Short Term Programs

Join us as we study environmental science using the beautiful and diverse natural and cultural landscape of Peru as our textbook!  Peru's natural resources have long been the foundation of its economy, with biologically diverse forests, vast mineral deposits, fertile agricultural lands, and abundant marine life.  We will investigate how ancient and contemporary Peruvians interact with these resources, while simultaneously considering our own experience in California and how both locations are intertwined with global processes and global issues.  

We begin our exploration in Lima, Peru’s urban center, where we get a foundation in the cultural history of Peru and study current issues related to water, solid waste management, and climate change adaptation.  After Lima, we spend 4 days in the Andes, including time in Cuzco and a trip to Machu Picchu.  In the Andes, we will focus primarily on sustainable agriculture, ecotourism, water resources, and waste management.  During the last segment of the trip, we will settle into life in a small coastal fishing town, where we will work side by side with community members on ongoing projects related to reforestation, water treatment, and/or renewable energy.  The Peru trip is the final 2 weeks of an 8-week summer-session environmental science course.  We begin the course with 6 weeks of class in a hybrid online format with 2 or 3 in-person meetings, and then we embark on a 2 week adventure in Peru.