Greentree Gazette Magazine highlights Living Routes
Greentree Gazette Magazine highlights Living Routes Sustainability and Field Education Programs in Ecovillages. Read the article by Florence Kizza from the April 2009 issue, and view the incredible photography of one of our alumni, Gabe Pollack.
Sustaining Study Abroad
Please read the article Sustaining Study Abroad featuring Daniel Greenberg, Executive Director, Living Routes.
Study Abroad in Ecovillages-Tim Patterson
Hello from Living Routes!
I wanted to share this great article by TIM PATTERSON about how powerful it is to study in Ecovillages around the world.
Check it out: TIM PATTERSON ARTICLE
I look forward to hearing what you think or to answering any questions you may have...
To learn what students learn and experience day-to-day on one of our programs, check out our student Blogs
There are still a few places left in our January and Spring 09 programs.
Applications are available at Download Application
We also offer need-based Scholarships to help make our programs more affordable.
Best regards,
Gregg
We've moved!
Over the past year we've expanded, bringing on a Program Manager (Alexander Papouchis) and a Technology Coordinator (Michael Pillsbury), and soon we will have a new Financial Manager. We're quickly outgrowing our current location and so we've moved to a new larger office closer to UMASS Amherst.
Our new address is:
Living Routes
284 N. Pleasant St., Suite 1
Amherst, MA 01002
which is on the corner of North Pleasant and McClellan, just 2 doors north (UMASS side) of SilverScape Designs and across from Kendrick Park (the triangular green bordered by North Pleasant, East Pleasant, and Triangle Streets).
Come visit!
Welcome LR's new Programs Manager, Alexander Papouchis
With expanding programs and enrollment, Living Routes is excited to welcome Alexander Papouchis as our new Programs Manager! Alexander received an MS in Environmental Studies from Antioch New England, designed and taught college level curriculum for LeapNow in India, Bali, Cambodia, and Thailand, and designed sustainability focused expeditionary programs in Southeast Asia for GlobalLab.
Alexander was Faculty on Living Routes' Spring 2008 semester program in Auroville, India before joining the office team in late July. He has already done wonderful work developing and consolidating our academic/student handbooks and our health & safety protocols across our programs and managing our new programs in 2009: J-Term in India and Summer in Australia.
So, WELCOME Alexander!
Reducing our Footprint through Virtual Tabling
Studying abroad exposes students to the world. It also exposes the world to the environmental, economic, and social impacts of travel and program activities - and this includes study abroad fairs. Transportation to the event, accommodations, food, and all those thick program catalogs have tangible environmental impacts that are rarely acknowledged or accounted for.
At Carnegie Mellon University's Study Abroad Fair on Friday, October 10, 2008, Living Routes was the first study abroad program provider to experiment with lowering our carbon footprint through "virtual tabling." Instead of a person, we sent one box the size of a large toaster oven, which included a table drape, minimal marketing materials, and a computer, through which students videoconferenced with staff members in our office in Amherst, MA. We intend to do more virtual tabling in the future and, in addition to Amherst staff, we expect to make it possible for students to speak directly with program directors at Living Routes' sites in India, Senegal, Israel, Scotland, Brazil, Mexico, Peru, or Australia.
Virtual tabling at CMU saved close to a ton of CO2 that would have otherwise been released into the atmosphere. While studying abroad really needs to be done 'in-person', we feel this is yet another way we can reduce our impacts and hopefully inspire other program providers to do likewise.
More...
Living Routes Named "Greenest" Study Abroad Program
We are proud to announce that Plenty Magazine, in their September 2008 issue has named Living Routes the "Greenest Study Abroad" program. The news blurb is appended below and you can read the whole article here.
Greenest study abroad: Living Routes, Amherst, MA. Study abroad is one of the last college frontiers yet to green. Living Routes organizes eco-study abroad programs open to students at any college or university. The experiential learning programs place students in eco-villages in India, Scotland, Senegal and Israel for a semester of sustainable living and learning (students can also go to Mexico or Peru for January terms). That life looks different in Senegal, where residents in 45 thatched-roof villages struggle toward electricity and economic development, than it does in the Scotland, where the challenge is to sustain Western-style living with a lighter footprint. Back at home, students commit to lifestyle changes that will help offset emissions from their plane rides.
Living Routes Chairs NAFSA Task Force on Sustainability in Study Abroad
Living Routes Director, Daniel Greenberg, Chaired a Task Force on Environmental Sustainability in Education Abroad, which submitted recommendations for education abroad administrators and faculty to NAFSA: Association of International Educators on Monday, April 14, 2008. The Task Force included twelve other members from schools and NGOs in the U.S. and abroad. The Report was endorsed by AASHE, University Leaders for a Sustainable Future, The U.S. Partnership for the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development and other organizations and addresses the questions of how education abroad programs can be both high quality and low impact and also contribute to greater environmental awareness.
