Study Abroad

This trip is 2 weeks of an 8-week summer-session environmental science course.  We begin the course with 5 weeks of class in a hybrid online format with 2 or 3 in-person meetings.  Then we embark on a 2 week adventure in Peru, followed by a few days (hybrid) back home to wrap up odds/ends.  Community participants on this trip are not required to complete the non-trip portion of the course, but there will be one or more pre-trip meetings to attend to meet your travel companions and iron-out trip details.

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, exploring resource management, pollution issues, and climate change adaptation.  After Lima, we spend 5 days in the Andes, mainly staying in Cuzco with a one-day trip to Machu Picchu.  In the Andes, we will focus primarily on ecotourism, water resources, and solid 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.

Community participants are welcome to enroll in one of the courses in the Study Abroad as pass/no pass.