The Global Classroom

With our students evenly distributed, we managed to fill two pangas (24 foot open boats) and headed out into the Sea of Cortez with Fernando Arcas, founder of the environmental group GEA (Grupos Ecologicos Antares). In short, Fernando Arcas is my hero. Not only because of his infectious passion for environmental education and protection, but for his uncanny way of connecting to all creatures of the sea. Especially whales. I have ventured out onto the water with Fernando several times and I have never been disappointed. Imagine looking out across a vast and endless expanse of ocean and knowing exactly where to be on that day to see whales, dolphins and giant mantas. He gets it right every time. This past February was no exception.

Within minutes a huge silvery column of spray explodes from the emerald waters dead ahead. The sparkling mist hangs on the horizon like a shimmering cloud. The shear size of the spray tells me it has got to be a Blue. Unmistakable in it’s size, the spout of the largest mammal on earth is pretty easy to discern. We all sit silently while Fernando counts the seconds on his wrist watch. Thirty seconds later we spot another blow, then another and another. After 8 blows the whale dives and disappears. This routine is something Fernando does every chance he gets. Though he loves sharing these amazing creatures with others, he is also very concerned about the impact whale watching may have on these gentle giants. Most will not notice him logging every breath taken, the length of a dive and the time on the surface. With whale watching relatively new in Baja’s Sea of Cortez, there is not much in the way of regulations regarding whale watching. It is Fernando’s desire to know if an increase in tourist activity changes their habits in any way. He has a great concern for the welfare of all sea creatures and has proven this over and over. He is by far the most proactive person in Loreto when it comes to conservation, education and direct action. His successes are countless and his deep rooted passion and love of the sea is infectious. He is by far the most ecstatic person in the boat when we see a whale. (often he is as much fun to watch as the whales)

We wait and listen for the next tell tale blow. Three minutes, five minutes, seven. Then Whoosh! Right ahead only 75 feet away there is a 90 foot Blue whale. Students jump from their seats and point in awe. Cameras start clicking as a massive mottled gray back breaks the surface with a blow. A long gentle whoosh follows as it draws in a massive breath and slips under the rippled surface. We slowly turn and motor in the same direction. A minute later it reappears and is right alongside us, dwarfing our little Panga. It is so close that photos are impossible with a telephoto lens. So instead, I stand on the bow and look right down it’s cavernous blowhole before shielding myself from the blast of another fishy exhale. Only 15 feet away from the largest animal on earth, we feel so small and fragile. The whale does not seem to mind our presence. On the contrary, it follows along side us for another five dive / surface sets before going deep in search of krill. The panga is alive with adjectives from the students. Enormous, humungous, incredible, awesome, beautiful, scary, and even spiritual.

How else to explain such an an amazing experience? It moves you. Experiences like these command a sense of awe and reflection, often times foster ing a deep desire to seek something bigger, both within and outside ourselves. This has always been one of Global Classroom’s missions. Hearing the students now I know we are on the right track. We strive to encourage participants to seek beyond the horizons laid out before them in their daily routines. We want to open doors that may have been invisible or locked shut, or worse yet seemingly non existent. Gazing straight into the eye of the worlds largest beast or playfully scratching the nose of a newborn Grey whale has a way of pushing us to think bigger than we generally allow.

A week later we are once again on the water, but this time we have Global Classroom board members and supporters with us. Again we are met by dolphins. This time there are several hundred in the pod and they do not disappoint us with their antics and playfulness.

Moments later we discover a huge group of pelicans floating on the surface. At first glance they seem ill. We gently motor over to get a better look. They seem to be unable to fly. As we get to within a few feet of them it is clear what is going on. A very rare occurrence is happening and we are witness to it. Massive amounts of Krill (small shrimp like creatures) have come to the surface en mass. Generally they stay very deep until after dark, but something has forced them to the surface. And the pelicans have noticed. The sea is so thick with Krill. There are millions upon millions of them. Pelicans swim about and drop their beaks into the water, sifting out mouthful after mouthful until they are so bloated they literally have trouble flying.

