The Ohio State University
AC-5: Immersive Experience

The Office of International Affairs offers many study abroad programs with courses that touch on sustainability issues; the following programs specifically focus on sustainability and are offered on an annual basis. However, due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, they were cancelled for the 2020-2021 Academic Year. They have since resumed.

• Australia: Human Impacts on the Natural Environment
This three week experiential program explores the relationship between human and natural systems through the lens of environmental sustainability. North Queensland boasts some of the most diverse and remarkable natural resources in the southern hemisphere. Known as the Sunshine State, Queensland is home to lush tropical rainforests, dry woodlands, arid deserts and the spectacular marine diversity of the Great Barrier Reef.

Students spend much of their time traveling the stunning national parks, forests, wildlife reserves, coastlines and islands of North Queensland under the guidance of knowledgeable field professionals. We spend the first week at an off-the-grid, family operated accommodation called Hidden Valley. During our time at Hidden Valley, we will make excursions to the Wet Tropics rainforest, Wallaman Falls and Running River Gorge. Following Hidden Valley, we will visit the outback and tour a cave in Chillagoe, partake in a farm-stay in the Atherton tablelands and camp on a private nature reserve Sheoak Ridge. The final week of the program includes two days identifying coral and fish species on the Great Barrier Reef, a tour of a sea turtle rehabilitation hospital and a reef restoration activity on Fitzroy Island. Throughout the program, we will explore the relationship humans have with the natural world around them, the significance of indigenous cultures and the future of environmental sustainability in Australia.

• Costa Rica: Sustainable Service Learning
The goal of this program is to help students develop cultural awareness and problem-solving skills while also allowing students to conduct international sustainable service-learning projects. We achieve these goals through a variety of course work, including regular guided discussions of the assigned study topics, student’s experience and thoughts about the field trips and guided tours to the cultural and historical sites, as well as conducting service-learning projects and staying with local families.

This program begins in San Jose, but the group will move on to the world-famous EARTH University soon after. A major benefit of staying at EARTH University is the interaction between the Ohio State and EARTH students who are from various tropical countries around the world as well as access to the school's many educational farms (cacao, coffee, banana, and livestock). While at EARTH, students will be able to witness the education that takes place at EARTH and prepare for their service-learning projects. The projects take place in a partner community that EARTH is assisting through development efforts and includes a two to three-day homestay with a local family. Examples of past projects include building a bio-digester, creating urban gardens, constructing mobile chicken coops, assisting with school renovations or writing project manuals in English for other English-speaking groups that visit EARTH University. Students will eat in the cafeteria with the EARTH students and have ample opportunity to make new friends from around the world

• Czech Republic: Sustainability & Agricultural Policy in the EU
The purpose of this 4 week trip is to study development and economic change from the days of King Charles to the birth of Czechoslovakia under communism, through the peaceful "Velvet Revolution" and into their ascent into the European Union, focusing on agriculture and natural resources.

• FCOB Sustainable Business Global Lab
Costa Rica represents one of the planet’s most outstanding examples of sustainability systems and practices that support a public and private partnership to a goal of carbon neutrality by 2021. In 1994, Costa Rica added an amendment to its Constitution that declares a right to a healthy environment for all its citizens. At the same time, the government must create the conditions and soft infrastructure to allow economic growth for the increased prosperity of its population.

Education abroad programs led by Ohio State faculty are experiential in nature. Instruction often takes place outside of the traditional classroom through excursions, tours and observations and utilizes various forms of transportation. Participants are encouraged to prepare themselves to expect the unexpected while studying abroad; part of the valuable experience of traveling is learning how to adapt and be flexible in a variety of situations.

• New Zealand: Sustainable Tourism & Human Impacts on the Environment
This three-week education abroad program will examine the natural and social histories of New Zealand's South Island. The program will integrate the different perspectives of diverse natural, biological and social science disciplines to improve understanding of relationships between human societies and the natural environment. Students will learn about the intersections of environmental conservation and economic dependence on tourism in addition to how “sustainable tourism” is defined and upheld in New Zealand.

Students will learn about learn the Maori history of New Zealand, visit five national parks, tour sustainable vineyards and farms, whale watch, discuss sustainable design with the owner of Ziptrek Ecotours (followed by zip-lining), cruise the Milford Sound, visit Aoraoki (Mt. Cook), kayak, participate in guided day hikes and participate in a service-learning activity with the New Zealand Department of Conservation.

• Panama: Through the Lens of AgriCulture, Sustainability and Diversity
This program is designed to give students a different perspective on agriculture and other economic sectors that influence food, fiber and fuel. Additionally, this program will serve to educate and allow students to experience the various applications of agriculture and construction on varying scenarios, especially within a socioeconomic and ethnically diverse context. Through participating in this program, students will explore culture outside of the classroom and view first-hand applications of agriculture based on varying available resources and needs of the population and/or country. Before traveling, students will spend time investigating background information on the country, as well as the country’s agricultural, construction and industrial sectors.

• Sustainability and Social Justice in Ecuador
This program explores the intersections of themes such as sustainability, food security, indigenous rights, local crafts, and women’s rights as they relate to social justice in a global context. The experience will take place in both Quito and Cuenca, Ecuador. In Quito, students will tour museums and local eateries, and participate in a cooking class to learn more about art, culture, and food production in Ecuadorian society. In Cuenca, students will stay with area host families and partner with the Women’s Association of Freedom and Progress in the rural community of Guallanzhapa to develop, promote, and build sustainability for the selling of their natural products made from regional plants.