EMERGING LEADERS
Understand complexity.
Learn from people creating change.
Discover how you can contribute.
MANY PEOPLE WANT TO HELP CREATE A BRIGHTER FUTURE.
THE CHALLENGE IS KNOWING HOW.
The Ecothropic Emerging Leaders Program helps students understand complex environmental and social challenges without becoming immobilized by them.
Enter as curious, engaged learner
Learn directly from communities and practitioners creating meaningful change
Build the knowledge, experience, and agency to begin contributing yourself
Engage · Adventure · Critically tackle some of the most pressing issues of modern times · Earn college credit
Previous Programs
Water: Baja California Sur, México
We are facing a global water crisis driven by changing weather patterns, growing populations, and deepening socio-economic inequalities. Using Baja California Sur as our classroom, we will explore desert mountains, oasis, coastal cities, and the sea that has been nicknamed the aquarium of the world. We will meet ranchers, activists, scientists, and policy makers. During 11 days of adventure, discussions, and new experiences, we will learn about how water flows through the landscape, how human management can create water or drought, the linkage between international markets and local people, and think critically about the tools we have for addressing and avoiding water crises. Through good information and first-hand experiences, you will leave with the skills to help create water secure futures in the face of the water and climate crises.
Ancient Roots to Sustainable Futures: México
In Southern México, indigenous communities and social movements are creating sustainable futures. On our journey we will interview locals about real-world challenges and what they are doing to solve them, explore an Ancient Mayan city and see what the past can teach us about the present, and meet with courageous women who are leaders in their communities while you learn how to make hand-made tortillas from corn they grow. You will discover the connections between global markets and local realities by experiencing them first-hand, understand how a watershed works by hiking through verdant mountains and swimming in turquoise rivers, and make traditional pottery and bows and arrows with one of the last of the Lacandon elders. You will see where your coffee and chocolate are grown, experience the importance of local agriculture and agroecology, and explore a different way of viewing the world and how we engage with it. Every day we will explore, adventure, talk with local people, and engage in discussions about how we can contribute to being part of the solution.
Creating Sustainable Futures in the Face of Climate Change
In the words of a student: “The trip to Cuba was an incredible, life-changing experience that was unique to Ecothropic. We learned about agroecology, watersheds, and how Cuba’s government affected how Cuban’s responded to climate change. We considered challenging questions about how to apply what we learned and change the consciousness of our communities back home. With the small group size, we had intimate discussions within the group and individual interactions with the people we met. The whole experience wouldn’t have been possible without Britt’s personal connections with Cubans that provided a unique inside look, full of local knowledge, at a country that few Americans have gotten to see and the grassroots agriculture that has grown up in Cuba’s unique circumstances.” Join us for a one-of-a-kind experience during 8 days in Cuba.
Do you have a question or want to apply?
What do participants say?
“ Ecothropic field studies embolden students to dig deep: we learn to ask questions and to challenge what we thought we knew. For anyone looking for a paradigm shift, I earnestly recommend Ecothropic.”
““..the program enriched my understanding and left me contemplating the multi-faceted impact of climate-change and the approaches needed for communities to adapt and thrive.””
““The program included conversations with farmers, indigenous people, and researchers, and material was always presented from many points of view…I gained a deep appreciation for and connection to the communities we visited, and an understanding of how their livelihoods are at risk from a changing climate.””
““I learned that it is important to understand a system before engaging with it, whether it is an ecosystem or a person... Cuba showed me what people can do by relying on each other.””
““I have spent some time researching and reading about resilience - what does it mean? what does it look like? - how is it related to climate change adaptation? These questions have guided a lot of my professional work for nearly the past two decades. The trip to Cuba, the people we met, and the stories we heard defined resilience in a way that no peer-reviewed journal article or conference proceedings has been able to capture. For me, I learned what resilience IS. I witnessed it. I felt it. Now, I know what resilience is, because of my experience on the Cuba trip. Thank you for this mind-expanding learning adventure””
Solving global issues requires global understanding.
#bepartofthesolution
