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If there was ever a place on Earth to learn about how people are directly impacted by their environment, it’s Peru. That is what a group of Storm King students found out during the last week in November, while meeting with and working alongside indigenous Peruvians.
Based out of the city of Cusco, Peru (over 350 mi. southeast of the capital Lima) the group made daily and overnight excursions to neighboring villages and communities to engage in various service projects.
The first two days were spent in the Misminay community of the Urubamba Valley, planting queuñales trees and potatoes with rudimentary farming tools, and carrying logs to a villager’s home. The students’ experience was enhanced by camping out in the community, located at an elevation of 12, 100 feet (3700 meters) above sea level.
The following day was spent with children of a nearby primary school making toys out of recycled materials. For 10th grader Grace S. being with rural, primary school children was eye-opening.
“My partner was a little girl, and she was not as shy as I thought she would be. I tried to communicate with her and help her make a toy that she wanted,” she said.
Despite the language barrier, Grace was successful in helping her partner make a Martian out of a plastic bottle and plastic plate, combining creativity with sustainability.
It was during this particular project that the SKS group experienced a seminal moment. The school’s music teacher gave an impromptu talk about how climate change is directly affecting people in that region.
He explained that they rely on snow melt from the Andes Mountains for their water supply. As the climate changes it snows less in the higher elevations, decreasing the amount of available water.
At this moment, the students had a real-time understanding of why their work, like planting trees was important.
“The hoped-for effect was acutely felt,” said chaperone and teacher Taras Ferencevych. “They rely on snow melt for their fresh water, and the hope is that the trees do some carbon sequestration and are able to slow down some of the effects of carbon emission.”
Thanksgiving Day in the U.S. saw the group ascend one of the most famous archeological destinations in the world, Macchu Picchu.
After a three-hour train ride from Cusco, the students boarded buses for the steep climb up the switchback to the ancient ruins, built in the 15th century by the Quechua-speaking people of the area, we today call Incas (Inca was their term for “king” or “emperor”).
Fortunately and unusually, the group encountered pristine weather at the top – not a cloud or fog to be seen. Their tour guide explained that modern agro-archeology is uncovering evidence that Macchu Picchu was most likely a trading post with store houses for cocoa and coca, rather than a previously-believed sacred or royal location.
For 9th grader Tanes C. this was one of the highlights of the trip. “I’ve never seen such a place before. It was so vast and beautiful. It was just amazing,” he said.
The following day, the group had another adventure and some exercise as they set out for a nearly day-long bike tour just outside of Cusco.
Mr. Ferencevych was enthusiastic about the learning opportunities this trip to Peru presented: “Continuing to seek out experiences like this for our students, where they’re compelled to think, to reflect on their place relative to other people is the heart of experiential education,” he said, “Being there and seeing the people – climate refugees – is good, it’s important.”
Tanes added, “I feel like I made a difference.”
A cultural expedition to Cuba and a student leadership summit in Iceland are planned for March 2016.
To view images from our trip, visit: