Geared towards junior high and high school students, RED's academic adventures provide a hands-on learning environment that helps build character, spur interest, expand knowledge and research skills. Surrounded by breathtaking land and seascapes, replete with rolling dunes, mangrove canals, sea turtles and gray whales (spring), and a host of marine mammals and bird species, students will use all of their five senses to achieve a perfect balance of fun and learning.

Our programs link academic challenges, situational learning, and games and activities with recognized research and conservation projects, natural history, environmental education and sustainable community development.

In Magdalena Bay, we offer two academic expeditions:
A) Mangroves, Sea Turtles and Gray Whales (February and March)
B) Mangroves, Sea Turtles and Fisheries (October through July)

Both expeditions follow an academic curriculum designed for the appropriate level:
* Junior High
* High School
* For interested schools, we also offer a parent-student trip, in which both participate together in the activities of the expedition.

Our academic programs are led by specialized instructors trained in field protocol, risk prevention and management, and are certified Wilderness First Responders (WFR). All instructors have advanced science degrees (typically marine biologists), with deep practical knowledge about the area any projects related to the expedition, and are able to transmit their knowledge to students and adults/professors alike.

At RED, we understand that every school has different goals, challenges, and requirements. We seek to meet and surpass expectations, and work with professors and academic administrators during the planning process in order to adapt our program as needed, as well as to generate understanding and motivate parents and students.

We are confident that our programs are unique in México in the level that they involve students in aspects of community development, conservation and science, generating a direct academic and practical interaction between students and their natural surroundings. Much more than a field excursion, our goal is to instill students both with an understanding of and a sense of involvement in some of the most pressing scientific and social themes encountered today.

Magdalena Bay Academic Adventure
5 Days Sample Itinerary

Day 1 - La Paz to Magdalena Bay: 
We meet the arriving group in the La Paz airport (LAP) and head out for Puerto San Carlos, gateway to the majestic Magdalena Bay. En route, we will stop to snack on typical ranchero fare and learn a little bit about their rustic lifestyle.

Arriving in Puerto San Carlos (roughly 3 hours from La Paz), we climb aboard the panga and head out to our basecamp on Conchalito Island, a tiny islet formed by shells and mangrove, where a tasty meal awaits us.

After our meal, we will settle into our camp and spend the afternoon in orientation, learning about sea turtles, the research methods used, the importance of the project, as well as how everyone can participate in the monitoring activities. As our basecamp is located in a pristine environment, we will also learn "leave no trace" camping techniques. At sunset, we head out for a short hike between the dunes and the desert, and following dinner, we will enjoy a guided tour through the night's sky.

Day 2 – Magdalena Bay – Sea Turtles:
The day begins with a fresh orange juice and a full breakfast, preparing us for the work ahead of setting the drift nets as the first step in hands on learning about sea turtles. Every two hours, a team of students - accompanied by instructors and local conservation professionals - will head out to check the drift nets. If a turtle is captured, they will bring it to the base camp where the group will put into practice the previous day's lesson: weighing, measuring, photo-identification, assessing health and tagging and naming the turtle before it is released back into the sea. All practices follow strict protocol under direct supervision of local experts.

Time will be utilized to the maximum, and by sunset, the student research teams will have presentations prepared on aspects of the sea turtle monitoring. As the sun sets, students will participate in a rich exchange over their experience, with the participation of the local experts. After dinner, another star-filled night awaits us; but on this occasion, we will spend a good portion of it monitoring the nets for sea turtles every two hours.

Day 3 – Magdalena Bay – Sea Turtles and Gray Whales:
The late night work of monitoring the nets surely will have paid off, and with luck, several turtles will be waiting to be measured and released early upon waking up. After breakfast, we will prepare for a new adventure, learning about and observing California gray whale. We will climb onboard the pangas for a day of seeking out the spouts of exhaling whales, hoping to get close enough to identify their unique markings. After lunch at basecamp, we'll have time to read, and learn more about gray whales. At sunset, students will present their observations and the new knowledge they have acquired.

Day 4 – Magdalena Bay – Whales and Mangroves:
After a well-deserved night's rest, another day of adventure awaits us. Aboard pangas and on foot, we will tour a zone of rich mangrove forests, learning from our instructors about the importance of mangroves to the ecology of the region. After lunch we will head out to visit the whales one more time, before heading back to prepare presentations on mangroves.

Tonight around the fire, the fishermen (also the owner-operators of the ecotourism outfit hosting our stay) will talk with us about their own stories and experiences, about life as fishermen, what they have learned from the sea, and their path towards conservation.

Day 5 – Magdalena Bay – to La Paz:
We will rise early to pack and eat breakfast. If the departure flight leaves in the afternoon, we will have time to explore the sand dunes. If it leaves at midday, we will bid farewell and head straight to La Paz to board the flight home.

Trip length: Custom trips to fit your needs from 3 days to 7 days. Departs from: La Paz
Available academic programs: Sea Turtle Conservation,  Mangrove Ecology, Grey Whales, Sustainable Fisheries, Sand Dunes.
Price: Starting at $650 US per person. Departure dates: October through May

Accommodations: Field camping with comfortable amenities. Tents are equipped with either two singles or one double mattress with linens and pillows. Toilet and shower facilities are environmentally friendly and integrated in the landscape.

Includes: Specialized instructors trained in field protocol, risk prevention and management, ground transportation from La Paz to San Carlos and back (about 3 hours each way), boat transportation to camp and back, all meals starting on lunch of day one and ending on lunch of day 3, taxes, a 3% donation to RED´s community conservation fund, comfortable camping accommodations.

Excludes: Breakfast on day 1 and dinner on last day, hotels or transportation prior or after the trip, tips.

This trip is ideal for:
- Students over 11 years old
- Junior High and High School students primarily, but college students are also welcome.
- Student’s parents and teachers
- Also appropriate for groups of families & friends.

This trip supports research on black sea turtles as part of the Grupo Tortuguero program. This information provides vital data on health, migration patterns and habitat use of sea turtles in Magdalena Bay, ultimately providing policymakers and authorities with the tools they need to make strategic decisions towards the species' conservation.

Travelers also play an important role in conserving Magdalena Bay's natural resources, providing a complementary, sustainable source of employment in a zone plagued by overfishing and poaching. Your hosts on this trip are part of RED's rigorous training and business incubation program which instills community members with principles of social equity and environmental and community stewardship. This is complemented and strengthened by the genuine personal interaction between clients and staff.

Participating in RED Sustainable Travel's Academic Adventure was truly an amazing experience that left a deep impact in students and educators alike.

The British Institute of Mazatlán fully appreciates the preparation, thought and effort invested by RED to create consciousness within local youth of the ecological and social issues that surround them. Our trip was filled by an exchange of the community's vast experience and knowledge, RED's qualified staff, and us - an academic institution.

During the trip we immersed ourselves in a diversity of subjects such as mangroves, small-scale fishing, sea turtles and ecotourism. The adventure was complemented by personal talks and fun activities that left a deep impression mark on the memory of each one of us at the British Institute of Mazatlán. It was the perfect learning technique to get to know and respect the biodiversity that surrounds us.

We wholeheartedly recommend this trip to other student groups so that young people have the chance to participate in a program that strengthens values such as responsibility, solidarity, equality, and stewardship of natural surroundings.

Sincerely,
M. en C. María Fernanda Calderón Campuzano
Academic Coordinator British Institute of Mazatlan.