Tai Sophia Sponsoring James Duke, Ph.D.

Join noted herbalist James Duke, Ph.D, for an Extraordinary 9-Day August Journey to Costa Rica

Laurel, MD, June 21, 2007 – If you’re interested in experiencing the trip of a lifetime, Tai Sophia Institute is inviting you on an exceptional visit to the rainforests of Costa Rica in the company of one of the world’s leading experts on herbal medicines. You’ll discover an exciting array of wildlife, learn about the medicinal plants in the region, meet a shaman, and spend time with local people as well as the fabulous group of travelers that join you on this incredible journey.

Travel by boat through Tortuguero National Park, where you can see monkeys, sloths, iguanas, parrots, toucans and other exotic inhabitants of the tropical rainforest.

Visit Luna Nueva, New Chapter’s version of paradise, where it is always warm, where colorful waves of birds and butterflies brighten the sky, and the rumble of the nearby Arenal volcano, gently erupting daily, serenades inviting thermal pools where you can rest and rejuvenate.

Discover Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve in the Tilaran Mountains, with its six different ecological communities are to be found. Along the trails, you’ll encounter some of over 2,000 plant species, more than 320 species of birds and 100 species of mammals.

Rainforests are the living pharmacies of our planet, stocked by Mother Earth with a host of the world’s most important medicinal herbs, many of which are now endangered. Travelers on this exciting expedition will visit one of the world’s most remarkable organic farms and learn how new methods of sustainability are being used.

The trip takes place August 11 – 19, and includes accommodations, three meals a day in Costa Rica, naturalist guides and land transportation. Prices based on two people sharing a room start at $2,294. Airfare is additional.

Space is limited, and a deposit of $600 per person is required for enrollment.

For more information please contact:
Robyn Urbach, M.S., Associate Director, Herbal Medicine Program
Tai Sophia Institute, 7750 Montpelier Rd., Laurel, MD 20723
rurbach@tai.edu
410-888-9048 ext. 6665

About James A. Duke, PhD
James A. "Jim" Duke, PhD, served as an Economic Botanist with the USDA for 32 years. Now Jim spends time as a Distinguished Lecturer in the Master of Science in Herbal Medicine program at Tai Sophia Institute in Laurel, MD. In addition to teaching he continues his work of compiling data on medicinal plants and updating several of his books. He is refining his phytomedicinal database (www.ars-grin.gov/duke/) still maintained at the USDA in Beltsville, Maryland.

Fluent in Spanish, Duke has studied and lectured widely, concentrating on tropical ecology, medical botany, and crop diversification. Widely traveled, Duke "cut his tropical eye teeth" in Panama, where he was resident from 1966-68. While working on an encyclopedia of economic plants, he collaborated with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Cancer Institute (NCI) on both their AIDS and cancer-screening programs and later their Designer Food Program (to prevent cancer). His data bases on the ecology, nutritional content, folk medicinal uses and chemical constituents of economic plants are being widely utilized.

Dr. Duke offers a unique and intimate view of ecology, herbalism and experience in working with shamans of Latin America. He has traveled extensively to tropical rainforests, and has lectured to many groups who have traveled with him. Jim serves as a board member and advisor to many organizations that are involved in herbal medicines. Among the awards bestowed upon Dr. Duke over the years are his graduating Phi Eta Sigma and Phi Beta Kappa from the University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill) and his being elected distinguished alumnus some 50 years later, in 2001. In between he received the Rachael Carson Conservation Award for conservation via the Amazon Center for Environmental Education and Research (ACEER) in 1998, the American Herbalists Guild Lifetime Achievement Award, in August 1999, recognition in July 2000 by the Society of Economic Botany as a Distinguished Economic Botanist, and, in spring of 2001, he was inducted into the Natural Health Hall of Fame. In June of 2004, he received an Honorary Degree of Master of Science in Herbal Medicine from Tai Sophia Institute.

About Tai Sophia Institute
Tai Sophia Institute, based in Laurel, Maryland, was named 2006 Business of the Year by the Howard County Chamber of Commerce. Founded in 1975 as a small healing arts clinic, the Institute has grown to become a preeminent academic institution for wellness-based education with current enrollment topping 375 students. Its nearly 1,000 alumni actively practice acupuncture, herbal medicine and other healing arts around the country. It was the first school in the country to have an accredited acupuncture program and the first school in the country to offer a master’s degree in herbal medicine.

In addition to its degree programs the Institute provides a variety of wellness-based community education programs. The Institute’s faculty and staff donate more than 10,000 community service hours to a variety of projects and its health and wellness clinics provide 10,000 treatments a year. Faculty and staff also regularly speak to professional groups and area students on wellness-related topics.