CIEE Study Center Monteverde, Costa Rica

Course name: Conservation and Sustainability Internship Course number: INSH 3003 MTVE Programs offering course: Sustainability and the Environment Language of instruction: English U.S. Semester Credits: 3 Contact Hours: 45 (25 hours of seminar/lectures; 110 hours of field placement) Term: Spring 2018 Course meeting times: See schedule below Course meeting place: CIEE Study Center Professor: Karen L. Masters and Hector Castaneda

Contact Information: KMasters@ciee.org; hcastaneda@ciee.org 2645-7626

Office address: CIEE Study Center Office hours: By appointment

Course Description

As a student, this internship experience will help you to integrate environmental protection and sustainable development theory and practice in rural Costa Rica. You will be matched with a local business, non-governmental conservation organization, education center, farm, or community organization to help them to confront a “sustainability challenge” that they have identified. You may labor in any of these broad realms: agriculture horticulture sustainable landscaping, design, and building, solid waste or waste water management, environmental education or art, water resource management or protection, biodiversity conservation, or, small business development. You will visit organizations that are offering internships where you will learn about their mission and be introduced to the sustainability challenge that they seek to address. You will be matched with one of the organizations, conduct background research to learn about the broad context of the sustainability challenge, and then write a proposal formatted for the United Nations Global Environment Facility Small Grants Program promising specific deliverables. You will then labor on site for one month, carrying out the proposal and producing deliverables for the internship provider. You will later communicate your results in written reports and a blog post, as well as in an oral presentation to peers, homestay families, and community members.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this internship, a student will have:

1. The ability to write a grant proposal for the United Nations Global Environment Facility

(GEF), Small Grants Program (SGP) 2. The skills to write a final report for the GEF-SGP

3. Proficiency in preparing and delivering a symposium talk (partly or entirely in Spanish) for

the public

4. Experience in writing a blog post that is informative, as well as appropriate for and

engaging to, a broad audience of English speakers

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5. Expanded insight into real-life sustainability challenges in a rural community of a tropical,

developing country and realistic solutions for addressing these challenges

6. Experience in implementing solutions for real-life sustainability challenges, based upon

principles of sustainability

7. New skills and knowledge, possibly including: construction practices related to sustainable

building materials and natural resource management; design and landscape practices

related to horticulture and agriculture; the use of GPS/GIS; biological monitoring

techniques and biological or sociological research methods and statistical analyses;

pedagogy and development of educational materials; methods and media in art, film

making, and building websites 8. Enhanced commitment to being an agent of positive change

Course Prerequisites

No prerequisites.

Methods of Instruction This course is taught with a combination of methods that differ based on a 3-part sequence of activities and goals. It includes site visits to internship providers or relevant locations, workshops on proposal writing, report writing, public speaking, and well as a workshop on how to make effective PowerPoint presentations. It also includes a large experiential learning phase during when you are on site, laboring to produce the deliverables that will help your organization overcome their sustainability challenge. During this phase, you are learning the relevant skills and acquiring the needed information in highly individualistic ways, dependent upon the particulars of your internship but always under the mentorship of a daily supervisor and an academic supervisor. Part 1: Internship introductions, pre-proposal-, and proposal-writing (12 seminar hours) As a student, you will select your internships based on site visits to possible internship placements. You will meet with representatives of internship organizations or businesses to discuss potential assignments. You will write a pre-proposal that ranks ALL of the internship choices (1 = highest), and includes one paragraph justifying your TOP THREE. Once you have been given approval, you will then write a proposal formatted for the Small Grants Program (SGP) of the United Nation Global Environment Facility (UN-GEF). You will attend seminars and workshops on how to write UN-GEF proposal, and follow guidelines for content and format. You will be assigned an academic advisor who, along with a daily supervisor, will meet with you to orient you to the expectations associated with the placement. This phase includes 12 instructional contact hours. Part 2: Internships On-site (110 field placement hours + 4 seminar hours) You will spend a total of 110 hours on site at the internship during a four-week period. You should be ready to work from 8:30 AM - 1:30 PM (take a 30-minute lunch break). You should take photos of your progress to show at the weekly meetings and use in your eventual reports. At weekly meetings, you and your academic advisors will decide on the next week’s goals. Your progress toward reaching those goals will be assessed at Weekly Review Sessions and counted

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toward your grade. Your grade will also be impacted by how well you summarize your daily activities in your Daily Log, which you will show on Friday meeting. At the end of this on-site period, you will hand in your internship “products” (“deliverables”; explained in each internship description). During this period, you will also write a blog post that describes, to a broad audience, the significance of this internship to you (personally and professionally) as well as how it helped to overcome a sustainability challenge. You will use photos that you have taken and write 500 words on your experience. See “Blog Post”, below. This on-site period should be used to the fullest. This period includes 110 hours on site and 4 hours of seminar. Part 3: Post-internship Synthesis and Reports (9 seminar hours) In the last phase, you will (a) write 2 drafts of a final report, and (b) prepare and deliver a PowerPoint presentation for the symposium aimed at the community of Monteverde.

