Save The Rainforest, Inc
Frequently Asked Questions

• Perfect Safety Record: 16 years without a serious incident or insurance claim.
• Price: Substantially less than most competitors, AND no hidden costs.
• Purpose: We are a non profit teacher led group fostering education and conservation.
      (A portion of course fees is tax deductible)
• Quality: Check out our testimonials and references. Our programs are outstanding.

Can individual teachers join groups led by other teachers?

• Yes. Teachers who may want to take a course before leading their own group are welcome. Contact us and we will find a group for you to join.

Can our itineraries be modified to meet your special interests?

• Yes. We can shorten/lengthen courses and emphasize activities your prefer.

How to get school approval for the trip and/or credits for students?

• Show your administrator the itinerary, our summarized history and comments/references.
• Justify giving credit based on the course manual/activities of course.
• Also assign pre and post trip papers, and require students to keep journals during the trip
• Your school may not officially sponsor your trip, but may let you take students on your own.

How many students are needed for the teacher to go free? 

• Groups of 15-24 are typical. If you have less than 10 we can combine you with another group.
• With large groups a second group leader can come at half cost. Or you can charge $50 extra per student to pay entire cost of second group leader.
• Exception: Mexico is a mini course designed for 6-10 students with one free teacher.

How to get students (or parent/adults) to sign up for a course?

• Promote the course in your classroom. Offer it for credit if you can.
• Post the course page from our publication-make sure to stick a label on it with your date/cost. Also post the comments from the back page of our publication.
• Invite a Spanish teacher who takes students on trips to co-lead a group with you. You can tell them there are a lot of cultural and lingual components to the trip.
• Use our press release to recruit interested adults/students from outside your school..

How old should students be?

• Most groups are from middle or high school. However, we do host college/adult groups as well as upper elementary.

How do students pay for the trip?

• Fundraisers help, and you can use the press release to appeal to local Rotary Clubs, etc..
• Older students who have jobs can start saving as soon as they sign up for the course.
• Get parents involved and informed. Usually they pay for most of the trip.

What are the mechanics of organizing a group and taking a course?

• When your are sure you want to do this contact us to reserve a date/site. It is best to contact us 9-12 months prior to departure date.
• It costs nothing to reserve a date. Deposits of $300 per student are due in December.
• Final payments are due in April, or earlier if you are taking a spring group.
• All we need when you make deposits is a name list. We will then send you a packing list, etc..
• We will send you health forms that need to be returned with final payments.
• You should have two parent meetings. One to encourage them to sign up their children. The other parent meeting should be after deposits are made for specific trip info.