This is our most delightful work to do for us, please follow us in this little story telling about our work as co-teachers with Mr. Kurt Heidinger, at this time it is a pleasure to announce we have students from University of Masachusets getting credits as Biocitizen´s Now Voyager Field Environmental Philosophy outdoor course.
This consists of a true expedition into Chilean central south coastal ecosystem, passing by the pristine creeks of the Coastal Range, any by the central valley facing straight into the Andes! The program theme is about: ¨following the path of water¨, we study using all of our senses into a deep-biotic immersion in each stage of our water steps, we get to experience the cold antarctic current flowing into northern subtropical seas just like a river, we play in the current because as Ricardo Rozzi says : ¨we learn by playing¨. A step into a native canyon without even tents get us to sleep outside like true explorers used to vivac centuries ago, and then we keep going into the andes following step by step into the snow.
Please watch this first expedition, and how it turns into a profound educational experience. from the raw inspiration of watching a Cóndor as a shepard of the mountain, to find the right logistics and educational content Mr. Heidinger knows well.
As we did back in 2016 with our first intern Emmet Lollis-Taylor, we keep learning how to make this program integral, with smooth transitions and that is our goal for Now Voyager 2018.
As a result of that expedition, we did many equations on how to develop an itinerary rich on outdoor classrooms, and this is how it turns into this program. It turns into a chain of interpretive opportunities, where we just merge one attractive spot with the next one.
It turns out many things went a lot better than we could have ever expected, like the initiative to release ourselves, Biocitizen, and Fundación Punta de Lobos in collaboration with Ilustre Municipalidad de Pichilemu. Now voyagers gathered months before to work in clay and porcelain, precious pieces of pendants and other handcrafted pieces to donate them to the uprising foundation. As an entertaining and community service we invited the visitors and students to clean the cliffs, great success. Nature wins. Who is nature? what is nature? what are we co-working to protect and value? Now Voyager Katherine Harrison knew it well snapping this great picture of the Pacific Ocean´s Humboldt Current uprising at Punta de Lobos.
Photo Credit: Katherine Harrison, Kath, the cat.
Reading neruda´s Bird Poems while watching birds make a complete bond between reading and a sensorial experience we can remember beyond rationality; its so many factors conspiring at the same time to make it sublime that we just sit there to enjoy watching this happening!
Girls buy very cheap pieces of art that is directly donated to the foundation, to keep this place as beautiful as it is, and restoring the areas under pressure. We gathered even with local fishermen leaders, they were quite impressed by our different but so-similar ways to fell in love with the sea, some of us collecting wild seeds to also donate them for the emblematic endangered and also endemic cactus called Echinopsis Bolligeriana, giving the name to the Swiss discoverer Sir. Thomas Bolliger.
Lots of fun overall, we actually got to give the local community a surprise in terms that many random people walked by, we got to really call their attention being forced to a cross-cultural exchange opportunity. Meeting the local artisans and working together made us all feel comfortable.
These beauties came by our professional photographer, Valentina Carvallo, they were actually very happy with their necklaces.
Kurt and Emmet´s team work pushing it to the limit of the edge. In terms of a beach cleanup, we had to obviously choose the sectors we could reach, having a focus in the cliff edges and the cactuses.
Girls and boys all having a blast in the water, to learn the current you have to be there, but how about a hot chai in the cold water? I made us all feel this way!
This is just a little piece of the footage we have, we want you to come, we want you to read our students journals, just like Brigit Ryan´s My Chilean Style Blog Post: “Night, snow and sand compose the shape of my slender homeland.” – Pablo Neruda.
Please watch, comment our posts ,follow our networks and share this beautiful images with your friends. It is time now to make our flight reservations and come to take a deep-biotic immersion with us!
In the meantime, take a deep biotic immersion on the internet Facebook album, since its already there… jejeje
Sign in to our Now Voyager 2018 program directly at Biocitizen website or vía contact us.