Sonoran Desert 2011
Thirteen Conway graduates, students, and friends of the school, along with Conway’s director, Paul Cawood Hellmund, spent a week in the Sonoran Desert in 2011.
A favorite stop on the trip was the Desert Rain Cafe, in Sells, AZ, where the fare is local and creative, drawing on traditional Tohono O'odham foods
The host was the International Sonoran Desert Alliance (ISDA), an organization with which Conway has a multi-year memorandum of understanding for cooperation.
The Conway group worked with ISDA and community members in developing and assessing future projects (food security, site design, open space planning, urban design, economic revitalization) for Conway graduate students and other designers and planners.
The trip was also a great opportunity to learn about Ajo, Arizona, and the people, plants, and animals of this former mining town and the Sonoran Desert.
You can view the trip blog here.
Panamanian Rain Forest 2007
Boating during Conway trip to the village of Achiote, Panama, in 2007
During this service-learning trip we worked alongside Panamanians who live in the village of Achiote, Panama, in one of the most biologically diverse places in the world.
The village is located along the Achiote Road, a world-renowned birding site, where the annual Christmas Bird Count consistently exceeds 300 species in a 24-hour period, making it the No. 1 or No. 2 birding spot in the world. In addition to birds, the diversity of mammals and plants in the area is also quite impressive.
Unfortunately, most visitors to the area stop just short of the village, at the forest’s edge, and the community has seen little financial benefit from tourism. Our local host, CEASPA (Panamanian Center for Research and Social Action), is working to help the villagers attract ecotourists, while maintaining the integrity of the village.
During our 2007 trip we worked with CEASPA and local community members on design and planning projects and helping assess ecotourism potential. We worked at a relaxed pace, while taking advantage of the rich resources in and around the San Lorenzo National Park.
View the trip blog here.