What is a cultural expedition?

Backpacking & First-Aid Skills

Exploration of the natural world is a key element of Guardian's mission to create protectors of mother nature and support the longevity of humanity. We strongly believe that our lives are based on the preservation and regeneration of mother nature. We give participants the first-hand experience needed to feel confident traveling and living outdoors in remote environments. We teach basic first aid to learn the skills necessary to help each other in emergency situations. Our goal at the end of a trip is to make you comfortable in embarking on another travel experience in the world or in a wilderness context.

REFORESTATION Projects

The world population and international tourism will continue to grow every year within developing countries. Our responsibility as world travelers, planetary stewards, and cultural explorers is to positively impact the places we travel to. At Guardian, we incorporate reforestation and other environmentally-focused stewardship projects into every aspect of our trips. We reinforce the ecosystems we visit and work with local organizations that have active initiatives that strengthen community, culture, and the environment. With every Guardian expedition, we seek to demonstrate what a regenerative type of international tourism looks like.

Supporting Indigenous  Sovereignty

A significant portion of your tuition directly benefits the continuance of indigenous sovereignty and culture within the region. We believe in order to maintain the protection of fragile ecosystems, we need to support indigenous people who are historically familiar with and care about the environments they live within. At the end of every Guardian expedition, trip leaders spend additional time working with our indigenous partners on projects proposed by them that will benefit the continuation of their people. Past expeditions funded by participant tuition have allowed us to plant over 500 trees, install composting toilets, and help indigenous groups along the northern coast of Colombia to buy back their ancestrial lands.