Mamoní Valley Preserve Panama

January 4 – 10, 2015

www.earthtrain.org

Emerging Environmental Leaders

In one of the world’s most diverse ecosystems, be prepared to overcome your fear of failure—the greatest challenge to recognizing your inner leader. Eighteen high school leaders who dare to step out of their comfort zones will be selected to learn, lead, and grow at our Emerging Environmental Leaders Pilot Intensive this January. This seven-day introduction to the possibilities of biocultural leadership will be located at Earth Train’s Mamoní Valley Preserve, just two hours east of Panama City.

Our hands-on experience calls for exploratory students to confront both environmental and organizational issues. Through a value-based curriculum, students will trek through the tropical rainforest with conservationists, untangle environmental and organizational crises through simulations, and take the reigns on a sustainable development project in a rural village. Future leaders will experience the challenge and potential of secure-base leadership, while gaining an appreciation for cultural diversity and interaction. Our multicultural team of facilitators will empower students with the skills, coaching, and network of support they need to take control of their future and, ultimately, be the ones to change it.

Learn, Lead, Grow

JANUARY 4-10 2015

A World Beyond the Classroom to Teach Effective

Leadership in the Mamoní Valley

Preserve

SAVE THE DATE

December 20: Application due December 21: Tuition fees due January 4: Depart from the City of Knowledge January 10: Program wrap-up at the City of Knowledge

Apply now at www.earthtrain.org/eel/apply

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Accept the

Challenge

The Emerging Environmental Leaders Pilot Intensive: an introduction to the possibilities of biocultural leadership.

Purpose To show students what the world beyond the classroom has to teach us about effective leadership.

Vision To connect youth and empower them by providing the skills, network, and coaching needed to succeed in any venture they undertake, while being especially aware of the potential effects their actions have on the environment.

Curriculum

Our curriculum is designed to build effective leaders based on the proven works of George Kohlrieser, Peter Senge, Bill Treasurer, and Jim Kouzes among others, as well as ideas developed at Earth Train.

Plan To connect 18 unique students who will learn, lead, and grow through a one-week curriculum rooted in five values that build strong and capable leaders. Under the guidance of our multicultural team of coaches, mentors, and indigenous elders and peers, these young leaders will apply their new experiences to environmental and organizational issues of the 21st century.

Requirements Participants must be in healthy, physical condition, prepared to get muddy, and contribute to the success of the pilot intensive. Upon admission to the program, they will receive detailed information regarding what to pack, safety procedures, and contact information.

Deadline for applications: December 20th Tuition and Fees: $429 USD

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Preserve

The preserve is a model of watershed

conservation and biocultural renewal.

The Mamoni Valley Preserve is located within

the largest remaining stretch of continuous rainforest in the Chocó-Darién-Manabí

ecoregion, one of the world’s top 20 ecological hotspots.

Extending along the Continental Divide just two hours east of Panama City, the Preserve protects the

eastern border of the Chagres National Park and buffers the southwest border

of Guna Yala, the semi-autonomous territory of the

Gunas.

We are building

Biocultural Entrepreneurs

At our pilot intensive be ready to…

Discover the power of ecological seeing and systems thinking— deep and sustained observation to the relationships between the elements of a system, particularly the behavior of structures over time— in the face of our society’s greatest local and global challenges.

Participate in a wide range of fun and challenging activities during the pilot Intensive and later as one of our volunteer program pilots.

Grow a network of friends and mentors ready to join you in creating the future you want for yourself and for your world.

Develop the practical skills essential to influencing and inspiring others while building trust and providing a sense of protection, safety and caring.

A professional film crew will document your participation. You’ll come out of this experience with videos, insights, new friends, and future opportunities for participation that you can share with your new friends and bring back to your school.

Memories

Day Four- Recognition

• Enjoy an afternoon of activities in our jungle pool.

• Case study: Our l iv ing Environment— Urban Planning and Development

• Build a bamboo shelter with your team in preparation for your journey to a rural village, La Zahina.

• Begin planning your community service project for the village.