The final, public symposium summarizes your internship. Each talk is 8 minutes of speaking. You will deliver your talk to the Monteverde community (including your homestay family and representatives from the internship provider), with a summary in Spanish. (If possible, you can include more written or spoken Spanish). See “Symposium”, below. Additionally, you will attend writing workshops. You will submit two drafts of a written report, i.e., a first and final submission, both in English, in which you describe the socioeconomic, cultural, and environmental context and significance of your internship, and how final project advanced the goals of the organization and sustainability. This phase includes 9 instructional contact hours.

Assessment and Final Grade

1. UN-GEF Proposal (and pre-proposal) 10% 2. Daily logs and photos (show in Weekly Reviews) 5% 3. Quality of performance/product at internship 25% 4. Project cleanup, product(s) storage/donation 10% 5. Blog post 5% 6. Final oral presentation 20% 7. Final report, first draft 15% 8. Final report, second draft 10% Course Assignments 1. Proposal and pre-proposal: See the United Nations Global Environment Facility Small Grants Program guidelines for Costa Rica. See “Course Assignments: Pre-proposal”; Course Assignments: Proposal”, and “Proposal Grading Criteria”, below, in this Internship Booklet. See “Tips for Writing”, also below (pg. 21). 2. Daily logs and photos: Daily logs sheets are included in this Internship Booklet. You must show logs and photos taken at each of the Weekly Review Sessions. Include how well you

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achieved the previous week’s goals. List goals for the next week. Goals are determined with your daily and academic supervisors’ input. 3. Quality of performance and product: The daily supervisor and the academic supervisor will consult to determine points earned. Grading criteria will include the intern’s attendance, attitude, motivation, level of responsibility, diligence, timeliness in completing tasks, response to criticism and suggestions, overall effort, overall commitment, resourcefulness, creativity, accuracy of information, appropriate data analysis and interpretation, communication skills, quality of workmanship, interpersonal skills, and other indicators. 4. Project cleanup, product(s) storage/delivery/donation: The daily supervisor and the academic supervisor will consult to determine points earned. We will consider whether you have cleaned, returned, replaced all equipment and materials used in a timely and responsible way. We will consider whether your final products were delivered, stored, or used as appropriate for the particulars of the internship.

5. Blog Post: This is a 500-word essay aimed at a general audience, but possibly including prospective employers, that describes (a) the focus of your internship; (b) your personal and professional interest in the internship; (c) skills and knowledge that you have acquired; ((d) what you feel are your greatest contributions or accomplishments in this internship. You should submit a minimum of two relevant, good quality photos to accompany this. 6. Final oral presentation: See “Guidelines for Final Symposium”, below. 7. Final report, first draft: This is worth more points than the second draft because we expect it to be as good as a final draft. Make it as polished and ready for publication as you can. Follow “Tips for Writing” (pg. 21) and “Written Report Content and Guidelines”, below. 8. Final report, second draft: We will compare the comments and suggestions made by the academic supervisor on the first draft to the corrections that the student makes for the second draft. The final number of points considers overall quality in addition to how well the suggestions and comments on the first draft were addressed. As usual, follow “Tips for Writing” (pg. 21) and “Written Report Content and Guidelines”, below.

Attendance and Class Participation You are required to attend all of the classes and site visits (Part 1). Likewise, you should be prepared and present for weekly review sessions, and you are expected to work diligently during all 110 hours of Part 2 (On-Site Period). If you miss a site visit during Part 1 you will not be eligible to choose one of those internship offerings. If you have unauthorized absences, your points earned under “Quality of performance and product” will be reduced.

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Weekly Schedule: See the Google calendar and the hardcopy for up-to-date information!

