A "USER-FRIENDLY" FIELD COURSE BASE
The LSC can accomodate up to 25 persons in three spacious and comfortable buildings, all set within the forest a short walk from the main Jatun Sacha dining hall to the west and the JS pub "El Laboratorio" to the east (serving cold beer, snacks, music and dancing). While staying at Jatun Sacha, your course group occupies the LSC facility exclusively, without the distractions of having to share with other persons outside your group or the need to rely on the daily assistance of staff members.
At LSC you command a self-sufficient field station where all facilities and equipment are readily at hand from the moment you arrive until your departure (while having help available just up the road if needed). The nearby dining hall serves up three hearty meals a day; participants only need to arrive at the appointed times and eat, allowing maximum time for course activities (box lunches can even be ordered for day-trips).
The LSC was, from its inception, designed to be a user-friendly (and especially instructor-friendly) facility where any biology teacher or naturalist/guide, even those with little or no specific experience in the tropics, can show up and immediately have everything required to conduct a first-rate tropical biology field course.
SERVICES PROVIDED FOR YOUR FIELD-COURSE
In addition to the on-site facilities and services detailed on these pages, LSC and Jatun Sacha can also provide assistance throughout the process of running a study-group, from the earliest stages of recruiting participants to your arrival and departure from Ecuador.
After you have booked your stay at LSC and begin recruiting participants, we send you a complete list of titles available in the library, a list of suggested lecture topics, and an "LSC Faculty Users Manual", detailing what you need to know while in residence with a course-group at LSC. We also provide a detailed list of items to pack and explanation of "what to expect" for your participants - all you do is copy this and distribute it to your group, and everyone is fully prepared.
Although we usually do not handle any air-ticketing for study-groups (some help is available, if needed, for large groups), we can provide assistance with all other aspects of your course from the moment you arrive in Ecuador. Some of these services are listed below:
Pre-arrival booking of hotel accomodations, first-day tour of Quito, Equatorial Monument and museums, as well as arranging bus transport to Jatun Sacha (no charge for this service - we handle the booking of hotels and tour buses and you pay the providers directly).
Services of an experienced Jatun Sacha staff member who will meet you at the airport and accompany your group from Quito to Jatun Sacha, providing orientation for your first full day at the reserve. This service is especially recommended for those group leaders who have not previously visited Jatun Sacha.
At LSC, the Jatun Sacha staff can make arrangements for excursions (canoe trips, white-water rafting, visits to indigenous communities, etc.) and can provide the services of one or more park guards who are familiar with all areas of the reserve.
Assistance from the Jatun Sacha office in Quito if you wish to visit any of our other three reserves, or take an excursion to the Galapagos or other parts of Ecuador (fees vary).