We custom design each program to your preferred timeline and educational needs.  (Minimum 5 day to 21 days programs)
 
The mission of the Philippine Young Explorers Program is to EXPLORE and LEARN.

EXPLORE
Janet Belarmino’s aim is to create environmental awareness amongst the young and to experience and highlight the beauty of the planet by taking young people out onto a variety of terrains to let them see for themselves.

LEARN
Educational specialists and local guides will join these young adults out in the wild and share with them their knowledge about the flora and fauna, help them understand the fragile and important interaction between man, nature and its elements and to find solutions and initiate projects that will help protect the planet for future generations.

Young Explorers’ Program- Coron, Palawan, Philippines

Introduction

Our Young Explorers Program allows you to travel and explore responsibly. Vacation with a purpose and help bring the beauty of the world into the classroom!  The Young Explorers Program connects school, institution and families around the world with educators, scientists, artists and explorers on expeditions to help teach targeted curriculum in a fun and meaningful way.

As a crew or team member, you will get to actively participate in producing the content for the classrooms, by partaking in our explorations at sea or on land.

The first leg of your expedition-voyage will be to the remote Calamianes Island Group in Northern Palawan where you will help set up our classroom-basecamp. The Calamianes Islands were made famous by the many sunken WWII wrecks and the pirates who stashed their booty in its plentiful sea-level caves. Each day starts with physical fitness training before breakfast, followed by morning lectures. Then you will perform field work, hands on task covering your daily agendas. During the expedition, you will visit places like Black Island, Coron Island, Lusong Gun Boat and many pristine islands and their beautiful coral reefs.

From start to finish, crew/team members will learn to provision, develop the itinerary, plan the route and safely lead expeditions while developing skills to collect and communicate important information.

Skills to be taught and covered:  every skill will be augmented and emphasized with safety and environmental education

Swimming and Snorkeling - Swimming and snorkeling, while making breath-hold dives to observe aquatic life, up close and personal, are great ways to explore the underwater world when you’re not able to scuba dive or if scuba diving just isn’t your thing. This course teaches you how to enjoy watching life below the surface and comfortably venture underwater for short visits. This course covers how to choose, adjust and use skin diving equipment and learn basic safety and guidelines for being in and around the water. Snorkeling and skin diving techniques include: checking buoyancy, surface swimming, clearing water from your snorkel and performing effortless surface dives.

Map work and navigation – This course involves maps, charts and other navigational tools. This also teaches how to use the different navigational tools, cover positions, plotting, piloting, tides, currents, navigation aids, lights and shapes, running fixes and Math - Distance of horizon.

Wilderness first aid and rescue- The Wilderness first aid and rescue course is designed to provide you with the tools to make critical medical and evacuation decisions in remote locations. Classroom lectures and demonstrations are combined with realistic scenarios where mock patients will challenge you to integrate your learning. Learning takes place both in the classroom and in outdoor settings regardless of weather conditions. Come prepared for wet, muddy, cold or hot environments. No previous first aid training is required.

Rock climbing and abseiling- This course will cover and include: Types of Rock climbing, climbing route ratings, basic climbing gear, belaying, top-roping, top-rope anchors, climbing knots and basic climbing techniques.

Sailing- This course will involve teaching Charts and publications, safety, engine checks, buoyage, tidal awareness, visual and electronic navigation, pilotage, rules of the road, anchoring, weather forecasts and passage planning.   

The course program will be concluded with an adventure course race involving multi discipline activities using; navigation, running, climbing, abseiling, pulling tires, river crossing banca padding and a very special team challenge!

Contact for your group pricing

 

Cost includes:

1. Food and non-alcoholic drinks  during the program
2. Accommodation during the program
3. Gears provided-tents and beddings, climbing gears, mask and snorkels, life vests, floatation devices, maps and charts, GPS, paddling and sailing boats, expedition boat, first aid kits and teaching aids, field knife and survival kit
4. Entrance fees for island destinations
5. Boat transfers
6. Guides and Instructors

Cost excludes:

1. Meals during stay outside the program in Coron and other parts of the Philippines
2. Personal clothing for the trip (see list of suggestion below)
3. Philippine Visa fee
4. International airfare to and from Philippines and domestic flights from Manila to Coron and back.
5. Excess baggage charges on domestic flight
6. Additional night accommodation in Coron or anywhere in the Philippines due to any reason (early arrival, late departure, early return from the program apart from itinerary).
7. Travel Insurance
8. Personal expenses (phone calls, laundry, bar bills, etc.)
9. Tips for crew and camp staff
10. 
    

Explorers need to provide:

1. Crew Profile Form
2. Medical Form
3. Crew/Team Member contract
4. Signed waivers

We recommend you pack very light. Daypack (approximate capacity 35 liters to 50 liter max) NOT hard suitcases as there will be not enough room to store them on board. Your storage space will be in a box next to your bunk, dimensions – 50cm x 40cm x 26cm.