Week 1 Program Orientation and Field Trip #1 Week 2 Part 1: Introduction to the course Week 3 Internship Visits and Introductions Internship Pre-Proposals Due Internship Proposals Assigned Week 4 Internship Proposals Due Field Trip #2 starts Week 5 Field Trip #2 Weeks 6-9 Part 2: On-site internship period Due (last Friday of week 9): Final Products; Blog Post + photos Week 10 Part 3: Post-internship synthesis and reports period

Seminar and Workshops: How to write a final report Due: First draft of internship report

Weeks 12-13 Field Trip #3; no internship classes, activities, or assignments

Weeks 14-15 Part 3 (continued): Post-internship synthesis and reports period

Preparation for symposium First drafts handed back for corrections

Seminar and Workshops: Preparing for the symposium presentation Due: Final drafts; Symposium presentation Readings

Required readings are assigned on an internship-by-internship basis. All students should become familiar with Sustainability and Environment Course Books, which have former interns’ final written reports.

Course Assignments: Pre-proposal

Length: One list of all internships, ranked. One paragraph for each of your top 3 choices. See and follow “Tips for writing” (below), pg. 19 Format and contents:

Name Date 1. A list of ALL of the internships in order of your preference (#1 = top choice). 2. For EACH OF YOUR TOP 3, write a paragraph for why you choose them. (HINT – Though not gauranteed, your clear and concise explanations improve your odds of obtaining one of your top three.)

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Course Assignments: Proposal

You will write a proposal to the Small Grants Program of the United Nations Global Environment Facility. Please follow the format specified in this modified version of the proposal guidelines. It mainly differs from the original by the exclusion of budget specifics, legal status of organizations involved, and the inclusion of a Literature Cited section. Read below the instructions that the UNDP-GEF provides (with our modifications). Use the url’s included to locate relevant information from the Small Grants Program for Costa Rica.

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FORMAT

PROJECT PROPOSAL OPV

The project proposal is the first step in the application process to receive support from the Small Grants Program (SGP) from the Global Environment Facility (GEF). Sections I through VII should not exceed three pages. Eligible initiatives:

Project proposals must be submitted by a legally registered organization, which must provide documentation of status.

Initiatives must be located in one of the following priority areas identified for Phase V of the Program (Biological Corridors and Buffer Zones of Protected Areas):

Protected Areas Biological Corridors

Reserva de la Biosfera La Amistad Talamanca Caribe

Parque Nacional Chirripó Cordillera Volcánica Central-Talamanca

Parque Nacional Tapanti-Macizo de la Muerte Montes del Aguacate (Incluye Cuenca del Jesús María)

Palo Verde Amistosa

Braulio Carrillo Paso de la Danta

Corcovado Paso de las Lapas

Área Conservación Guanacaste Chorotega/Diria

Barra del Colorado San Juan-La Selva

Bosque Eternos de Los Niños Pájaro Campana

Reserva Biológica del Bosque Nuboso de Monteverde Colorado Tortuguero

Ruta Los Malekus

Paso del Mono Aullador

Proposals must align with one of the three GEF focal areas of the PPD-Costa Rica: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Land Degradation.

Must have identified co-financing (1/1) in kind or cash.

Must be coordinated with regional activities, and contribute the objectives of the program nationwide.

The maximum amount to be financed by the PPD is $20,000.

Items such as salaries, purchase of vehicles, purchase of land, should be seen as co-financing.

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I. General Information:

Project title: Date of Submission: Organization: CIEE-MV Location: Monteverde, Costa Rica Contact Person: YOUR NAME Contact Information: YOUR EMAIL Partner Organization: INTERNSHIP ORGANIZATION OR SUPERVISOR Contact Person: SUPERVISOR/S NAME/S Contact Information: SUPERVISOR/S EMAIL

Indicate the GEF Focal Area that applies to your project. (See web pages or Annex 2, below, to choose the appropriate focal area.)

1. Biodiversity https://sgp.undp.org/index.php?option=com_areaofwork&view=summary&Itemid=237

2. Climate Change https://sgp.undp.org/index.php?option=com_areaofwork&view=summary&Itemid=243 https://sgp.undp.org/index.php?option=com_areaofwork&view=summary&Itemid=244

3. Land Degradation https://sgp.undp.org/index.php?option=com_areaofwork&view=summary&Itemid=242

Identify one or more of the following themes that apply to your project:

1. Biological Corridors 2. Rural Tourism 3. Sustainable Agriculture 4. Fire Management 5. Indigenous Territories 6. Renewable Energy 7. Energy Efficiency 8. Environmental Education 9. Waste Management

II. Project Summary: This should read like an ABSTRACT of your proposal. Provide a brief summary (1-2 paragraphs) of the project, which describes in general terms and goals of the project, how it is going to achieve the objectives of the PPD-Costa Rica. For understanding the objectives of PPD-Costa Rica, please study

this page: http://www.pequenasdonacionescr.org/es/programa-global-y-nacional III. Organization Information: Describe the organization or collaborator that will be assisting you in your project. Or, describe the benefitting community that you are working to help.