Sustainable Schwag
Living Routes is being invited to more and more conferences and study abroad fairs where "schwag" is abundant. Schwag refers to all manner of logoed merchandise that companies give away to promote "brand recognition." We didn't want to be left out of the game, but also didn't want to give away plastic junk (e.g., keychains, pens, water bottles) that only add to the global waste stream.
We thought about corn-based pens, sustainability-themed word magnets, and fabric passport holders, but nothing felt right. Then it dawned on us that there may be items produced within the ecovillages we work with that we could share with others.
I sent an email in April of 2007 to all our Program Directors and hit the jackpot with Upasana Design Studio, a "unit" or business within Auroville, that produces beautiful clothes using sustainable and fair traded Indian fabrics. After the tsunami in 2004, members of Upasana began working with women in nearby coastal villages and together developed the Tsunamika doll. According to their website,
Nearly 480 fisherwomen from 6 villages are trained and from them around 180 ladies are now creating these little dolls called Tsunamika. She has been hand-made from fabrics left over from other creative works in Upasana. The project team, who trained the ladies, now supplies them with raw materials to continue producing the dolls. All dolls produced are bought from them in bulk and are gifted unconditionally worldwide by Upasana.
They are quite beautiful and unique.
We have donated and received several thousand Tsunamika dolls, to which we attach a small bookmark (made out of 100% recycled paper) that has information about the Tsunamika project as well as Living Routes. They have been incredibly popular at conferences and events and we love giving them away because they support a great organization doing really valuable village development work, and connect people to Auroville, which is a natural lead-in to talk about all our programs.
I had the privilege in February, 2008 to visit with some of the village women involved in this project and actually learn how to make a Tsunamika doll.
I was incredibly impressed with the integrity of this project and the positive impact it has had on so many women.
More recently, Upasana has developed what they call Small Step Bags, which (1) prevent dumping of plastic bags, (2) provide meaningful work for local women, and (3) educate about environmental issues.
We are proud to have recently donated to support the creation of 750 bags, of which 500 have a Living Routes logo on the backside (the other 250 were left with Upasana to donate as they see fit).
While all of this started from our commitment to walk our talk, it has evolved into some beautiful relationships with some amazing individuals and organizations. Please come find us at one of our public events and pick up a Tsunamika doll or Small Step bag for yourself!
Living Routes Mourns the Loss of One of Our Students
March 26, 2008 Amherst, MA
It is with great sadness that we report that Katherine "Katie" Sherman, a member of Living Routes' spring 2008 India program, died last Thursday while studying abroad with us. Katie's unexpected death was neither due to any program-related activities, nor was it in any way associated with the site or country in which she was studying. Medical and police authorities have determined that there was no 'foul play' involved.
Katie, a University of Massachusetts Amherst junior from Chelmsford, Massachusetts, was in the Bachelor of Fine Arts program with a concentration in photography. We are devastated by the news and extend our heartfelt condolences to Katie's family and friends.
The week following was fully devoted to creating a support system for the students (and faculty and staff) in India, dealing with the many logistical details, and aiding Katie's family in any way we could. We have brought in two local psychologists, one of whom has worked as a crisis counselor with the Israeli Army. He has been working continuously with the whole student body, both individually and as a group, and with the faculty/staff. While of course there are diverse reactions to such an event, the students are being closely held, and seem to be dealing with their emotions and reactions in a healthy way. Katie's father and aunt flew to India for three days and there were many opportunities for sharing with the students. A memorial ceremony was conducted on Wednesday, March 26.
Executive Director Daniel Greenberg interrupted his site review of our Findhorn program and flew immediately to Auroville along with Katie's family representatives. He spent a week there supporting Katie's family and the students, leading an assessment and constructing a thorough understanding of the events.
All students have been given a free international calling plan to have regular contact with their loved ones. We have also set up a parent listserv for parents of all current Auroville students and are supporting them to the best of our abilities.
With Daniel's support, our faculty have restarted normal program activities. The semester was just entering the service learning portion of the program. Due to circumstances, there will likely be changes to the itinerary, but students will be able to complete the program.
Living Routes is a nonprofit charitable organization based in Amherst, Massachusetts, USA. It offers college-level programs (credit is awarded through the University of Massachusetts Amherst) based in ecovillages and intentional communities around the world to help students gain the knowledge, skills and inspiration to build sustainable lifestyles for themselves, their communities, and the planet.
Living Routes has run semester-length programs in Auroville, India, since its founding in 1999, with a strong record of health and safety. The program is led by 4 resident faculty (M.A, or PhD-level), and assisted by 3 coordinators and several other facilitators. Each semester, the Auroville program has approximately 24 students who come from colleges and universities throughout the U.S. and Canada. All Living Routes students receive an academic transcript and 16 credits from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Living Routes' Institution of Record.
Image posted to the Auroville program's student blog by Katie on 2/24/2008
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