Service Projects in the US: Service opportunities in Hawaii, Alaska and Yellowstone National Park
Wilderness Ventures, the oldest and most experienced adventure travel program for young people, offers domestic service trips that are designed to enable young people to obtain 40 to 80 hours of community service while simultaneously offering opportunities for fun, outdoor adventures, and personal growth. Volunteer travel has become a growing trend in the industry, and Wilderness Ventures’ programs offer young people the opportunity to lend a hand domestically while enjoying their peers and the great outdoors.
The small groups of 10-15 students with 2 leaders develop into close-knit intimate teams, while engaging in rewarding and challenging service projects in some of North America’s most breathtaking areas. The service groups spend their summer camping in one or two base camp settings and engage each day in rewarding service projects. Between service projects these groups are rewarded with outdoor adventure activities such as whitewater rafting, sea kayaking or hiking trips in these incredible areas. These trips are the learning experience of a lifetime which enables participants to make positive contributions to the environment and to local communities. Wilderness Ventures offers the following domestic service trips:
Hawaii Service Projects- Highlights of this trip include hiking the Island of Hawaii, sea kayaking the Kona Coast, exploring Kilauea Volcano, helping to build a house in Hilo, sailing and snorkeling the Hawaiian Coast, building trails in the Kona Hema Preserve, surfing the big island, and earning 40 hours of community service.
Alaska Service Trips-Highlights of this trip include volunteering at a salmon hatchery, hiking while rebuilding Alaska’s trails, discovering Alaska’s cultural heritage, Rafting at the Blanchard River, Experiencing Alaska by bush plane, sea kayaking near Humpback Whales, and earning 60 hours of community service.
Yellowstone/ Teton Service Adventures- This trip features highlights like helping to build the Continental Divide Trail, backpacking through Yellowstone, rock climbing in the Tetons, rafting the Snake River, sea kayaking on Yellowstone Lake, and earning 80 hours of community service.
Teenagers Make A Difference In One Costa Rican Valley
Wilderness Ventures, the oldest and most experienced adventure travel program for young people, offers domestic and international programs that teach teens valuable life lessons like a sense of environmental responsibility and new leadership skills. Their Service Adventure to Costa Rica’s Savegre Valley gives teenagers an opportunity to be immersed in the Costa Rican culture while participating in humanitarian projects and spending time in the great outdoors.
This Costa Rican community service exploration is an exciting combination of diverse adventure travel and stimulating cultural immersion in an unspoiled tropical paradise of pristine beaches, exotic wildlife, and a rainbow of colorful flowers and birds. Teens who participate earn 60 hours of community service while building a rural school in a cloud forest, teaching local school children English, and restoring nesting habitat for endangered sea turtles. Participants experience the beauty of this peaceful country by sea kayaking a palm-laden coastline, rafting a jungle river, and soaring through the forest on a zip line.
“Parents have let us know exactly how changed their students are when they arrive home,” said Gabby Kouchacji, a Service Program Coordinator with Wilderness Ventures. “A newfound sense of responsibility towards the environment coupled with a drive to help others from a different background comes from the time we spend serving the people and ecology of Costa Rica. Like any Wilderness Ventures expedition, the teens that participate in our program develop essential peer leadership and teamwork skills as a result of living with new friends for three weeks.”
For the service portions of the trip, teens stay in a remote village in the Savegre Valley at a campsite built exclusively for Wilderness Ventures. Whether they are playing soccer with young children or putting a much-needed ceiling on the school while practicing Spanish, their minds are challenged as they seek to understand a life that by American standards is much less privileged. In addition to interacting with the local communities, outdoor adventure is central to this experience. Teens will experience things like rafting for two days on the famous Pacuare River, lounging in natural hot springs, seeing a volcano up close and personal, and kayaking past flocks of scarlet macaws and howler monkeys.
“When teenagers engage in volunteer activities, they feel empowered and are inspired to change the world around them,” said Gabby Kouchacji. “For many young people, the pressures to succeed and be liked by their peers can often impair their motivation to grasp a broader view on their environment. Through cultural experiences like these, they are taught humility and compassion for others, and can be transformed into young adults with a drive to change the world.”
International Student Travel Opportunities
As Wilderness Ventures enters its 37th year of operation, the organization has successfully become the oldest and most experienced adventure travel program for young people. The organization was founded when owners Mike and Helen Cottingham led their initial group of ten young adults on an eight-week adventure throughout the Northern Rockies and the Pacific Northwest. Both have extensive experience in working with young adults. The enjoyment and satisfaction they gained from living in wilderness environments combined with their teaching experience prompted them to create Wilderness Ventures with the hope that many young men and women would be given an opportunity to have a similar experience.
“I have always wanted to see Europe for its awesome natural landscapes: the Alps, the Seine River, and so much more,” said Charlotte Corbo, who will be participating in the Southern Europe International Adventure in 2009. “I just wanted to see Europe by traveling on my own two feet and getting away from modern society for a bit to enjoy the natural gifts that are given to us for free---and without electricity.”
“While I’m on this International Adventure, I hope to learn more about different cultures in Europe. My grandfather was from Barcelona, so I really wanted to learn about the Catalonian culture and such. I just find it fascinating how diverse the cultures are over there”, said Charlotte Corbo. “In addition, I hope that when I am in this outdoor environment, I will gain a better appreciation for the environment and find more active ways to benefit it.”
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