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IV. Project Justification: Give essential background that allows the reader to understand the importance of this work. Start broad and narrow the focus as you hone in on Costa Rica and Monteverde. Describe the relevant environmental problems or sustainability challenges existing in the community or region, and how the project will focus on the problems identified. Describe how the results of this work will contribute to their solution or mitigation. Describe the effective participation of the community in the project. V. General Project Objective: Briefly, you should say what you will do, how you will do it and what the outcome would be. To do this, you should refer as directly as possible to the priorities set out in the "National Strategy of the GEF /

SGP 2011-2014". See: http://www.pequenasdonacionescr.org/es/programa-global-y-nacional It is essential that you read and understand these priorities and ensure that the proposal meets or contributes to their achievement. Proposals that do not meet the priorities and criteria, regardless of merit, will not be financed by the Small Grants Program GEF. VI. Logical Framework: This is a tool to strengthen the design, implementation and evaluation of the project. It should give structure to the planning process and it communicates essential project information. It consists of a matrix (table) of information that describes the objectives, desired outcomes (results), how the impacts of outcomes will be measured, and the activities that you will are carried out. Matrix components: 1. Specific objectives. Try to answer: What? What for? How? When? 2. Main Results. Describe the results or goals to be achieved with the project. 3. Impact indicators. How will you (or others) measure the impact that your project has? 4. Main Activities. Identify the major activities that will be conducted during the project and how

that will lead to achieving the project results.

Specific Objectives of the project

Main Results

Impact Indicators Main activities

Specific objective 1 Result 1.1

Result 1.2

Specific objective 2 Result 2.1

Result 2.2

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VII. Literature cited: Include at least three peer-reviewed journal articles used in the project summary. You should make use of the CIEE course books, which have previous internship reports as well (these do not count as one of the 3 peer-reviewed articles.) Articles should be cited using APA formatting. Instructions for APA formatting can be found on: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/10/

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ANNEX 2 Objectives and possible activities in PPD Projects eligible for the GEF-V

Focal Areas Eligible Activities

Biodiversity: Community-based actions contribute to the conservation and sustainable use of Biodiversity: in productive landscapes to reduce fragmentation of habitat in biological corridors and protected areas priority.

• Efforts to protect forests by PSA, or other incentive, natural regeneration, reforestation. • Strengthening of local councils as a biological corridor, development of strategic plans. • Conservation and protection of sites of important natural - - habitats through initiatives aimed at the creation, management and reserve management or community forests, etc. • Environmental education and public awareness. • Development of sustainable productive alternatives such as rural tourism, organic farming, integrated farm management, organic beekeeping, medicinal plants, handicrafts. • Inventories conducted by the community (participatory research) of forest biodiversity and traditional knowledge-sustainable use of such resources. • Protection and conservation of water resources by strengthening roast and environmental education.

Climate Change: Reducing emissions of greenhouse gases and maintenance of carbon sinks through community-based actions.

• replicable demonstration projects at community or regional level and appropriate renewable technologies: solar pumps for water purification and irrigation, solar energy for cooking, heating water, drying grain, low emission technologies for the processing of coffee and other grains. • Using photovoltaics in areas without conventional network. • Establishment of biodigesters. • use of low-emission technologies of greenhouse gases, and energy efficiency in rural tourism projects. • innovative credit lines for small-scale investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy (production processes). • Strengthening forest fire brigades (training and equipment). • Environmental education activities to reduce forest fires. • Reforestation, natural regeneration and forest management (restoration of forest cover) in AP and CB with fire incidence)

Land Degradation: Conservation of productive land and the recovery of degraded lands contribute to sustainability and improving local living conditions.

• Development of sustainable productive alternatives such as rural tourism, organic farming, integrated farm management, organic beekeeping, medicinal plants, handicrafts. • Establishment of agroforestry systems, forestry and reforestation. • Projects that promote research and development of studies for the definition of watershed management strategies. • Development of training activities for watershed management. • Protection and conservation of water resources by strengthening environmental education and awareness.

