by Audrey Fisher, Dickinson College, ‘07

This fall, thanks to a generous grant from the Henry Luce Foundation, sixteen students from the Environmental Studies Department at Dickinson College took part in an integrated watershed studies field semester.

The program, which will be offered again fall 2007, involves daily lecture on aquatic science and environmental policy, labs, and independent research. Believing in the importance of first-hand experience to educate and inspire students, Professors Candie Wilderman and Michael Heiman designed a unique curriculum that includes field trips to the places discussed in the classroom.

The first field trip consisted of a weekend of kayaking along the West Branch of the Susquehanna River. Here students gained an understanding of water quality issues and testing procedures. They also experienced first-hand the reasons for aquatic resource protection through hours of paddling on the water and camping in the woods.

After reading about the challenges facing the Chesapeake Bay, the students traveled to Smith Island, Assateague National Seashore, Ocean City, MD, Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, and Horn Point Environmental Laboratory. Here they met the people who depend on and are working to understand and protect the resources of the Bay, such as the marsh grass, crabs, and oysters.

In culmination of a semester of analyzing and comparing the problems around wetland loss and natural resource use in the Chesapeake Bay and coastal Louisiana, students got to see for themselves how the landscape and communities are changing. Stops along the way included the coal fields of western Pennsylvania and West Virginia, the birthplace of the Blues (Clarksdale, Mississippi), and the Old River Control Structure (at the confluence of the Atchafalaya and Mississippi Rivers).

In Louisiana, students helped restore marsh grass, studied barrier island formation, met influential research scientists, enjoyed Cajun cuisine with the Houma Native American community, learned about the impact of the petrochemical industry along the Chemical Corridor, and listened to the stories of those affected by Hurricane Katrina.

Through hands-on experience in the field and personal conversations with scientists and community leaders, students now have an understanding of the complexity of environmental problems from both the natural and social sciences perspectives.

To read more about and see pictures from the three week trip to Louisiana, check out the student’s own blog.

Link: Alliance for Resource Monitoring

12/8/2006