Our Program Day One- Bienvenida

Day Three- Trust

• Tackle a day-long hike through the jungle, making your way up mountains and through rivers to explore the relationships between organisms and their environment and how they pertain to leadership.

• Set up base in a rural village where you and your team will lead camp decisions for the next two nights.

• Learn first hand how a rural village functions off the grid.

Day Two- Curiosity

• Depart from the concrete jungle and begin your journey into the rain forest with a visit to Junglewood Falls.

• Get to know your teammates as we float down the Mamoní River through one of the world’s top ecological hotspots.

• Arrive at the Centro Mamoní base to set up for the week ahead.

• Go beyond your boundaries and gain an appreciation for indigenous culture. You’ll hear testimonials from members of the Guna Yala tribe and experience Guna, Embera, and Wounaan culture through their art, music, and food. What is the role of cultural appreciation in a rapidly advancing world?

• Hike through primary forest to a hidden swimming hole.

• Night hike through the Choco-Darien Jungle. • Case study: Systems Thinking— The

power of leverage and how to use it to your advantage

How getting out of the classroom teaches you about better leadership

SPRING 2016 THE LOREM IPSUMS

Students Traveling Abroad

Will you be flying into Panama? Our staff wil l be at the airport to both

welcome you here and send you home.

Make sure you have the following: -Updated passport and two paper copies -Copies of your health forms

Day Six- Compassion • Complete the mental shift and transform

from “I” to “We”. Developing empathy to become a better leader than you ever thought possible.

• Pack up camp and hike a new route back to the base at Centro Mamoní.

• Afternoon exploration activity with a twist, and then the option to relax by the pool or participate in some jungle games.

• Case study: “Love ‘em or Lose ‘em”—

Getting good people to stay in organizations

• Finish your last evening in the rain forest with live music and karaoke.

Day Seven- Hasta Luego

Day Six- Compassion (cont)

• Begin the journey back from the mighty jungle to Panama City.

• Have one final visit to Junglewood Falls, where a surprise awaits.

• We’ll host parents, friends, and family at the farewell banquet for our youth leaders in the City of Knowledge.

• End your adventure knowing that a personal journey has just begun.

Day Five- Purpose • Take charge with your new team, leading your

own community service project in the village. • Teach a workshop to the village children while

participating in a cross-cultural exchange. • Explore the local flora, fauna, and a swimming

hole. • Case study: The Grit of Waste Management

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Nathan Gray Co-Executive Director and Founder of Earth Train

Nathan has over 40 years of experience in the fields of international development and education. He is one of the founders of Oxfam America, the international assistance organization based in Boston, and is a pioneer in promoting socially-positive investment and emerging community development leadership in poor countries. Kike Arias

Earth Train Program Director, Leadership and Guide Program

Kike is a cartographer, agronomist, and former Secretary General of the Guna General Congress. He has a long history in the Mamoni Valley—dating to the 1980's, when he led a team in the mapping of the continental divide and defined the legal border of the Guna Yala—and has long expressed the desire to work with youth in the protection of Panama's culture and ecology. As the head of Earth Train's Leadership and Guide Program, he's making that dream a reality.

Lider Sucre Co-Executive Director of Earth Train

Lider has been integrally involved in environmental activism in Panama for over a decade. After graduating with an MBA from Harvard University, Lider returned to Panama to work as the Executive Director of Panama's National Association for the Conservation of Nature (ANCON), the most renowned environmental NGO in Panama. He has served as Executive Director of the Museum of Biodiversity, and he is a certified eco-tourism guide, a well-traveled backpacker, and a walking encyclopedia of information on Panamanian flora and fauna.

Mark Knetsch Earth Train Programs Coordinator, Co-Founder EEL Mark is a Canadian BBA Honours, cum laude, graduate with an exploratory personality who enjoys participating in an array of sports and outdoor activities. He was raised in Aruba and is fluent in several languages including Spanish, Dutch, Papiamento and English. As Earth Train's full-time Program Coordinator, he uses his global experiences to bring meaningful programs to volunteers, interns and educational institutions both in and outside of Panama.

