Thailand: Environmental Science and Sustainability

Meet up with your group at a pre-selected location at your home airport. Once everyone has arrived, check your bags and go through security as a group. From here you will board your flight and depart for your international flight to Thailand. This first day is counted as a full day of travel because the standard travel time to this destination exceeds 12 hours. This may change depending on your departure location.

Flight Details: Rustic Pathways will be happy to book your flight as an add-on service.

If your travel to Thailand crosses the international dateline, you’ll likely lose this day to travel. Not to worry – you’ll get it back on your return!

Arrive into Chiang Mai, meet your program leaders, and set out to enjoy the beautiful and historical capital of Northern Thailand!  Have dinner and join in a program orientation and group activities before getting some rest.

Overnight: Hotel, Chiang Mai

Start the day with breakfast at the hotel and then head north to a local elephant conservation center. This is a private camp that operates as a part retirement home, part orphanage, and part hospital for sick, injured and abandoned elephants from all over the country. Explore the grounds and meet the different elephant inhabitants, learning their story and how they ended up at this unique center.

Your guides will explain the issues and complexities of conserving animals of this size amid deforestation and increasing competition for land between wild species and people in urban, hilltribe and agricultural settings. Feed the elephants and learn about their unique dietary requirements and then take them to the river for a bath. In the afternoon head back to Chiang Mai for a Northern Thai dinner and a group discussion on the different approaches to animal conservation you’ve encountered so far.

Overnight: Hotel, Chiang Mai

Travel south of Chiang Mai to Mae Ta village and meet the enterprising villagers who have teamed up to form an organic agriculture collective. Spend the day working with hardworking farmers, helping till and sow the fields. Learn organic farming techniques and how they can be used to sustainably grow delicious, nutritious and clean food. In the afternoon and evenings, settle into village life. Explore the village, join in local pickup soccer games and chat with your host family.

Overnight: Homestay (3-4 students per house),  Mae Ta Village

Journey into the forested mountains surrounding Chiang Mai with ecologists from Chiang Mai University and contribute to ongoing forest restoration projects in one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots. Work with the team as they search for seeds from endemic species. Help re-pot seedlings in the onsite nursery. Hike to nearby Doi Sutep Temple, Chiang Mai’s most sacred temple. Make an offering and take in the spectacular views of the city below.

In the afternoon, journey to Chiang Dao – the “City of Stars” – about one and a half hours north of Chiang Mai.  Along the way stop by the Sticky Waterfall where you can climb the cascading “sticky” limestone walls and enjoy refreshing pools of crisp mountain water. Head to a mountain eco resort and enjoy a traditional Kan Tok dinner.

Overnight: Hotel, Chiang Mai

Wake up for your final breakfast in Thailand. Think about the impact you made over the past week, and reflect on this life-changing experience.  Head to the airport for your flight home. Chok dee and come back to visit soon!

Flight Details: Rustic Pathways will be happy to book your flight as an add-on service.