I dip my hand into the cold water and scoop up a handful of Krill. It is so hard to believe that a 100 ton mammal can survive eating these tiny little things. I am in the process of contemplating that impossibility when the water explodes as the mouth of a Blue whale breaks the surface. I jump for my camera, stunned at the size of that enormous, baleen filled cavern. Fat pelicans scatter to avoid being swallowed whole. White foam ripples ahead of the lunging whale and the water turns silver as millions of krill jump out of the water trying to escape. There is so much Krill that is sounds like rain as they dance on the surface.

Suddenly another whale breaks the surface, then another and another. Within minutes we are surrounded by Blues, Fin back and humpback whales. They are all lunge feeding on the surface. Our two pangas are far enough apart to warrant radios. A crackle comes over my radio and an excited voice is saying” Oh my god, did you see that? I am too busy snapping photos and shooting the video of a lifetime to answer. A flash of white along side catches my eye and I see a 15 foot Giant manta as it skims the surface. Its feeding paddles efficiently plowing Krill into it’s mouth. Fernando is literally squeeling with delight. “ Oh my God,” he says, “I have never seen anything like this before”.

Just as I am lifting my video camera to shoot three Fin backs surface feeding in perfect synchronically, the water explodes to my right. I turn to see a truck sized mouth open wide and headed right for us. I swing the camera around just in time to film right down its throat. Just five feet from our boat the whale closes it’s mouth and slides under us and stops. Everyone in the boat is electrified. Fernando looks at me with sparkling eyes. Though he does not say it aloud, I know what he is thinking. “Did you get that on film?” I nod my head in the affirmative and a faint smile rises up from within. I too feel the goose bumps on my arms. What was I saying about experiences that make us ask those bigger questions?

- Colin Garland, Global Classroom Director

Open Doors and Big Medicine

There are times in life when a door opens for a brief moment. You have a choice: pass it by or say “Yes,” then trust and walk through the gate into the mystery of the unknown. What will it be? Intuition is your guide.

In November 2003, I met Colin Garland, founder of Global Classroom, and Susan Cutting, then treasurer, at a dumpster. Not very glamorous, I know! We were sorting recyclables. After acknowledging each other’s presence, we went about our business. However, each of them asked me the same question, as if they had just had an epiphany, “Do you belay?” Belaying is the safety system of ropes and harnesses used when rock climbing. “Yes, I do.” There was an upcoming ropes course program for a women’s empowerment group. Would I help? Intuition said to go for it. “Sure.” Little did I know how pivotal that conversation was. I walked through the open door and what followed was a cascade of serendipitous events which brought me to Baja, Mexico, to the Aula Global Reserve in Costa Rica, and to being a director of the Global Classroom.

I come to Global Classroom with a double major, encompassing experiential education, leadership, wilderness survival skills, biology, outdoor adventure, travel, self development, and Earth-based spirituality. My passion is creating transformational learning experiences for people in the sacred world of nature. People have looked at me quizzically and asked if Colin dragged me into all this. Nope. This is what I do. It is my path. Big medicine happens when people hold a common vision. And big medicine it has been. In the last six months we received over $275,000 in donations towards rain forest preservation which has helped our biological reserve in Costa Rica grow from its original 96 acres to over 500 acres! Thanks to the hard work of multiple volunteers, the reserve now has a small dorm which can sleep 14 people. In Baja, Mexico, we received a joyous welcome upon our return to the small fishing village of Auga Verde where our students live with families and do service work at a two-room school house. Our students discovered awe as they pet a baby Grey whale in the wild, stillness as they sat with coyotes under the full moon, and confidence as they howled with the howler monkeys of the jungle. That is the most important medicine—the exciting growth, learning, healing, and inspiration our students experience.

One amazing young woman stood at the base of a hollow strangler fig tree over 100 feet tall and said “I can’t do that.” I responded, “Yes, you can. If you choose to climb, I can be with you every step of the way. I know you can do this.” “Okay.” So we climbed together, up the inside of the tree, held in a womb of nature, the old vines offering support on all sides. Upon reaching the canopy she exclaimed, “This is the single most awesome thing I have ever done in my whole life!” The experience was incredibly empowering for her. In reflection she summed it up herself, “If I can do that, I can do anything.” Yes, you can. The climb was an opportunity for her to be on her growing edge, where the greatest transformation is birthed. She said yes to the unknown, trusted, and flew higher than she ever imagined.

