Blazing a Trail: Ecology and Conservation

---

This week, you’ll explore the untamed wilderness of northern Thailand. Our teachers and guides will help you understand the interplay among the species we see, and draw your attention to rare and interesting flora and fauna.

Violet and ivory orchids, Chinese flying squirrels, monkeys and macaques, and hundreds of exotic bird species are par for the course, while bigger species like Asiatic black bear and wild boar live here as well. Our local staff, wildlife tour guides with years of experience, show us the way to some of the most impressive emerald wilderness in the Kingdom.

---

Doi Suthep, a jungle preserve crowned by an impressively ornate golden temple, is only a short walk from our home in Chiang Mai. You’ll hike the monk trails to the temple and have a look at what flora and fauna are still thriving in Chiang Mai. The amazingly lush forest drips with butterflies and flowering trees.

Day trips allow us to explore even further. Doi Inthanon, only an hour away, is Thailand's most famous national park and features the highest elevation in the country. Its mountain habitats are home to thousands of species, including gibbons and tigers.

Exploring the Chiang Dao caves and rafting down the Mae Song River provide us with unique opportunities to see the varied ecology of Thailand.

---

This week is about biodiversity and how it affects the success of conservation projects. We journey through the various ecosystems of Northern Thailand, exploring reaches of the world rarely seen by human eyes.

Breaks in the rainforest for towering waterfalls, winding trails that display the entire forest down a mountain face, and other breathtaking views await. Your knowledge of the things you see first-hand will be enhanced by relevant readings and the knowledge of our faculty experts.

As a highlight, we trek through the rainforest, alongside the villages of the hilltribe people who call these jungles their home. On this trek we explore waterfalls, swim in naturally occurring hot springs, meet a hill tribe in need of our support, and sleep under the stars.

---

This week is full of visits to conservation efforts in the area, including a breeding sanctuary for tigers.

Over the week, students will have a chance to design their own conservation projects. By the time we leave for the jungle, they will have published or produced a piece of work that helps draw attention to or support a cause that they care about.