Almost Finished

My last semester of college is almost over and in a few weeks I will be a college graduate. I have to say this whole blogging experience was bittersweet. It was actually a lot more work than I thought it would be, and it was really a pain in the ass to remember to put it up every Monday, but I learned a lot.

This is my last blog for the Cat Scan, but now that I have figured out how to put links and pictures in, I think I am going to keep it up.

I am taking off to Italy and traveling for awhile and I plan to use my blog as a diary. I have learned a lot about online journalism and how popular blogs have become in the past few years to the journalism world.

Before taking this class, I really was not extremely concerned about the environment. I think I was like the majority of people who care when it is brought to their attention, but I really never worried about it afterwards. I have been writing and reporting about environmental issues and everything green everyday for a few months and now it's difficult not to think about what I do everyday in relation to the environment.

My blog has forced me to research endless study abroad opportunities that help the environment. Every week I would read about a new program overseas. Thailand,Africa, India, Brazil, all these places I have always wanted to go, and now I know about possible choices that would keep me safe, busy, and environmentally conscious while I am abroad. I think this will make me feel better, but more importantly my parents who are less then thrilled about my future travel plans.

For the record, I think my favorite program was the trip to India, which was organized by the Tucson zoo. I met Susan at the zoo and she told me all about the India trip, and other excursions she had personally taken. I kept thinking, "how do I get this woman's job!"

The next time you here from me I'll be in another country : )

Never Seen Thailand

Did you ever see that movie "The Beach" with Leonardo DiCaprio? Well that beautiful island is in Thailand and you could be heading that way. Sadly, you won't really be living on that secluded island, but do you remember the part in the beginning of the movie where Leo drinks the snake blood? That was in the bustling city of Bangkok, and that is where you will be spending your time in Thailand.

I found a program through the Volunteer Abroad Web site where you could spend up to 12 weeks in Thailand. The minimum duration would be one to two weeks if you cant take off three months.

During this program you will be participating in programs to develop medicinal plants and you will be working a lot with farmers. You will be working with seed distribution, learning and helping to prevent erosion, and working in the nurseries, basically everything you can do to help local farmers with crop development.

The nurseries that you will be working in are going to produce valuable seeds that will help with reforestation efforts. You will be working with other volunteers and the local village populations.

The Web site explains that this program is not "conventional" because it deals with complete "immersion." You will be working and living with th locals everyday and all day.

"There is no way that you cannot learn about a culture when you dedicate yourself to fitting in with the locals," said 23-year-old Benjamin Streeter, who has studied abroad in two different countries.

The program is looking for any volunteers over the age of 18. You can go with friends or family, and they accept people from all over the world. What I felt was unique about this program, is that when you arrive you tell them what you are interested in working with and they will try to fit you into a group that suits your interests.

The Web site calls it a "life challenging" experience. I think the longer you can stay the better, food and accommodation are taken care of.

Start Off the New Year in Australia

If you were thinking that you wanted to do something different to start your life in year 2008, maybe you should head to Australia!

There is an opportunity to spend two weeks in Queensland, Australia starting a week and a half after New Years Day working with adorable koalas. The current study offered by Global Vision International wants to find out about koalas and how we can keep their habitat healthy so we can keep them around for years to come.

During your stay you will be examining the different species of trees that are most likable to koalas. This is important because researchers need to know what kind of tree species are most important to the koalas' lifestyle.You will be doing a lot of observation at night.

According to the Global Vision International Web site, "very little research exists at present about nocturnal koala behaviors so this is a great opportunity to monitor first-hand these amazing creatures at night."

Along with studying the types of trees Koalas like to lounge in, you also need to find about what Koalas like to eat so we can make sure we keep that stuff around. I'm not going to lie this part is pretty gross because you will be collecting and analyzing the Koalas' droppings to figure out what they are mostly eating.

"I don't think I would have a problem with it," said 24-year-old Kyle Crick. "You're using solar showers with no electricity, I think Koala poo is the least of your worries. Crick has looked into the project while he was searching for camping sites.

The two weeks are going to be a bit rough for those of you who may not be into the outdoors. You will be sleeping in tents and eating by campfire. All the food is provided for you, but it is all vegan food, which means no animal products. The showers are warmed with the sun and electricy will not be readily available to volunteers.

As rough as that sounds, you will be learning about conservation, working closely with Koalas, taking tours, night walks, and the volunteer group is usually only five people. I think that is awesome because it forces you to get really close with you fellow volunteers.

"I think its good because you don't want to scare aways the animals and leave a massive dent," said Crick.

Crick explained that he would want to go but he does not know if he is physically fit enough for this journey.

"Volunteers must be in excellent physical condition. This landscape is extremely steep, and the local climate is rather difficult for first timers to acclimatise to, according to the Web site.

If you are physically fit, or you are planning on getting in shape before you head out, you will arrive the first day and start an intensive training program.

In the training sessions you will be learning about first aid procedures,snake bite treatments, adequate water intake and dehydration signs,collection of rainfall, collection of fecal matter, and training with nocturnal examination equipment.

Give Macaws a Merry Christmas

This expedition will take you down to South America in the Peruvian rainforest. The Macaws native to the area are the animals you will be examining. This is not just any old bird watching excursion with some binoculars, you will not only be hiking through the rainforest with experienced leaders, but also get to take a riverboat down stream.

This opportunity is unique in comparison to other travel abroad conservation programs for two reasons, one being that the trip dates are a few days before Christmas, and the second is that you will be a leader to the tourists rather than just being led by the experts.

I personally think that both of these unique aspects are essential to spread the idea of eco travel opportunities. I feel that there are a great deal of people that may not go home for Christmas, or maybe they wish to use their holiday time doing something different.

The experience is somewhat different when you become the expert leading people on the expedition, it proves how much you are learning and it is always a good resume add.

The dates are December 11 through the 22. December will not be a cold month in Peru, since it's seasons are opposite ours up here in the Northern hemisphere, so that's a plus, you could return with a tan.

The program is offered by Earthwatch, you can find information about other possible excursions on the Web site.

"You will observe scarlet, blue and gold, and red and green macaws at clay licks, and record their daily behavior and reactions to visiting tourists," according to the Web site.

You will be the observer and recorder of the birds' behavior, mostly the nesting rituals. You need to find out what kind of activity occurs within the nest, when the parents are present and when they are not, and what kinds of food are brought to the chicks by the mother.


The nesting rituals are important to preserve the natural Peruvian habitat for the Macaws, and to ensure that the impacts of ecotourism are minimal to the Macaws survival for many years to come.

The research site is called Puerto Maldonado, it is located amongst 50 meter tall trees and in this area hunting is forbidden. There are over 500 species of birds and an abundance of other species/vegetation like monkeys and giant herbs.