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Example of a UNDP Small Grants Proposal I. General Information Project Title: Creating Wildlife Passages in Monteverde, Costa Rica Date of Submission: 22 February 2018 Organization: Council on International Educational Exchange-Monteverde, LTDA. (CIEE-MV, LTDA.) Location: Monteverde, Costa Rica Contact Person: Karen Masters Contact Person’s e-mail: kmasters@ciee.org Partner Organization: Tropical Science Center (TSC) Contact Person: Jane Peabody Contact Information: jpeabody@tsc.org GEF Focal Area: Biodiversity GEF Focal Theme: Biological corridors II. Project Summary This project seeks to mitigate specific negative impacts that habitat fragmentation has on tropical wildlife, namely, increased risk of harm due to disruption of movement patterns. In tropical nations undergoing rapid development and expansion of infrastructure, these impacts can be especially impactful for global biodiversity, since tropical forests harbor as much as 50% of the world’s biodiversity. When forest fragments are formed, the spaces between them widens and sometimes prevents safe passage for animals that need to seek food or other resources in multiple habitat patches. While this is impactful for many taxa of terrestrial and arboreal animals, the focus of this project is on arboreal mammals that typically use the forest canopy for transit (and possibly other purposes). The goals of this project include the construction and installation of an arboreal wildlife passage in key areas previously identified as heavily used by arboreal mammals as transit points. A second goal is to construct and install informative signs, as a means of communicating to the general public about the project and acquire support through increased awareness. This project addresses several of the main areas of interest for GEF of the PDD-Costa Rica specifically. First, it focuses on protecting biodiversity from habitat fragmentation in a vulnerable, high-biodiversity region. The Monteverde cloud forests and its species are particularly threatened by climate change since many of them require to migrate from lower to higher altitudes depending on the fruiting season of native trees. Fragmentation severely hinders this migration making these habitats less resilient to climate change. Besides physically helping consolidate biological corridors, the project seeks to involve the local community through education to create an environmental conscience as well as to strengthen their relation with conservation organizations in the region. III. Organization Information The Tropical Science Center (TSC) is a non-profit organization that manages multiple private protected areas in Costa Rica, including the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve. The mission of the TSC is “to acquire and apply knowledge that pertains to man’s lasting relationship with the biological and physical resources of the tropics” (http://www.reservamonteverde.com/cct-english.html). Scientific

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research, community outreach, and management of protected areas are the principal activities that the TSC uses to achieve its mission. IV. Project Justification

Recent studies indicate that populations of wild animals have declined by 50% over the last 40 years, largely due to outright habitat destruction (World Wildlife Fund, 2014). Habitat loss is further exacerbated when the remaining suitable habitat is not contiguous but fragmented. In these situations, parcels of remaining habitat sit like tiny islands among a sea of unsuitable, transformed land (the matrix). If these “pseudo-islands” are not large enough, they may not supply basic needs (food, shelter, mates) for wildlife, and individuals may migrate to another “pseudo-island”. For certain species, crossing the matrix can be dangerous or unfeasible, due to higher risks of desiccation and predation. Canopy dwelling species that must leave the safety of the trees to cross the matrix may be particularly hard hit.

Prior to the 20th century, Costa Rica had extensive forest coverage; however, from 1960 to 1990, rapid deforestation caused the loss of almost 75% of standing forest (Brockett and Gottfried, 2002). This left about 25%, scattered across fragments of various sizes throughout the country (Brockett and Gottfried, 2002). Although Costa Rica has since invested heavily in biological conservation by creating reserves and national parks and has incentivized the creation of biological corridors (Brockett and Gottfried, 2002), fragmentation on small scales still presents threats. For instance, roads represent small but highly impactful gaps because of the danger that motorized vehicles represent. This is true for terrestrial animals, but also for arboreal animals, who must go to the ground, where they may encounter terrestrial predators to which they are not adapted.

In some cases, the risks can be reduced by providing a “bridge” from one canopy tree to another across the road. These “bridges”, often called wildlife passages, may be as simple as a taut cable or rope. Studies in have shown that these wildlife passages can be effective in allowing animals to cross roads safely (deVries, 2013; Goosem et al., 2006). In Costa Rica, there is increasing awareness of the value of these bridges and there is more experimentation with their use (e.g., deVries, 2013).