May Global Classroom continue to be such an opportunity, an open door for students as they discover the world around them and the world within themselves.

- Meggie Winchell, Global Classroom Director

Land Update

“ Está terminado.” It is finished. I took a breath, not realizing that I had been holding it. The deal was cut. The land was safe. To be honest, I never thought my first real estate transaction would be in Spanish, let alone in Costa Rica. But, there I was, “All right then, both properties for $1,500 an acre. We’ll buy the 100 acre piece now and sign a contract of first refusal for the land with the deed in progress.”

Back in November 2004, the same day we finished fundraising for the Bello property of 311 acres, it came to our attention that this new piece of land was also threatened. Completing the $378,000 purchase of the 311 acre Bello property aligned the Aula Global Reserve with a network of reserves higher up the mountain. In doing so, a biological corridor was protected for animal migration. This new piece of land, 135 acres, abuts the original Aula Global Reserve and continues the protected corridor along a ridge of breathtaking rain forest.

The original quote was for $1,400/acre. However, by the time Colin and I arrived in the country, the price had doubled; the seller had an offer for $2,800/acre. Business in Costa Rica is a dance—you have to know when to lead, when to back off, when to put your foot down, and when to walk away. Then add the factors of negotiating in a foreign language and of being a Caucasian woman in the world of male latino pride and things get complicated. However, the seller showed his cards: he needed the money immediately for another business he was starting. In turn, we showed ours: we had the money to buy at the original quote but no more. And so, we danced. Step one, let it all go and walk away. We were not going to pay $2,800/acre.

A Difficult Time Ahead for Israel and his Family

We are sad to announce that 2005 has also brought some bad news to the Global Classroom. We have been informed that Israel Mendez’s wife Sari has been diagnosed with an illness requiring Chemotherapy and frequent blood transfusions. Israel and his wife Sari and their three daughters have been an integral part of the Global Classroom since it’s start in 1992. During our visit with his family in April we learned of the news and their struggle to pay for Sari’s treatments. There have been times when he must choose between feeding his family and taking Sari to San Jose for transfusions and medication. Seeing this as the highest of priorities for the Global Classroom at this time, we have decided to put fundraising for future forest protection on hold and apply our energies to finding emergency funds to send to the Mendez family. This has hit them especially hard as they were just recovering from the sudden death of Israel’s sister as well.
In order for Sari to get immediate expert care she must see private doctors located in the capitol city of San Jose. This in and of itself is a daunting and expensive task for folks who live simple lives in the mountains. Also at risk is their home as they have fallen behind on a mortgage in which they owe three more years. Food and school fee’s for their daughters have had to be sacrificed. They are in dire need of assistance and we wish to do all we can.
Our goal is to raise $25,000 over a two month period to assist them directly with hospital costs, medications, blood transfusions, transportation costs and other unexpected expenses they will incur during her treatment. If you would like to make a contribution please consider making it right away. Needless to say, getting Sari under steady and effective treatment immediately is crucial. Please send your donations and prayers out today. Thank you,

*We are sorry to say that U.S. non-profit laws do not allow you to take a tax deduction for donations to Israel’s family.

Saving Land for the Sake of the Sacred

1. Extraordinary: Adj. Beyond what is ordinary, usual or commonplace. 2. Exceeding the ordinary degree, amount, or extent; exceptional; remarkable.

Standing tall and proud on the ridge in front of our research station stands an extraordinary Ficus tree that dominates the horizon. Everyone who visits the reserve comments on it. Most want to go to it, (a major undertaking) and few have actually touched it. I have always been drawn to this Grandmother tree and suspected that she is part of a sacred burial site for indigenous peoples that once lived in Costa Rica. Artifacts have been found and petroglyphs grace ancient boulders in a nearby stream. This is not a tree one simply sees. One feels it! Even on those mystical days when the clouds descend fully and touch the earth, you can feel her looming in the mist. Anyone who has seen her knows she is special.

