North America Student Tours & Trips

The indigenous Maidu tribe lives in the Northern end of the Sierra Nevada range in California. This region is home to 18,804 inhabitants, and well-known as a former hotspot for prospectors during the infamous Gold Rush. Today, 24 communities are spread out over 1 million acres of protected forest, with low accessibility.

During this CLS North America Trip, you will be serving and connecting isolated settlements throughout Sierra Nevada, whose populations suffer from a lack of accessibility, infrastructure and business opportunities. 

Get ready for an exciting week-long outdoor adventure, bringing together local communities through sustainable trail planning and building. You will truly be making a positive impact by developing the infrastructure needed to stimulate economic growth in this naturally stunning part of the world.

Trail Planning & Building

Students will be creating sustainable and connected communities, providing the Sierra Nevada region with a healthy infrastructure for diversification of business in the local economy. 

The aim of this project is to build recreation-based communities, promoting a sense of stewardship as a means to mitigating the impact of heavy trail traffic in tourist areas. Students will work on providing connectivity and infrastructure to more isolated communities in rugged terrains, whilst monitoring, restoring, preserving and enhancing trails in the protected national forests. The entire project is carried out in an environmentally and ecologically responsible way.