One location in Costa Rica, where there is both tremendous biodiversity as well as a growing risk of road-related wildlife accidents, is Monteverde. This mountain town is surrounded by large areas of natural habitat, including large, privately protected forests, that attract upwards of 200,000 tourists each year (Davis 2009). As a consequence, there is motorized traffic through the area, potentially creating conflicts between cars and wildlife. This provides the perfect setting to implement wildlife passages to help mitigate conflicts. The proposed project aims to increase the connectivity of these patches for arboreal mammals by installing a wildlife passage, in potential locations identified by previous research (Sinsheimer, 2013). In addition, an informative sign will be placed near the passage to increase awareness and build support for future wildlife passages in the area. V. General Project Objective In collaboration with the Tropical Science Center, I will 1) construct and install an arboreal passage and 2) construct and install an informative sign. Regarding the arboreal passage, I will determine suitable sites for passages and signage based on results in Sinsheimer (2013). I will research designs for wildlife passage and make selections of materials, dimensions, and other parameters based on published studies. Based on these results and information, I will construct and install the passage and monitor its use by wildlife and its overall impact, using camera trap images and estimates of road kill before and after the passage is installed. Regarding the production and installation of an informative sign, I will research design and content of wildlife crossing signs used successfully in other locations t

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inform the selection of shape, size, materials, and content that is likely to be effective in Monteverde. I will construct informative signs out of repurposed, locally available material. I will assess the impact of the signage by comparing the behavior of motorists before and after the installation of the sign. VI. Logical Framework

Specific Objectives of the project

Main Results

Impact Indicators Main activities

Construction and installation of an arboreal wildlife passage

Arboreal animals are crossing roads safely

Use camera traps to discover if animals are using the wildlife passage

Construct and install an arboreal passage

Higher survival of individuals and more connectivity of population

Roadkill frequency declines

Make visual observations of roadkill, and terrestrial and arboreal crossings before and after passage is installed

Construction and installation of an informative sign

Increased awareness of (and support for) wildlife passages

Observe a reduced velocity of vehicles after installation of sign

Monitor speed of vehicle before and after installation of sign

VII. Literature Cited Brockett, C.D., & Gottfried, R.R. (2002). State policies and the preservation of forest cover: lessons

from contrasting public-policy regimes in Costa Rica. Latin American Research Reviews, 37(1), 7-40.

Davis, J. (2009). The creation and management of protected areas in Monteverde, Costa Rica. Global Environment 3-2009. Retrieved 7 January 2013, from http://www.globalenvironment.it/DAVIS.pdf

deVries, M. (2013). Education and community outreach for wildlife passages. CIEE Sustainability and the Environment, Fall 2013 (pp. 29-42). Monteverde, Costa Rica.

Goosem, M., Weston, N., and Bushnell, S. (2006). Effectiveness of rope bridge arboreal overpasses and faunal underpasses in providing connectivity for rainforest fauna. In C.L. Irwin, P. Garrett, K.P. McDermott (Eds.) Proceedings of the 2005 International Conference on Ecology and Transportation (pp. 304-316) Center for Transportation and the Environment, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, N.C.

Sinsheimer, R. (2013). A study of animal movement and local awareness of wildlife passages in Monteverde, Costa Rica. CIEE Sustainability and the Environment, Spring 2013 (pp. 1-13). Monteverde, Costa Rica.

World Wildlife Fund. (2014). Living Planet Report (10th ed). Washington, DC.

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Proposal Grading Criteria See and follow “Tips for Writing”, in this booklet, pg. 21.

Length. Sections III-VII should not exceed 3 pages; 1 pt.

I. General Information. This should be correctly filled out. No goofy project titles. 1 pt.

II. Project Summary. Write according to instructions; 1 pt.

III. Organization Information. Write according to instructions; 1 pt.

IV. Project Justification. Write according to instructions; 1 pt.

V. General Project Objective. Write according to instructions; 1 pt.

VI. Logical Framework. Write according to instructions; 1 pt.

VII. Literature cited. Minimum 3, in correct APA format; 1 pt.

Followed instructions on “Tips for good writing”, in this manual. Logical flow, clarity. Correct spelling, grammar and syntax. 2 pts. 2 pts.

