PoD has created an exciting and completely unique opportunity this summer for teachers. 

Following the success of our 2009 Teachers’ Expedition to the Peruvian Amazon, PoD is running a two / three week expedition to Tanzania for ‘teachers only’ in the school holidays this summer (2010).  

During this exciting trip you will spend the first week living and working with a Maasai community near the Tarangire National Park, tracking animals and seeing how the community interacts with the surrounding area and wildlife.  The second part of the expedition will be spent working at one of PoD’s volunteer projects in a remote mud hut village in the Usambara Mountains. The community relies heavily on traditional subsistence farming and visiting them provides you with a chance to learn from and contribute to real people who live in a real world subsistance farming enviroment. 

Finally, the optional third week will be spent climbing Mt Meru and exploring the slopes of Tanzania’s second highest peak which rises from the plains to 4566m.  A dormant volcano and situated in Arusha National Park, Mt Meru gives one of the best oportunities in the world for close up views of volcanic formations. You will also spend the first part of the climb walking through a game park amongst giraffe, elephant, buffalo, baboon and gazelle. Then you'll ascend through many of the environmental and vegetational zones of Africa up to the bare volcanic summit where you'll have stunning views across to Mt Kilimanjaro a few miles to the East.  

This expedition will be led by Mike Beecham - one of the PoD directors and expedition manager.

Whether you have been on several expeditions as a teacher and are already well travelled or have no expedition experience and are thinking of taking a group abroad in the future this exciting opportunity could be for you.

Aim of the expedition

As with last years Andes & Amazon Expedition you can choose your aims for this trip:

• a chance to develop skills needed for taking field trips & expeditions overseas, or to evaluate potential school expedition companies
  
• a chance to experience the people, wildlife, environments and conservation issues that you teach about and to develop resources to support your classroom teaching
• a chance build links between your school and partner organisations or schools in Tanzania with the potential to bring schools groups back for a trip
• a chance to just enjoy travelling in Africa with a group of likeminded teachers
  

The programme will include time spent on local conservation and community projects, the data from which could be used to develop teaching resources for your return, along with informal seminars on the following areas:

• expedition health
• safety in remote environments
• travel in the developing world
• maximising the benefit to students
• geo-blogging and Google Earth
• the environmental impact of adventure travel
• the importance of 'real world' fieldtrips to students
• the British Standard 8848 'A Specification for adventurous activities, expeditions, visits and fieldwork outside the UK' 

The trip will provide you with an insight into the way PoD runs school expeditions and field trips and will give you the chance to experience an expedition without any pupils to consider!

For those that want to, there would also be the opportunity to extend your trip to go on safari, take on the challenge of Mt Kilimanjaro, relax on the unspoilt beaches of Zanzibar or simply to explore the sights and sounds of Tanzania further.

Why go?

• Tanzania is an amazing and varied country that brings you the very essence of Africa
  
• The African plains, wildlife and communities are an incredible and disappearing resource – this is a chance to live in it, to learn about it and to do something to protect it
• You can use this trip as a recce to plan potential future field trips or expeditions for a group from your school
  
• It’s a chance to take part in a trip tailored to the needs of teachers with the idea of helping you to educate your students about this amazing country and threatened environment
• All your travel in Tanzania is arranged for you and guided by our expedition leader
• Information you collect and photos you take can be used to develop your own teaching resources on your return to the UK

 If as a result of your trip, your school books a field trip or expedition through PoD in the next 5 years we will refund £500 to you.

Who is it for?

This expedition is for any teacher who wishes to travel to Tanzania and who is enthusiastic to learn more about the people and wildlife of Africa and help support them. It is for teachers who are keen to develop their expedition experience and skills and who are excited about travelling with a group of likeminded teachers to some of Africa's most incredible locations.

The size of the expedition team is limited to 16 and we will be taking bookings on a first come first served basis.

Provisional Itinerary

Maasai Land Camp

The Maasai community area accommodation has 2 dorm rooms sculptured to Maasai style including stick beds . There is a toilet block- tastefully built in bush materials, half open air! There are two chefs and 2 camp assistants to make sure things run smoothly.

There is excellent scope for authentic Maasai cultural interaction which could lead to many different projects such as belief systems, boma building, songs, dance, goat sacrifice, other food types, root and bark medicines, the impact of the modern world and nearby tourism etc.  

There is of course also plenty of scope for biology, geography and geology educational activities. There is good wildlife in the area, with locations for tracking prints along with seeing a vast array of birds, zebra, wildebeest, giraffe, dik dik, jackal, hyena and Grants Gazelle.

Village Africa in the Usambara Mountains

The second week of the expedition with be with our charity Village Africa in the remote mud hut village of Yamba in the West Usambara Mountains.

Village Africa is a British registered charity committed to the alleviation of poverty through education, health care and sustainable development. We'll spend a week volunteering with them and learning about their development work.

The area had never received outside intervention or support until 3 years ago when they invited Village Africa to support them. There has never been industry, tourism, development organisations or even governement support in the area so local people live as subsistence farmers in many ways just has they have for the last 500 years. The people of the village of Yamba built the track for 7 km from the nearest dirt road to ensure that Village Africa would come to work with them.  This phase of your expedition will give you a totally unique chance to experience and work with an incredible people in a beautful area that can not be visited as a tourist.

Mt Meru

Mt Meru is one of the most impressive mountains in Africa. It is a dormant volcano that 250 000 years ago blew out the entire Eastern flank of the mountain leaving an open sided crater with a vast ash cone at the centre. Climbing the moutain is short, steep and incredibly beautiful.  The mountain is a game park and the first day of the climb starts on the plains amongst the wildlife. Its not unusual to walk around a bush and come face to face with a giraffe, a baboon or a family of mongoose. as you climb you pass through many different vegetational zones. The dry forests of the lower region gives way to a dense mountain rainforest, which then turns into a scrubland. The birdlife in incredible and in the forests you may even spot black & white Colobus monkeys. Gaining altitude you move to thinner stunted trees and shrubs then up into the high altitude zones characterised by lichens and a few soring raptors.

While on the mountain we are accompanied by an armed ranger and a small team of porters to carry our food. We'll stay in basic mountains huts and the porters will use the simple cooking facilities to prepare our meals.

What's included in the expedition cost

• Information and advice on health, planning for the expedition and what to take prior to departure including a detailed information booklet
  
• Dedicated expedition leader throughout
• Support from our staff in Tanzania during the expedition
• All itinerary items during the expedition
• All accommodation, meals and transport in Tanzania
  

What's not included

• Flight to Arusha, Tanzania (estimated cost £500-600)
• Travel Insurance
• Personal spending, snacks, drinks, souvenirs etc.
  

Fundraising and sponsorship

A number of teachers we have spoken to are applying to their school for sponsorship or a contribution from their inset budget towards the cost of the expedition as it will be excellent professional development. Another route is for you to fund raise towards the cost of your trip as you are going to work with a charitable organisation. We can provide support for either of these routes.

When to travel

You can either choose to fly out on the official dates with the group or travel independently to visit Tanzania before the expedition start date. Similarly at the end of the expedition, you may choose to travel straight back to the UK or extend your trip. If you do choose to spend additional time in Tanzania we can help you with any travel plans and ideas you may have.

How to apply

Please give us a call or email if you would like to discuss the expedition.

 Or to go straight to the application form please click here:

 Or copy & past the following link into your browse:

http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dG1nVFRZWjVwVTdQNVA2Z05ud1gxVHc6MA