: Bagaces Solar Energy Plant Renewable Energy Development, Solar Energy and Innovations for the Future.

13:00 Lunch on route to san Jose

Travel back to San Jose

18:00 Dinner on route and Hotel check-in

Tuesday Day 16 SAN JOSE (B-L)

07:30 Breakfast in Hotel

8:30 Transfer to Veritas Campus

09:00-12:00 FINAL CLASS AND DEBRIEFING

12:30 Farewell luncheon together

Free afternoon to pack and Visit Craft Market on your own

Dinner on your own

Wednesday Day 17 DEPARTURE BACK HOME

The Sustainability Field-Research Course: Case Study of Costa Rican Sustainability Systems, Projects and

Practice will consist of the following elements for exploration and analysis:

Sustainable Development and SDGs: Concepts, principles, practice, indicators and measurements.

The history and development of Environmental Education and Education for Sustainability

Soft and Hard Ecotourism. Ecotourism in practice and Green-washing tendencies.

Exploration of Paramo, Montane Forest, Cloud Forests, Tropical rainforests, Dry Forests, Mangrove

and Coastal Ecosystems.

Marine Issues and Research Initiatives (Sharks and Sea Turtles)

The Mesoamerican Biological Corridor System

Deforestation and Reforestation

Payments for Environmental Services



Sustainability Impacts and Innovations in Rural and Urban Costa Rica

Climate Crisis and renewable Energy Systems

Geothermal, Hydroelectric and Solar Energy Comparisons

Sustainable Farming Systems, (Introductions to silviculture, permaculture, agro-ecology, analog

forestry)

Sustainable food systems and Closed Cycle Systems

Community Participation and Grassroots Environmental Projects

Gender, Equity and Sustainability Issues

Conservation Models, Environmental Policy and Implementation

The Value of Volunteering – Learning Service

This is a fast-paced, dynamic field research course that will give the students the opportunity to study the

Costa Rica Sustainability experience at first hand and in-depth.

Students will be expected to be evaluating, comparing, discussing and suggesting recommendations in

relation to case study examples and site visit projects and practice. Students will keep a log-book of

activities, observations, definitions, descriptions and discussion of sustainability systems, environmental

issues, project case study and site visit material. They will record their findings every day and make

conclusions on the overall state and quality of sustainability (advances and limitations) in Costa Rica.

Please Note: Reading material will be supplied and assigned during the first few classes and be based on

relevant and up-to-date information in relation to the main themes of the field-research course.

Designed and Updated by: H. J. Temple PhDUniversidad Veritas

July 2019

For more information contact:Brookdale Faculty Leader: Juliette Goulet, [email protected] Education Center: 732-224-2799 | [email protected]

day and time activities · case study of costa rican sustainability systems, projects and practice....

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