APS Teachers Adventure at GeoCamp

Elementary Educators Jennifer Burgin (Hoffman-Boston) and Megan Zelasko (Campbell) attended a professional development travel program for educators this past summer called GeoCamp Amazon, an offering through the National Council for Geographic Education. Each earned a scholarship through the Virginia Geographic Alliance, offering free PreK-University level educators membership. Burgin and Zelasko were part of a 15-educator team who traveled to the Peruvian Amazon to research biodiversity, cultural practices, and geo-literacy. Their experiences included visiting animal rehabilitation centers, meeting with three local villages and learning from the elders and children, volunteering with CONAPAC to renovate a schoolhouse, and encountering wildlife from the tops of tree canopies to the forest floor.

Burgin and Zelasko outside of the elementary school for the Maijuna village they visited

Burgin with two youths at Suni Caño, a village in Peru, after sharing in a celebratory dance and games after volunteering in their schoolhouse for the day

Burgin in a canoe on the Napo River, a tributary of the Amazon River in Per

Burgin and Zelasko in a motocarro in Iquitos, the main mode of transportation

Zelasko learning to weave roofing from César, who grew up learning from the Yagua people

Zelasko holding hands with Yagua children before they took us on a tour of their local ceiba tree

Burgin and Zelasko with Yagua children after being included in their traditional dance and worship ceremony

APS educators are eligible for VGA scholarships to GeoCamps Amazon and Iceland through membership and scholarship applications each Spring.