Following off the back of January’s dry season Adventure Camp, we are happy to announce that we will have a wet season Adventure Camp in Cycle 8 (May to July). This promises to bring many more exciting elements to the table and gives students even more hands-on learning opportunities while enjoying our beautiful jungle habitat.
At the end of the last camp we were inundated with requests from parents and students to run another camp, as everyone had loved the experience so much. Parents commented that their kids came back ‘changed’ and wanted more. Students who initially thought that camping in Costa Rica was something that they would never want to do, requested that the camp be extended by the end of the 3-day journey. A student who had not camped before and was adamant they were ready to give up two-thirds of the way through the trek, ultimately completed the hike through sheer determination and the cheering support of other students who helped carry their load.
To be clear, taking 26 students, many of whom had never camped before, on a 3-day, 2-night trek, takes an immense amount of preparation and pre-knowledge to ensure that everyone is safe, gets pushed to their limits, and also has a great time. Costa Rica is unique in that we have very little public land to explore and utilise, so most journeys need to be mapped through private land, which can severely limit trek routing options. Given all this, it takes time and expertise to plan safely and locate sites that allow for a memorable experience.
Our overall goal for Adventure Camp is to reinforce with students how learning in the classroom translates to application in the real world. Oftentimes (and all around the world), students will ask ‘but why is this important’, or ‘will I even use this in future?’ when referring to learning mathematics, reading a novel, etc. We view the Jungle Camp experience as an ideal opportunity for students to easily make the connection between the value of learning and how this serves them when out in the woods (or jungle!) so to speak. This is in fact one of Jungle Academy’s primary philosophies: to give teens and tweens a safe space to practise what to do when they have to make choices for themselves. As always, teachers and guides are ever present to support and steer, but ultimately we learn best through personal experience, through our own trial and error. The consequences as directly chosen and experienced by us determines our future behaviour.
The venue and route we are planning is going to be spectacular and we're very excited to trek there.
For Cycle 8 we will mesh the next Adventure Camp into the normal week, with adjustments to the timetable to allow for wider participation.
We are big believers in preparation and believe that the 2 weeks invested in preparing students for the last trek was the reason no incidents were encountered when in the field. So, again, in Cycle 8, students will be required to take 3 classes held every week to qualify to attend the main three day trek.
These classes will be:
Camping Skills + Navigation
First Aid & Practical Emergency Response
Extreme Biology
Students will need to attend the classes that will be allocated to these hours every week for the full ten week Cycle:
(Tentative schedule)
Wednesday 3-4pm
Friday 8-11am
The 3-day, 2-night trek will leave Friday morning, July 14th and arrive back at Jungle Academy on Sunday evening, July 16th. During week 5, there will also be a full day trekking trip, no camping.
We look forward to seeing you all on our next adventure.
Amazing. Can’t wait for this. 😊 thanks guys!