Looking strikingly like the Global Classroom logo I created (long before I traveled to Costa Rica in search of land to protect) I get the feeling I was called to the Aula Global land. There is a sacredness to the land, something that cannot be quantified, but can’t be denied either. Many who have come to visit Aula Global comment on the magic that is found there.

Back in 1992 when we began searching for land to protect in Costa Rica for a reserve, I found myself looking at several properties. We were literally hours away from signing a contract for one particular piece, but at the last minute I backed out. Something just did not feel right about that land. The price was right, the money ready. I just could not move forward.

Days later I went to look at another piece of forest for sale. When I took my very first step onto what is now the Aula Global land, I witnessed a petroglyph at my feet. I saw it as a sign. I trusted my gut and I am so glad I did. The other property I was considering is now fully developed and surrounded by tourist attractions and cable rides. If I did not heed the call of that Petroglyph, we would now own a 36 acre patch of green inundated with diesel buses, metal towers and hoards of screaming tourists on adventure rides.

When negotiating with Juan De Dios to purchase the 134 acres of forest along the ridge, it was our assumption the sacred Ficus was located on his land. To our great disappointment, after doing field checks using a new generation GPS (Global Positioning System) we discovered it is not on the Juan De Dios property after all. It falls 30 meters short. My heart sank. After all we had done to protect the ridge, there still remains one small unprotected property owned by a man named Oscar Rodriquez. And the great tree is on it!

We left the De Dios property after our disappointing discovery and headed back to the solitude of Aula Global. But as we approached the entrance to our reserve, we were greeted by the sound of chain saws. I decided to go have a look at what was going on. And where! Just outside our reserve a team of woodcutters had already begun dropping ancient trees.

I followed fresh bulldozer scars and was horrified to see an enormous tree trunk being dragged behind the bulldozer. It had to be 8-10 feet through at the base. It was not just a tree trunk, it was an entire eco-system! Thousands of epiphytes, orchids and liana’s covered every inch of the tree. Some sections had been torn off and lay in huge bleeding masses. I spent 4 hours shooting video of the carnage. We hear of ancient trees being cut down, but when you witness it first hand you will never forget it. I have written an account of this experience in my journal and will post it as well as images on our web site. Just click on the new link for the Global Classroom Journal.

As if that scene was not difficult enough to handle, in speaking with the woodcutters I learned that they have their eyes on the big tree’s of the Oscar Rodriquez property. The remaining 70 acres along the ridge where the Grandmother Ficus stands will be their next quarry.

I walked slowly back to the research station and opened my journal and let the words pour out. Page after page piled up and then bled onto the paper. Meanwhile, chain saws hummed in the distance. I spent another hour writing an email to all the Global Classroom board members, a dozen or so friends, and a handful of supporters to inform them of the encroaching logging. I went to town three days later and sent it off.

To my amazement in less than a week we had received emails with over $50,000 in pledges to protect the Grandmother Ficus and the remaining ridge property. I sat astounded in my chair as message after message delivered hope. I assure you I made quite a scene in the Internet cafe.

To our advantage the winter rains came on fast and hard in Costa Rica and that shut down the woodcutters for now. They will resume again when the rains subside in January. We plan to be ready with funds in hand to beat them to the punch. We have already made contact with the owner of the Grandmother Ficus notifying him of our interest. He has told us he will consider selling to us. Once again, negotiations will have to take place, deeds applied for and fund-raisers planned. As he does not have a registered deed yet, he has begun the process of getting one. This will take anywhere from 6 months to 2 years. Good for us, as it buys us time. Good for the wood cutters as they could care less if the land is deeded or not.

It is our goal to sign a contract with the land owner giving us first refusal, with the understanding that he will not allow woodcutters to enter his forest.

After we have succeeded in fundraising for Sari’s treatment we will be scrambling to keep the sacred Grandmother tree standing. If for no other reason than that she is extra-ordinary!

- Colin Garland

	The Global Classroom Around the World • For the World