Day 1:
Leave Hanoi for Cuc Phuong National Park in the morning.
Explore Vietnam’s ancient forest
Go on a hike with staff through some of the most stunning rainforest in Vietnam. Visit the Cave of Early Man where bones and tools were discovered dating back 7,000 years.
Go for a night drive through the forest, and if we are lucky, spot some nocturnal creatures or experience the magic of being surrounded by fireflies.
Spend the night at accommodation provided by the National Park.
(L, D)
Day 2:
Get your hands dirty helping Vietnam’s wildlife
Spend the morning working at the park's Turtle Conservation Center (TCC), Vietnam's only rescue center for tortoises and freshwater turtles. Take a tour of the center and learn about why Vietnam's turtles are disappearing from the wild. Spend the remainder of the morning helping the keepers feed the turtles, maintain enclosures, and monitor incubating eggs and hatchlings.
After lunch, go for tour of the Endangered Primate Rescue Center (EPRC)
Leave the park, and on the way back to Hanoi, visit Van Long Nature Reserve where we will take you by boat across a beautiful emergent wetland for a opportunity to see one of the world's ten most critically endangered primate species, Delacour's langur, in the wild! Return to Hanoi
(B, L, D)
SAVING WILDLIFE IN HANOI
Day 3:
Participate in a grassroots wildlife protection survey
Meet with a Wildlife Crime team and learn about their efforts to bring an end to the illegal trade of wildlife in Vietnam. Following preparation, join staff in an actual undercover survey of restaurants and other business establishments to document crimes.
Lunch will be offered during the survey in Hanoi (at a wildlife friendly establishment).
(B, L)
INCREASING COMMUNITY ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS AT TAM DAO
Day 4:
Share and learn about environmental education with local communities
Leave for Tam Dao National Park. Meet with community outreach staff at a traditional stilt house classroom, set on hill with a scenic view of Tam Dao National park across the valley. Learn about local community-based awareness activities outside protected areas throughout Vietnam. Work with experienced trainers to prepare a "One World" lesson plan for schools that will incorporate students telling you about their natural world and you sharing experiences from your own part of the world with them (translated by local staff). Also prepare a fun game or activity with a nature or environment theme that you can lead!.
Spend the afternoon at a local school, delivering the lesson plan to local students.
Accommodation at Tam Dao Training Center stilt house.
(B, L, D)
Day 5:
Spend the morning at Tam Dao National Park, to get an increased understanding of the area's history and biodiversity, threats to the park, and the urgent need for community awareness programs in the communities living in buffer zones around National Parks.
Support reforestation efforts in rural Vietnam
Spend the afternoon planting native trees at a local school.
Return to Hanoi in the afternoon.
(B, L)