University of Arizona School of Natural Resources and the Environment

University of Arizona School of Natural Resources and the Environment

RNR 497W/597W

Costa Rica: Energy, Water and Health

(Costa Rica Climate Justice Program)

A Service-Learning Workshop

6 units of credit

Program Instructors/Coordinators:

·  Oscar Beita – Arizona Hispanic Center of Excellence -

·  Madeline Kiser – Inside/Out Poetry and Sustainability Program -

·  Jiri Spendlingwimmer – Movimiento Rios Vivos, Longo Mai, Costa Rica

Workshop description: Students will learn about the close relationship among energy production, water conservation, local economies and community health in two rural Costa Rican communities while practicing Spanish and providing community service. This program focuses on how personal and community resiliency are created in a time of climate change, and how seemingly small changes can add up to leverage significant policy and cultural shifts.

Summary:

This month-long workshop is located in the south of Costa Rica, in the Térraba Basin, one of the largest, most economically stressed and contentious basins in the country. This area depends on just a few industries and companies, including a subsidiary of Del Monte pineapple. Students will live, study, and work in two communities that are geographically close to each other: Volcán, where, since 1979, a large percentage of Del Monte’s Costa Rica plantations are located; and Longo Mai, a rural farming community that aims to be sustainable and educate local people and visitors about how to live simply.

As in so much of the world, in this area rivers have been drying due to over-extraction, a lack of comprehensive planning and climate change. Yet there are plans to build multiple private dams on these same rivers. Public frustration about the lack of transparency and long-range visioning is galvanizing a movement, Movimiento Ríos Vivos (Living Rivers Movement) which in turn is influencing water debates and policy-making at the national level.

The program has four main components: 1) sustained inquiry into the personal and community character traits and skills necessary to bring about the cross-sector movement building, or resiliency work, taking shape around the world as the climate rapidly shifts, with a primary focus on water as a catalyst for wider change; 2) site visits in Tucson to provide a context for what students will learn in Costa Rica; 3) lessons from Movimiento Ríos Vivos and national allies as they link grassroots organizers, scientists, and policy-makers in efforts to create inclusive, equitable water reform at overlapping scales; 4) placing the examples of Tucson and southern Costa Rica in the context of international best practices for Integrated Water Resources Management as a tool for leveraging broader social and environmental change.

The spirit of the workshop is asking students to step into and empathetically navigate a shared space of uncertainty, in which they assume collective responsibility for shaping their learning and the program’s structure. With this in mind, though proficiency in Spanish will be helpful, students who don’t speak the language are invited to attend with the knowledge that the group as a whole will need to respond to a range of abilities. Local translators will be provided for students who need assistance.

Program Components:

·  Two pre-session eight-hour trainings providing 1) the biology of the two regions, Southern Arizona and the south of Costa Rica, students will be studying, taught by faculty and staff at the School of Natural Resources and other relevant experts; 2) site-specific terms and concepts students will encounter in Spanish throughout the program.

·  3-4 lectures/week by resiliency leaders, water and energy experts and others in Tucson and Costa Rica and field trips to a wide variety of urban and rural sites

·  Weekly seminars exploring the nexus of water, energy, individual and community health, local/solidarity economy and systems change, emphasizing the overlap among comparative analysis, journalism, scholarly writing, compassion and art

·  3-4 weekly physical assignments: building canals for an aquifer, planting community gardens, planting and monitoring trees, making chocolate from cacao seeds

·  Direct participation in movement-building in Costa Rica. The workshop is designed to be a vehicle for facilitating planning among different stakeholder-communities. Programming, for example, in 2016, helped refresh dialogue among multiple stakeholders, including a subsidiary of Del Monte pineapple, one of Costa Rica’s largest employers, to reforest in the wake of the hottest summer on record

·  Residency in Longo Mai, a vibrant coop-community and site of a new eco-center inaugurated by Costa Rica’s National University hosting international students

·  One eight-hour debriefing session upon return, in which students will share their findings with UA faculty, staff and community members

Learning Outcomes: (RNR 497W/597W)

By the end of the Costa Rica: Energy, Water & Health Workshop, students will:

1.  Become proficient in the growing body of literature exploring the nexus of water, energy, individual and community health, climate justice, local economy and systems change. In addition, graduate students (597W) will develop proficiency in teaching parts of this literature to undergraduate participants;