Cameron Harnish Co-Founder EEL At just 18, Cameron has already been blessed with valuable, worldly travels. Since the age of nine he has attended Fortune Growth Summits and MIT-sponsored “Advanced Business” executive programs, as well as leadership programs such as the Shelton Challenge and the National Young Leaders Conference. Cameron recently graduated from an IB international school in Barcelona and is fluent in Spanish. Following his passion for American football, Cameron quarterbacked his Barcelona team to both the regional and national championships.

Margaret Grace Haltom Co-Founder EEL Margaret began working on environmental youth education in her local school system, where she developed an environmental program in her high school and started similar programs in eight other schools. She worked for the largest urban park in the U.S. to create youth fellowships, teach workshops, and host environmental science camps. During a study abroad in Panama, Margaret connected with Earth Train and then returned to Panama as a summer intern in 2014.

Coaches and

Mentors…

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An invitation from Nathan Gray and Lider Sucre, Co-Executive Directors of Earth Train. We are seeking eighteen exceptional young people to participate in a week-long pilot workshop on environmental leadership taking place in early January of 2015 at Earth Train’s 10,000-acre Mamoní Valley Preserve. This is the beginning of a new venture that we’re helping a group of young people to launch. In keeping with our entrepreneurial culture, we’re using the word “pilot” to signify our commitment to conducting an exciting experiment while at the same time recruiting emerging leaders with the potential to help pilot this venture into the future. Here’s the background: Earth Train was founded in 1990 by teen leaders from North America and formally launched in June 1991 by Sweden’s Claes Nobel during his Earth Prize ceremony at the UN General Assembly Hall before 2,000 diplomatic, business, civic and youth leaders. For its youth-calling-youth-to-action 10-year campaign, Earth Train operated actual trains for high-visibility educational events, television, radio and Internet broadcasts. Earth Train provided unforgettable learning experiences — from youth-led workshops to international conferences and expeditions — for over 14,000 young people. Our emphasis on experiential learning, a coaching relationship between experienced and emerging leaders, and peer-to-peer teaching proved effective in stimulating a multiplier effect as youth helped youth realize their leadership potential. During our campaign decade, Earth Train served numerous youth organizations around the US and in 23 countries and native nations. We helped young leaders, many still in their teens, launch ambitious environmental and social justice initiatives, such as the Global Youth Action Network that today has over 200,000 active members worldwide. With Earth Train’s move to Panama in 2001 we paused our global campaign work and focused on establishing a permanent campus for “leadership in biocultural renewal”. Today, the Mamoní Valley Preserve, one of the largest private preserves near a capital city in the Americas, offers the ideal setting and infrastructure for breakthrough learning adventures for young emerging leaders and accomplished mentors. As our collaboration with Jane Goodall’s Roots & Shoots affirms, we are now in the process of transforming and scaling up our support for young biocultural entrepreneurs. This year, Earth Train staff member Mark Knetsch and two interns, Margaret Haltom, a freshman at the University of Virginia, and Cameron Harnish, recently graduated from the Benjamin Franklin International School in Barcelona, Spain, started work on the creation of what they’re calling:

A multicultural network of youth and mentors dedicated to developing the skills, the network of support and the practical experience needed to become effective leaders with the determination and drive to succeed in any venture they decide to undertake, while being especially aware of the potential effects of their actions on the

environment. We were impressed with their zeal and thrilled to see history repeated in a good way: The message of the young founders of Earth Train, one that reached millions of their peers worldwide was: “Don’t wait for adults to clean up this mess. Follow our example. Take action now for a better world.” As you’ll see below, the EEL pilot is a hands-on practical and adventuresome intensive taking place at Earth Train’s Centro Mamoni in the Mamoni Valley Preserve from January 4th to 10th. We have recruited a diverse faculty of highly accomplished individuals. If you’re selected to participate, be ready to delve into the world of “ecological seeing” and “systems thinking”. Get ready to stretch yourself in adopting the values and habits of biocultural leaders. Get ready to get your hands dirty in a diversity of jungle and village environments. We’re looking forward to hearing from you! Nathan Gray and Lider Sucre Co-Executive Directors, Earth Train