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Course Assignments: Blog Post Write a 500-word essay aimed at a general audience. The audience may include university advisors and prospective employers, but could also include your friends, family and acquaintances. The blog should describes (a) the focus of your internship and the benefitting organization (b) your personal and professional interest in the internship (c) the skills and knowledge that you have acquired (d) what you feel are your greatest contributions or accomplishments in this internship You should consider this to be a potential submission to a prospective employer as an example of how your knowledge and skills were advanced by this internship. You should also consider this to be a (serious) update for family, friends, and acquaintances. You should submit a minimum of two relevant, good quality photos to accompany this post. Leave goofy text and photos for Facebook and Instagram and keep this professional but friendly.

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Course Assignments: Final written report

Written report instructions You will write a first and second draft of your final report. Your written reports should be 4-5 pages long when single-spaced (excluding necessary figures and tables and following the formatting guidelines). The first draft is submitted electronically and the second draft is submitted both electronically and in hard copy form.

Content

Title Name University Conservation and Sustainability Internship Internship Position: (Name) Semester, year Abstract: Think of this as an excerpt of about one sentence per section of the final report. There should be 1-2 statement/s that provide/s an introduction, 1-2 for methods, 1-2 for products, 1-2 for discussion or conclusion. In total, it should be one paragraph.

Introduction: Explain the sustainability challenge that the internship addresses. Place the challenge into a broad context of sustainability or environmental conservation, but then narrow down the focus and explain the local relevance as well. Describe what the internship entailed in terms of the products or “deliverables”. Do not describe methods or products here.

Methods: Give a brief explaination or description of the steps you took to meet your challenge. If you used special equipment, software, or techniques, mention them here. If your product involved a lot of physical prowess or skill, mention it here. DO NOT WRITE A RECIPE, AND DO NOT GIVE EXCESSIVE DETAIL. Refer to photos (placed after the References) to explain how and what you did. Products: Here you describe your product(s). A product can be a physical object you built and/or a summary of results from a survey or experiment you completed. Unless your product is a short text, you do not include the entire thing. However, you can include excerpts, photos, or figures of a larger written work. Document your products here by referring to relevant photographs, tables, or other figures that will be placed after the References.

Discussion: Explain and evaluate what you actually achieved in terms of advancing sustainability. How well did you succeed in solving the sustainability challenge of your internship? Acknowledgements: You need to thank the organization, your advisors, and anyone who provided assistance (your family and host family included).

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References, APA format: You need at least 3 citations that are not gray literature, personal communications, or other informal sources. They must be primary sources and they must be accessible on the internet or in hard copy. They must be relevant to the larger context of your internship, and not address minutiae. You should also use CIEE internship reports, as appropriate. Written Report Grading Criteria

Abstract (1 pt) Complete overview but not excessive in length Followed instructions

Introduction (3 pts) Explains how the internship advances sustainability or addresses a sustainability challenge. Should place internship in broad context but also give relevance to the local context.

Methods (2 pts) Complete and logical, but not a recipe Good use of images Followed instructions

Products (2 pts) – Includes relevant imges, figures or tables

Sufficient overview and description of products

Discussion (3 pts) Should answer: “What did you achieve?” “How well did you overcome the sustainability challenge?”

References (1 pt) Uses 3 primary sources with proper APA formatting (and CIEE internship reports, as appropriate)

Document Formatting (1 pt) Follows provided guidelines

Flow, Grammar, Spelling, Punctuation (2 pts) Followed instructions from “Tips on Writing”

Total Score (out of 15)

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Written Report Fonts and Spacing: All margins: 1 inch. Paragraph spacing: 0. Follow this:

Title (Cambria, Size 14, Bold) (space)

Name (Cambria, Size 12) University

Title of Class [Conservation and Sustainability Internship] Internship position Term [Spring 2012]

(space) Abstract (Size 12, Bold) (space) Body of abstract (Size 12, Horizontal alignment: Justified) (space) Resumen (Size 12, Bold) (space) Body of resumen (Size 12, Horizontal alignment: Justified) (space) Introduction (Size 12, Bold) (space) Body of introduction (Size 12, Horizontal alignment: Justified) (space) Methods (Size 12, Bold) (space) Body of methods (Size 12, Horizontal alignment: Justified) (space) Any sub headings (Size 12, Italics) Continue text (space) Products (Size 12, Bold) (space) Body of products (Size 12, Horizontal alignment: Justified) (space) Discussion (Size 12, Bold) (space) Body of discussion (Size 12, Horizontal alignment: Justified) (space) Acknowledgements (Size 12, Bold) (space) Body of discussion (Size 12, Horizontal alignment: Justified) (space) References (Size 12, Bold)

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Tips for writing for writing

1. Check your spelling and punctuation. Pay attention to the prompts provided by Word

2. it’s versus its: a) it’s = It is (e.g., “It’s going to be the best day of my life.”) b) its = the possessive form (e.g., “The dog and its owner went for a walk.”)