2.  Engage in group discussions, select a relevant issue, and write a weekly analysis of lectures by experts, activists, artists, scholars and others in Tucson and Costa Rica working on the cutting edge of water, energy, health and climate justice. In addition, graduate students (597W) will develop group facilitation skills to co-facilitate group discussions;

3.  Demonstrate effective communication skills required to engage in the lived process of cross-sector movement-building in Tucson and Costa Rica, in which lectures and exchanges spark and energize community projects. In addition, graduate students (597W) will mentor undergraduate students in developing these communication skills;

4.  Discuss the importance of developing personal qualities --like humility, respect, compassion, integrity, patience, and non-violent communication that contribute in the development of personal, social and environmental resiliency and health. In addition, graduate students (597W) will be expected to lead discussions about the importance of these essential personal qualities.

Key Partners:

UA Arizona Hispanic Center for Excellence http://www.azhcoe.medicine.arizona.edu/index.html

UA Office of Global Initiatives https://global.arizona.edu/study-abroad

Nectandra Institute http://www.nectandra.org/index.php

Longo Mai http://www.sonador.info/en/

Escuela de la Tierra http://www.escueladelatierra.org/home

Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica http://www.una.ac.cr/

Volcán rural aqueduct association (ASADA) http://www.pvolcan2.odd.ucr.ac.cr/?page_id=1142

Undergraduate grading requirements:

Regular Grades (A: > 90% B: 80% - 89% C: 70% - 79% D: 60% - 69% E: < 59%) will be given based on the following criteria:

20 out of 100 points—Group project: students will work in teams for a minimum of 10 hours to research and prepare a two-hour group presentation on a relevant theme (for example: comparative analysis of water policy between Costa Rica and Arizona; the role of indigenous movements in shaping climate policy; best practices in stakeholder engagement to develop climate policy) to community members and faculty at the conclusion of the program (Objective 3). Presentation preparation includes: 1) choosing presentation theme as a group and together with program coordinators developing a relevant bibliography; 2) incorporating community input as a key component of the presentation development process; 3) using a mix of academic and creative presentation tools to craft the presentation message; 4) designing and implanting a presentation evaluation.

35 points – Daily participation in seminars, guest lectures, translating, documentation through photography and notes, and field work. Faculty will keep a journal of student participation and engagement in workshop activities and field work (Objective 2).

25 points—Weekly reflection papers summarizing readings, lectures, and field observations to demonstrate proficiency in the workshop readings as stated in Objective 1.

20 points--An individual ten-page final paper addressing questions at center of the class, or topics raised during the program relevant to student interests. Students are also required to conduct a final presentation at the all-day debriefing two-weeks after returning to Tucson. Examples include analysis of:

·  Sound water management practices in this time of climate change

·  How change in water policy leverage related, necessary change in other areas

·  The nexus of energy, water, health, local economy, climate resiliency, systems change

·  The spiritual, or values-based, dimension of cross-sector change

All final papers will need to identify personal qualities that are important to engage in cross sectoral movement building and discuss their contribution in the development of personal, social and environmental resiliency and health (Objective 4). Alternative ideas for reflection will also be considered in communication with program faculty.

Graduate level requirements: In addition to fulfilling the requirements for undergraduates, graduate students will be expected to assume additional leadership responsibilities throughout the workshop, and, prior leaving for Costa Rica, develop together with their academic advisor, an individual project in keeping with their individual program requirements. Possible projects may include: additional 10-page comparative analysis of climate related areas of concern affecting both Arizona and Southern Costa Rica; research project developed in close coordination with student academic advisors and program faculty.

Workshop Withdrawal: Students withdrawing from this workshop must notify the instructor prior to

non-attendance in classes. Faculty member will conduct an administrative drop or withdrawal procedures in accordance with the UA General Catalog. Any student failing to attend class in two or more successive classes is subject to automatic withdrawal by the faculty member if arrangements have not been made in advance.

Classroom/Site Behavior:

Students are expected to be familiar with the UA Policy on Disruptive Behavior in an Instructional Setting found at http://hr2.hr.arizona.edu/dos/pol_disrupt.htm and the Policy on Threatening Behavior by Students found at http://hr2.hr.arizona.edu/dos/pol_threat.htm. All cell phones and pagers must be turned off during class.

As part of initial group discussions, students will be asked to define and role-play how they would want outsiders visiting their house, neighborhood, and community to behave, and adhere to these rules.

