Page 97 - BB_Textbook

PRODUCTIVE GRADE 11
Extraordinary Ecotourism
This section builds on the tasks undertaken by students in Grade 10. Many tasks are valuable if
they continue across time and place. For example, the Songs of Adaptation project is school-based and student-driven. While it is a Task introduced in Grade 10, it is most useful if students engage the project across several years, and teach rising classes of students to continue the scientific research.
The scavenger hunt below is another local Task that can continue semester-to-semester, year-to-year.
And with a longer timeframe, students can analyze climate trends in their Delta context. Using the global classroom network, they can compare their results to those of peers in other Delta schools and Vietnamese cities, as well as distant countries and diverse ecosystems.
Photo scavenger hunt
Step One: Now you are ready for a Photo Scavenger Hunt. Forming groups of a few students, decide on a time that you can meet out of class. Using your cell phones, take pictures of twenty things in your neighborhood that affect your carbon footprint. Here are examples, but you will discover more examples than these.
1. ____________________________________________________ 2. ____________________________________________________ 3. ____________________________________________________ 4. ____________________________________________________ 5. ____________________________________________________ 6. ____________________________________________________ 7. ____________________________________________________ 8. ____________________________________________________ 9. ____________________________________________________ 10. ___________________________________________________ 11. ___________________________________________________ 12. ___________________________________________________
Imagine your class is planning the ecotourism of a group
of visitors from Ho Chi Minh City and neighboring ASEAN cities. Search online for further information on ecotourism, a sub-category of sustainable, nature, and agricultural forms of tourism. Ecotourism is intended to be a low- impact, socially responsible, educative, environmentally responsible, and personal growth way of travel.
It should cause people of different countries and cultures to exchange significant thoughts and practices. It should challenge participants to respect one another, and to recognize the assets and needs that are part of every place and people. It should highlight unique and authentic aspects of local culture, history, nature, conservation, biodiversity, sustainability, resilience, and responsiveness to carbon footprint. It should support a local economy, especially the earning capacity of the individuals, families, and communities receiving visitors. It should contribute to a good living wage.
Engage your teacher in finding articles on effective ecotour- ism from Vietnam and other countries. Interview Bending Bamboo teachers about their own experiences with eco- tourism in Vietnam. Examine carefully the destinations and forms of ecotourism that are common in Cần Thơ. Critique the good and bad aspects of existing tourism in the Delta. Are they equitable? Well-researched? Interesting? Do they improve the environment, the local economy, and the dignity of residents?
How can ecotourism be an entry point for Delta high school students to learn about sustainability and resilience, shock and stress, and positive change? How can students grow their own competence and confidence in developing ecotourism? Can they model how to share with visitors and Delta residents the benefits of ecotourism? The uniqueness of the Delta? Its challenges and opportunities? The value of being bilingual with purpose?
BENDING BAMBOO
CLIMATE | CHAPTER 2 97