3. which versus that

a) Correct: The dogs that live near the Study Center eat the cat’s food. (This is correct because it says that the subset of dogs that live nearby eat the cat’s food.) b) Incorrect: The dogs which live near the Study Center eat the cat’s food. (This is incorrect because it suggests that all dogs live near the Center and eat the cat’s food.)

4. principle versus principal

a) principle: a rule, axiom, generalization (The “polluter pays principle” says that the person who pollutes should be responsible for paying the associated costs.) b) principal: a director, person in charge (The school principal is my pal.) c) principal: important or significant; a main factor (The principal reason that I like the principal is that she is kindhearted.)

5. e.g. versus i.e.

a) e.g. = for instance (There are many reasons to like the principal, e.g., she has a funny hairdo.) b) i.e. = that is; in other words (The principal is a laugh riot, i.e., she cracks me up.)

6. affects versus effects Examples of correct usage: a) We investigated the effects of literacy on environmental awareness. (effects is used as a noun) b) We found that your literacy level affects your environmental awareness. (affects is a verb) c) Improving literacy effected a change the average incomes. (effects can mean “cause”)

7. numbers a) If less than or equal to ten, you should spell them out. Always spell out numbers at the beginning of a sentence.

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8. few (fewer) versus less The word “few” is followed by plurals with an “s”. Correct: few assets, few homes, few books, few students, few numbers, few shoes, few items, few interests, few ideas The word “less” is followed by plurals that lack an “s”. Correct: less capital, less money, less poverty, less knowledge

9. Use of foreign language phrases

This is acceptable, but the word or phrase should be italicized. It is NOT acceptable to invent new words or create “Spanglish”.

10. Appropriate titles

The title has to say it all! It must capture the main idea in a nutshell. It must not be too cutesy. It must be complete but not too long.

11. References in the text: See this website for acceptable citation format:

http://www.library.cornell.edu/resrch/citmanage/apa 12. References in the literature cited section: See

http://www.library.cornell.edu/resrch/citmanage/apa 13. Footnotes: NONE! Use citations. 14. Quotations: NONE! Paraphrase instead.

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Course Assignments: Final Symposium Guidelines for final symposium

You will be instructed on how to make a PowerPoint presentation. In your 13-minute presentation (8 minutes speaking, 5 answering questions) you should orally communicate: (1) resumen (español) (5) importance (2) purpose of project (6) acknowledgements/agradecimientos (3) methods (4) product description

1. RESUMEN DEL PROYECTO: 2 minutos, en español; describa el propósito de su proyecto y los resultados principales. SPANISH

2. PURPOSE OF PROJECT - This should introduce the purpose of the internship and explain

how it contributes to sustainability. Make this as bold and memorable as possible. ENGLISH

3. METHODS - Keep this brief and simple, but thorough. Use diagrams, photos, illustrations to tell the story. Try to include just enough information that another person can follow your procedure with the information provided. ENGLISH

4. PRODUCT DESCRIPTION - Show photos, diagrams, or illustrations of the product/s. Explain

the most important features. When products are written reports, include the main findings or the recommendations. Provide enough detail that there is depth but not so much that the main purpose is obscured. ENGLISH

5. CONCLUSION – How well does your product achieve the goals? Did you overcome a

sustainability challenge for the Monteverde community? ENGLISH

6. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS/AGRADECIMIENTOS: Acknowledge your supervisors and any helpers. Thank the audience for their attention. SPANISH/ENGLISH

IMPORTANT SYMPOSIUM CONSIDERATIONS:

You will be given information on the timing of events for the Symposium. Be punctual, and have all your materials.

You should not feel intimidated by this presentation. People will attend because they want to learn what you have to say.

Your manner of dress and behavior may influence how the audience responds to your findings, so please be serious, organized, and neat.

The audience will be diverse with short attention. Keep everything simple.

Interact with the audience (eye contact, body movements, inflection in your voice, etc.).

Do not read and do not recite from memory. Speak naturally.

The talk will be a MAXIMUM of 8 minutes of speaking, followed by 5 for questions. You will be docked points if you go over or under.

Try to anticipate some possible questions, and prepare answers.

Your participation in the event counts toward your grade. Participate in the symposium by asking questions of other students.