PanaMapping: Geodesign to Conserve the Rainforest

You will work in teams gathering original hydrological and forestry data and use GIS to better understand their relationships. Your work will support socially sustainable conservation in Panama’s Mamoní Valley Preserve. Located approximately a two-hour drive from Panama City, the preserve is part of the largest remaining stretch of contiguous rainforest in the exceptionally bio-diverse Chocó-Darién-Manabí eco-region. Biodiversity here includes 2 species of sloths, 5 species of monkeys, jaguars, ocelots, and more than 400 species of birds. You will work with the course instructors, experienced jungle guides, and local conservation experts on applied projects such as these: 

• Measure streamflow, create stream profiles, and use GIS to understand stream behavior and evaluate the importance of forests for water production  

• Gather data in pastures, recovering forests, and ancient forests to understand the effects of ecorestoration on environmental services 

• Interpret satellite imagery, ground-truthing, and original data from drones to improve forest maps and monitor forest regeneration 

• Evaluate sustainability challenges and conservation strategies in a private rainforest preserve and an indigenous community pressured by land invasion and tourism 

You will develop skills in collecting and interpreting environmental data, mapping with aerial drone and satellite images, and using GIS to analyze and present your data.  You will generate, analyze, and display data crucial for conservation planning, and you will share your results with key stakeholders.  You will also compare Western and Indigenous approaches to sustainability and conservation in Panama. Your work will build on field data UR students and faculty have produced in repeated May terms and on-campus GIS classes since 2017 and support our future projects as well. 

Dates

May 4 – 24, 2026
May 4 – 6: On-campus in Redlands
May 7 – 23: In Panama
May 24: Return to Redlands

Enrollment limit

15 students

Course fee

$3850

Included in the course fee:

• Beds in shared bamboo cabana at an off-grid campus at the edge of a vast tropical rainforest preserve with cool showers, satellite internet, natural swimming pool, micro-hydro energy plant, solar panels, howler monkeys, hummingbirds, and a community garden with three meals a day. Includes ground and boat transportation, rainforest and waterfall hikes, and (optional) river and ocean swims.
• Rustic beach cabana on an island with indigenous people. Shared hostel lodging in Panama City. Beach and mangrove excursions in the Caribbean. World Heritage sites, museums, the Panama Canal, and craft-art markets with indigenous producers.
• International health insurance.

Not included in the course fee:

• Airfare to Tocumen International Airport. Ground transport to/from LAX.
• Personal snacks, several meals, souvenirs, and field clothes.
• Three days lodging for on campus orientation, ($120 if lodged on campus during Spring Semester).
  
  

• Students must take GIS/SPA 110 Introduction to Geographic Information Systems beforehand.
• Spanish language skills are recommended, but not required. 
• Other requirements: Ability to hike for hours on uneven and slippery rainforest trails, willingness to be flexible with diet (vegetarians OK), ability to live in close quarters and to work respectfully, collaboratively, patiently, and compassionately with other students, faculty, jungle guides and Panamanians, and ability to maintain a positive attitude in spite of rain, heat, humidity and rustic conditions. 
  
  

LAI requirements: APW, CER, CPI, and N

Additional information

• Inquire about William D. Piety Environmental Science Research Scholarships for these costs.   
• Additional background from our host organization: https://new.express.adobe.com/webpage/N6nreOtxV04Zb  
• A student’s StoryMap from the 2025 version of this class: https://arcg.is/1G5Tmb0 
  
  

Contact the faculty to apply

Daniel Klooster at daniel_klooster@redlands.edu.