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It is Zakers' aim to give the youngsters a taste of the world, from political debates on the floor of the UN to exploring marine life in the deep blue waters of the Sea of Cortez.
This year they are set on a journey to visit Costa Rica's Pacuare Nature Reserve, a protected leatherback turtle preserve with four miles of beach and a 2,000-acre lowland tropical forest.. The students will collect data from nesting sea turtles, working with local scientists to help one of the world's most critically endangered species.
"Imagine doing this on some of the world's most remote beaches," Zakers says, "while exploring some of the only remaining untouched places on the planet." The experience is provided by Ecology Project International, the same organization under which the students visited the humpbacks last year.
Zakers says of last year's experience, "I was as much a student as a teacher."
The students are eager to talk about last year's experience. They still seemed utterly in awe of last summer's humpback sighting. Simi Pearl-Edwards says, "There are simply no words to express the feeling when this enormous creature jumped. You sort go into a trance."
The humpback came up within 50 feet of their relatively small 45-foot research vessel.
"He came entirely out of the water," Zakers says. One of the leading marine mammal biologists, who was aboard the craft, deemed the jump the "best of the year."
To explain: imagine a creature large enough to fit 13 elephants inside, launching itself entirely out of the water.
"It's grace and power are so intertwined," Zakers says, "that one is left with only awe and humility."
Both trips are part of her Endangered Species Intercession course, which, she is pleased to say, is now part of the regular school curriculum.
"Positive attitudes are not endangered," Zakers says. It is her mantra
In the whale excursion, the 11 students created educational brochures, helped with population counts and collected crucial data under the supervision a team of marine mammal biologists whose 30 years of studies are directly responsible, Zakers say, for the reconvey of the humpback population in the Sea of Cortez.
Zakers' enthusiasm speaks for itself when discussing the upcoming Costa Rica trip.
"Imagine," she says, "standing face to face with a gentle creature as large as a Volkswagen Bug, who has been around as long as the most ancient animal on earth, more than 100 million years."
On the EPI Costa Rica Leatherback Turtle Ecology Program, the students will be part of a scientific study in one of the world's most active nesting sites. They will collect data with the nesting sea turtles, including carapace measurements and number of eggs laid. Using that information they will develop a field-based research project. The students will complete at least 20 hours of research while patrolling a remote beach at the Pacuare Reserve.
The trip – from May 21 until June 1 – is going to be expensive, about $3,000 per student. Zakers. Fund-raising is already well under way. She doesn't looks for handouts; she assigns fundraising "homework," advising the students this "assignment" must be taken seriously. They have lots of money to raise.
At the Tillett Arts Alive fair in November, the Antilles Holiday Bazaar earlier this month, the students sold holiday cards they had made from a photograph by Don Hebert, mosaic mirrors created by Simi Pearl-Edwards and Kai Bartlette.
An Eco-Walk-a-Thon is planned for late January, with students taking pledges from the community to walk and pick up garbage at the same time. Folks can get some exercise, a look at nature, and feel good about removing the manmade mess.
"This ties in directly," Zakers says, "with our cause of protecting endangered turtles."
Zakers says her aim is to "expose the students to eco-friendly strategies for sharing our planet with other species and to encourage them to be part of the solution."
Anyone interested in any of the students' fundraising projects, can contact Zakers at 998-6353 or
gzakers@vimontessori.com
Information on the project can be found at http://www.ecologyproject.org/programs/costa-rica/.