2009 TROPICAL FIELD BIOLOGY COURSES IN COSTA RICA
Danta: Association for Conservation of the Tropics and its academic affiliates (State University of New York at Oneonta and East Stroudsburg University) are pleased to announce their 2009 tropical biology field courses. The courses are intended for undergraduates or early graduate level students who demonstrate a keen interest in tropical biology, but have little or no experience of working in a tropical environment. Participants may enroll on either a credit or non-credit basis.
All field courses are held at El Zota Biological Field Station in North-eastern Costa Rica near the Barro Colorado Reserve. The field station includes approximately 1000 hectares (over 2470 acres) of lush, tropical lowland rain forest. The station is among the largest of its kind in Costa Rica, and is home to a diverse array of wildlife. The fauna includes white-faced capuchins, mantled howling monkeys, black-handed spider monkeys, tapir, jaguar, collared peccary, keel-billed toucans, great green macaws, brown caimans just to name a few. The station is! designed to allow students to learn techniques that can be used in field research on ecological, behavioral and conservation questions in the tropics, and in so doing, to conserve the property of the research station.
Course Offerings:
*Summer 2009*
Primate Behavior and Conservation. Instructors: Kim Dingess, State University of New York at Oneonta , Dr. Susan Perry, UCLA and Dr. Joseph Manson, UCLA
Tropical Ornithology: Instructors: Dr. Nigel Mann, State University of New York at Oneonta, and Dr. Peter Slater, University of St. Andrews, Scotland.
As much of their advertising is done by word-of-mouth, we encourage you to spread the word by forwarding this email to students or friends who may be interested in their programs.
For more information, please visit our website at http://www.DANTA.info or email kdingess@danta.info .
SUNY COLLEGE OF ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND FORESTRY ONLINE COURSE
ESF Online offers extra flexibility in continuing your education and earning college credits. Beginning Spring semester 2009, ESF will offer one of their core environmental science courses online!
Course Offerings:
*Spring 2009*
EFB 120 - The Global Environment and the Evolution of Human Culture (3 Credits)
The Global Environment course is an integrated overview of large-scale environmental issues and their relation to the development of human societies and resource-use strategies over time. You will focus on population growth and societal pressures on physical and biotic resources. Topics include energy-use issues, causes and socio-economic impacts of climate change, pollution, and loss of biodiversity. Global Environment will give you the skills to be a critical consumer of information related to the many environmental issues we face today.
The course is offered via the Blackboard course management system. The course format consists of a series of modules that correspond to the material covered in a single class day in the face to face version of the course. We will complete two modules each week. Most modules consist of readings, a video, a discussion, and a 1 page reflection on the application of the major concepts. There is also a research paper, completed in stages throughout the semester. Expect to spend 6 to 10 hours each week (not all online) completing course work.
If you or someone you know is interested in taking The Global Environment with ESF Online, visit their website at www.esf.edu/esfonline for more information or contact ESF Outreach outreach@esf.edu with questions.
THE ANTHROPOLOGY OF WASTE REDUCTION: A PILOT STUDY IN GARBOLOGY
*Problem*: During the 2007-8 school year, in conjunction with Tompkin’s County, the GreenTeam at the Russel I. Doig Middle School (Trumansburg) successfully implemented a recycling and composting program focused on reducing the overall amount of garbage generated. Though extremely proud of its accomplishments in reducing the amount of garbage generated per month *from twenty to six tons* (stats need to be checked), the team has not reached its ultimate goal to completely eliminate its waste. *This project proposes a methodology to assess and direct waste reduction through an anthropological and archaeological study of the remaining waste*.
*Solution*: The most efficient way to reduce the remaining six tons of trash is to observe and correct the behaviors that lead to the disposal. Though time constraints make direct observation of disposal behavior impractical, we propose a more feasible methodology that: determines the composition of the waste, links the waste to specific behaviors, and, uses the findings to formulate both behavioral solutions to reduce the waste generated and to find alternative routes for waste that must be generated.