Feet:

- Trekking/hiking boots that support your ankles with spare laces

- Light socks (2 pairs), cotton or thin woolen
- Camp shoes (sandals)

 

Head:
- Sun hat
- Sunglasses with UV protection
- Headlamp with spare bulbs and batteries (if not torch / flash light)

 

Body:
- T-shirts
- Lite rain jacket with hood

- Under Garments
- Hiking shorts
- Lightweight cotton long pants
- Trousers (preferably with breathable fabric)

- skin suits for protection and insulation from rain and swimming activities

- Insect repellant

-swim wear

 

Personal accessories:
- Daypack (approximate capacity 35 liters)

- Dry bags (20L)
- Water bottle with wide neck (2 pieces with 1 liter capacity) or camel bag.
- Toiletries (soap, toothbrush, paste, shaving machine, nail clippers, lip balm etc.) & personal   necessities.
- Small quick drying towel

- Sun screen lotion 30 SPF or higher

- Basic First Aid Kit

- Ear Plug (would be useful; who knows some people in group snores)

 

Additional:
- Digital camera or handy cam
- Binoculars (optional)
- Music set with headphone (optional)
- Pocket sized notebook and pen (optional)

- Reading book (optional)

- Travel games (such as scrabble, playing cards, chess etc.) 

Roles and Expectations:

Young Explorers

You are joining a working expedition as a full member of the team/crew. As such, you will be involved in virtually all aspects of the expedition and operations. On board our vessels you will be part of a team compose of up to 14 crew including yourself.

Our expectations of you are fairly straightforward. Your team will depend on you to fully participate in everything on the boat or over land. You will be expected to work hard to the best of your ability, to be conscientious, alert, to look after the boat and to care for each other. You will not be asked to do anything you are not comfortable doing.

It is normal practice for the first day of the expedition to be a coastal day sail, to let everyone become acclimatized. It is also an important opportunity for training and you will be shown how to do any task patiently, and for as long as it takes for you to learn the right way. This is not a graded, competitive sport but a team of partners pulling together!

 

Adult Chaperone (minimum 1 Chaperone per 8 students/ team members).

 

Primary Responsibilities:

 

1. Help ensure the safety and well-being of assigned students/team members.
2. Manage assigned group of students/team members so both the infrastructure and natural resources of the outdoor environment are minimally impacted.
3. Support instructional staff so that optimal educational results are achieved.
4. In advance of the field day, familiarize yourself with the schedule for the day and the location of the various learning stations.
5. In advance of the field day, familiarize yourself our policies related to first aid, emergency plans or any other risk management issues deemed important by your school and our system, as well as how you are to handle any behavioral problems.
6. If you are a parent, make sure you interact equally with all of the students assigned to you.
7. Immediately address any behavior that endangers other students/team members or negatively impacts the surroundings.
8. Encourage students to pick up any litter, use trash cans, avoid trampling plants unnecessarily and be good stewards in general.
9. Remind students/team members to wash hands or use sanitizing gel before eating a snack or lunch.
10. Help keep your group of students/team members on schedule.
11. Help keep your assigned students/team members quiet enough to hear all instructions and on task while they are completing their field work.
12. Make certain that all equipment is returned to the station’s instructor.
13. Other duties as assigned by the teachers coordinating the field day.
14. Be positive and enthusiastic! If conditions are less than desirable your tone will greatly influence your group’s mood.

 

Chaperoning  is  an  important  responsibility  and  needs  to  be  taken  seriously. The safety of   all is compromised when chaperones do not follow the established procedures. We like our chaperones to behave in a positive manner that our team members can use as a model. Cell phones need to be used at appropriate times. Inappropriate language is unacceptable for all team members. We need chaperones that are interested in helping all team members. Although your main responsibility is to take care of your own group, please be aware of what all team members are doing and discuss any inappropriate behavior with any team member not acting appropriately. On the boat, help your captain by making sure the team members in your area are behaving in a proper manner.  Please think very carefully about chaperoning before you sign up for this responsibility.

 

 

Combining an expedition with a program of specialized workshops designed to stimulate and focus your passions and areas of expertise into an effective future path, join our Young Explorers Program through the Islands of Northern Palawan. We’re offering a special opportunity to experience an environment that provides a true escape from society and the daily distractions of land, allowing freedom to think and develop new ideas with a like-minded crew at the same time as having a unique adventure.

Why Young Explorers Program is important :

1. Learning outside the classroom raises educational standards – ‘When planned and implemented well, learning outside the classroom contributes significantly to raising standards…’
2. Outdoor learning makes a powerful contribution to the broader curriculum and the development of ‘character’ – Outdoor Learning effectively contributes to the delivery of a broad-based curriculum equipping young people with valuable life skills and experiences.
3. Outdoor activity helps to address health problems and enhances well being – Outdoor activities and learning not only contribute to improved physical outcomes but are recognized as having a significant impact in terms of wellbeing.
4. Outdoor learning offers for many their first real contact with the natural environment- There is increasing evidence that young people are becoming disconnected with the natural environment. Outdoor learning experiences can re-connect them and engender an awareness of its value and beauty, alongside with the importance of sustaining the planet for future generations.
5. Out-of-school activities help reduce disengagement, anti-social behaviour and crime – Outdoor activities have been recognized as a powerful means of engaging young people in more positive activities.
6. Outdoor Education builds cross-cultural understanding and can change communities – Studies have shown that outdoor recreation can contribute to combating discrimination and have benefits on the wider community.
7. Outdoor learning helps young people to manage risks and encourages them to welcome challenges – exposure to outdoor activities contributes towards young people developing a proportionate response to the exposure of risk.
8. Learning outside the classroom has a powerful impact but it is far from being an equal opportunity and for some it is a lost opportunity - A progressive range of learning experiences outside the classroom, including at least one residential experience, should be an expectation for all young people.

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