Conservation students study abroad

By: Melissa Crowe

Posted: 2/13/08

Eighteen students ventured to what they called the "end of the world" during the winter semester, joining theories of biology and philosophy to study conservation in Punta Arenas and Puerto Williams, Chile.
"It's kind of an odd trip to pick for just one credit," Denton senior Kasi Petr said. "It's a lot of being outside."
When people think of studying abroad, Patagonia does not usually come to mind, she said.ww
Kelli Moses, a Denton junior and Omora Sub-Antarctic Research Alliance and NT program assistant, agreed with Petr.
"I think the value of it is that it is so unique, something that people don't always get to do, something that isn't regular," she said. "It's very experiential."
Ricardo Rozzi of the philosophy faculty and Jim Kennedy of the biology faculty taught "Tracing Darwin's Path," a relatively new, three-week course that investigates cultural and biological factors in conservation through collaborative work with the University of Magallanes, Omora Ethnobotanical Park, OSARA, the Institute of Ecology and Biodiversity and the Center for Environmental Philosophy.
The course was separated into two classes. The biology class, directed by Kennedy, studied freshwater aquatic invertebrates within the Robálo Watershed in the Navarrino Mountains.
The philosophy class, led by Rozzi, was further divided into two groups. The Ethnoornithology group chronicled images of local birds for a publication and made recordings of their names in English, Spanish and the native Yagan language.
The miniature forest group studied the mosses, lichens and liverworts in the Omora Ethnobotanical Park. Both groups also studied the relationships humans share with birds and plants in specific cultures.
"You learn that things don't always happen in a linear kind of way all the time, which is so embedded in our culture," said Amanda Dunnavant, a Longview senior and two-time participant in the program. "The whole idea of A and B, goal orientation things."
Though it is a free-structured program without specific "A and B" goals, Moses said it has "a real valid purpose. It's not just a class for the sake of having a class."
The purpose, she said, was to give students an opportunity to create something that develops and enhances both long and short-term conservation projects in the Omora Ethnobotanical Park in Puerto Williams.
"Their efforts also help to strengthen the relationships between researchers in North and South America, as well as in the Magellanic region," Moses said.
NT and the University of Magallanes are committed to constructing the Cape Horn Field Station, a facility that will include space to accommodate up to 15 students and faculty during course and research expeditions.
Additionally, it will have a basic laboratory for processing and storing samples, as well as a library-classroom and computer facility. The facility should be completed by January 2009.
During the course's first year in 2006, Moses made her first visit to Chile.
"Just a year-and-a-half ago, there were 37 pristine areas of the world," she said. "Now, in such a short time, there are only 24 left, and this is one of them."
A third study abroad trip to the region, "Tracing Darwin's Path: Integrating the Human Dimension to Biocultural Conservation at the Southern End of the Americas," is scheduled for June.
Moses said the course is a rare experience because the class varies and is a collaborative effort.
"You can't recreate the class every year. The topic changes," she said.
This new course will provide students with an interdisciplinary research, conservation and education experience. The course theme is focused on linking people and development with biodiversity and ecosystems and will address a holistic approach to social and biological change in conservation policies, Moses said.
Friday is the deadline to sign up for the June course. Interested students are encouraged to contact Moses at kelli.moses@gmail.com or stop by the Environmental Education, Science & Technology building.