Eco-Tulum Bound!
This week, the first ever Enchanting Challenge-sponsored eco service workers (Aleigha & Maria) are participating in ecological volunteer work in and around Tulum, Mexico. Their actions are beautiful for a variety of reasons…
First: the value of the lessons learned. As Aleigha and Maria take a tour through the bioregion and snorkel through the cenotes, they will learn of the different plant and animal species that co-exist in this region. Through these experiences, they will undoubtedly gain a deeper respect and understanding of the diversity and fragility of ecosystems–and they will also learn of the necessary precautions humans must take in their interactions with nature.
Second: the importance of their hard-work. As the volunteers greet each new day in Tulum, they will leave the area a little better off than it was before their helping hands arrived. One project they will get involved in is rainforest reforestation with the Flora Fauna y Cultura Organization. Reforestation helps to preserve the world’s biggest global warming preventer: TREES. Trees soak up so much carbon dioxide, and rainforest degradation is releasing all that stored carbon back into the atmosphere…Which is becoming deadly. Rainforest reforestation helps to off-set such damage to our planet and helps to restore our carbon balance, so we are not CO2 crazy, and getting hotter by the minute!!
reforestation efforts in its baby stages for the Flora Fauna Cultura.org Organization!
Third: the shift towards eco-tourism. By choosing to go on an educational ecological service trip during their spring break, Maria and Aleigha are showing that you can have an exotic and sun-tanned spring break, while doing good in their chosen destination. They are proving that fun, relaxation, and volunteering can all coincide.
Fourth: lessons from the Mayans. Tulum sits nestled next to a UN-designated ecological safe haven. It is sidelined by beach, jungle, and ocean. It is a tangle of exotic life, with thousands of species dancing jungle tangoes to weave together this magical, mysterious oasis. But it is not just the wildlife that makes it magical, that makes it such a special place to learn lessons of biodiversity and preservation. It is also the history, of the place, the history of the Mayans, that makes Tulum so special.
When researching the Mayan ruins of the Yucatan Peninsula, I came across an opinion paper written by Institute of World Politics graduate student Joseph Duggan, entitled, “What Lessons Do Ancient Mayan Ruins Have For Legislators Today?” In his paper, Duggan points out how in its day, the Mayan world was the “First World.” He writes that ”Mayan engineering was impressive, and Mayan astronomical science was at least as advanced as that of Europe.” Its feats–and its downfall–remain mysteries, to be sure, but one thing is clear: their success was due in part to their realization of their dependence upon the natural world.
Joseph Duggan writes that, “One thing that can be said is that the governing class…was obsessed with environmental issues…Concerned with perceptions on climate change in an economy and political regime that depended on agriculture and fishing and trade, Mayan leaders adopted bold policies for the cause of saving the planet.” So, as we service workers travel to Tulum and work in the rainforests and store away our lessons of the natural world, we must remember that as we gaze upon the ancient Mayan ruins of Tulum, we are gazing upon a lesson from an ancient people that understood an undeniable truth: society’s success depends upon society’s preservation of the natural world that bears our civilizations.
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