Disability Accommodation:

Students who are registered with the Disability Resource Center must submit appropriate documentation to the instructor if they are requesting reasonable accommodations: http://drc.arizona.edu/instructor/syllabus-statement.shtml

Syllabus Changes:

Information contained in the workshop syllabus may be subject to change with reasonable advance notice, as deemed appropriate by the instructors. Grade and attendance policy is not subject to change.

Open Door Policy: Instructors and local community coordinators will be available to schedule meetings at the start and end of scheduled daily programming, and according to students’ needs.

Attendance Policy: Students will be expected to participate in each day’s planned activities throughout the workshop, in a spirit of promoting not only their own learning, but as a commitment to our group and the communities hosting us. If students need to be absent, they should speak beforehand to instructors to make arrangements for alternative assignments.

Special Needs and Accommodations Statement

Students who need special accommodation or services should contact the Disability Resources Center, 1224 East Lowell Street, Tucson, AZ 85721, (520) 621-3268, FAX (520) 621-9423, email: , http://drc.arizona.edu/. You must register and request that the Center or DRC send me official notification of your accommodations needs as soon as possible. Please plan to meet with me by appointment or during office hours to discuss accommodations and how my workshop requirements and activities may impact your ability to fully participate. The need for accommodations must be documented by the appropriate office.

Student Code of Academic Integrity

Students are encouraged to share intellectual views and discuss freely the principles and applications of workshop materials. However, graded work/exercises must be the product of independent effort unless otherwise instructed. Students are expected to adhere to the UA Code of Academic Integrity as described in the UA General Catalog. See: http://dos.web.arizona.edu/uapolicies/.

Confidentiality of Student Records

http://www.registrar.arizona.edu/ferpa/default.htm

Incomplete: The grade of Incomplete may be awarded only at the end of a term, when all but a minor portion of the course work has been satisfactorily completed. The grade of Incomplete is not to be awarded in place of a failing grade or when the student is expected to repeat the course; in such a case, a grade other than Incomplete must be assigned. Students should make arrangements with the instructor to receive an incomplete grade before the end of the term.

Sample Program Schedule: (Average Day includes 4 hours of field work; 4 hours of lectures or site visits; and 2 hours of homework)

Date / Program of Activities / Location /
Week 1, Day 1 / Two-day Tucson training facilitated by water environmental justice leaders: One house, many doors—how water reflects and influences many issues: 1) integrated water management and the need for cross-sector movement building; 2) leveraging grassroots organizing into policy change. Focus on Arizona, in the context of best practices. 3) group decision-making about structure, materials, rules. / Changemaker High School (http://changemakerhighschool.org/);
Flowers and Bullets (https://www.facebook.com/FlowersBullets);
Community Water Coalition (http://communitywatercoalition.org/);
Nuestro Río, a growing coalition of Latino leaders in the Colorado River Basin
(http://nuestrorio.nationbuilder.com/);
and/or other sites.
Day 2 / Site visits lead by a mix of UA environmental experts and climate justice leaders in South Tucson: YWCA, House of Neighborly Services, Casa Maria, and North Star Collaborative / City of South Tucson
Day 3 / Leaving Tucson and arriving in San José, Costa Rica
Day 4 / San José training by water and environmental justice leaders: One house, many doors—Costa Rica, in the context of best practices. Part I. / Visit to Nectandra, Institute (http://www.nectandra.org/index.php)
Day 5 / San José training, Part II: leveraging change in water at overlapping scales. Trust, community building, and policy change.
Afternoon: travel to Longo Mai/settle in with families. / Visit to the Costa Rican Electricity Institute and FUNDECOR (http://www.fundecor.org/)
Day 6 / Solitary day: students spend the day alone exploring, sitting by the river, reflecting. Individual appointments with group leaders available. Evening convening to share. / Longo Mai (http://www.sonador.info/en/)
Day 7 / (Saturday, half-day)
Guided tour of community of Volcan de Buenos Aires with local leaders / Volcan de Buenos Aires
Sun
Week 2, Day 8 / Building trust and community over decades in Longo Mai. Visit to local health center, local aqueduct, and water sources. / Longo Mai
Day 9 / Costa Rica’s National Energy Dialogue, and how it affects energy, water and health (and builds trust; community)? / Longo Mai Community Center
Day 10 / National Private Dams Project, and how it affects energy, water and health (and builds trust; community)? / Longo Mai Community Center