PRESS RELEASE
For immediate release: 31 July 2007
Jo Little > T 1-800-352-1793 > E jo.little@i-to-i.com
GREENER GAPS
i-to-i Offers Globetrotting Gappers the Eco Option
With hordes of young jetsetters about to head off on a gap year abroad despite the ever increasing concerns about the impact of travel on the environment, leading meaningful travel provider i-to-i is offering this year’s budding gappers a string of eco options to help them stamp out their carbon footprints.
The gap year has become a rite of passage for thousands of pre and post university adventure seekers and yet travelling responsibly has never been more important. To help plan a more eco friendly escape, here are just a few of the greener gap getaways available through i-to-i this summer:
Eco Tour: The Peruvian Andes experience
This is a unique opportunity to interact with the people of Peru, far removed from the usual tourist routes. Here you’ll engage in a variety of eco objectives and activities from helping your host family build a fuel efficient cooking stove to assisting with reforestation programs in the area and helping to educate the local community about the importance of trees and the forest.
From £695 (1 – 3 week placements available)
Biodiversity work with the indigenous people of Costa Rica
Boasting nearly three million raptors, the reservation is thought to have one of the most concentrated populations of these birds on the planet and is gradually developing a reputation as a top eco-tourism destination. During your time here you will have the opportunity to get involved with a variety of activities including reforestation, monitoring raptor migration and trail maintenance. Many of the people that you will be working with belong to the indigenous tribes that live throughout the Talamanca region and this will give you the perfect opportunity to observe the local culture.
From £695 (2-12 week placements available)
Cloud Forest Conservation with 'Rainforest Concern' in Ecuador
The Bosque Nublado Santa Lucia is a community based conservation and eco-tourism effort, located in the truly amazing mountain cloud forests of the Choco Andean bio region of north western Ecuador. This area is a global hotspot of diversity with over 1500 species of tropical plants, 370 species of bird as well as a variety of exotic animals including the endangered spectacled bear. Here you will be getting involved with a range of conservation activities including Agro-forestry, organic gardening and tree planting as well as assisting with the eco-tourism project.
From £1025 (2-12 week placements available)
Conservation work on the Galapagos Islands
Located on the island of San Cristobal at a fascinating biological station whose aim is to help preserve the natural habitat of the island and introduce new organic farming methods. Depending on the station’s needs, your work here on the Galapagos Islands may include helping plant new crops, assisting in light building activities, or helping maintain the trails around the island. In addition to your work at the station, local staff will lead you on various hikes to nearby lagoons, forests, beaches and local villages to explain the ecological and human dynamics of the Galapagos.
From £1025 (2 – 10 week placements available)
For more information about gap projects available through i-to-i this summer call 1-800-352-1793 or visit www.i-to-i.com.
Ends
For further press information or photography, please contact Jo Little on 1-800-352-1793 jo.little@i-to-i.com
EDITOR’S NOTES
1. i-to-i is a volunteer travel and TEFL training organisation based in Leeds, UK; Denver, USA; Melbourne, Australia and Co. Waterford, Ireland. Each year it sends around 5,000 volunteers to work on 500 projects in over 30 countries worldwide and trains a further 15,000 people to teach English as a foreign language.
2. i-to-i is a founding member of the Year Out Group, associate of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office ‘Know Before You Go’ Campaign, member of the Federation of International Youth Travel Organisations and has training accreditation from the Open and Distance Learning Quality Council.
