The GES department led its first international field course to Costa Rica from June 1-15, 2014.
Dr. Maggie Holland was the lead instructor on the course, with assistance from Carlos Muñoz (CATIE, U. Idaho).
Fifteen UMBC students participated in the course, including thirteen undergraduates from six different major programs, and two graduate students.
The goal of this field course was to offer students the experience of contributing to a long-term research initiative related to the Costa Rican conservation corridor program, while
gaining firsthand experience and exposure to the interwoven challenges of implementing sustainable development projects in the Tropics.
The program included a mix of service-learning and applied research in the field.
Students directly engaged with rural community groups implementing sustainable development or conservation projects, gained experience in social science research methods (including participatory mapping), and
gained first-hand understanding of challenges faced when conserving tropical biodiversity.
You can read more about what we learned and experienced during this course via the following blog:
http://mbholland.wordpress.com
(Look for the archived blog posts from May-July 2014).
Here are some photos from our time in Costa Rica:
