“The rain is not as bad as I expected. There are plenty of sunny days to keep you happy. The rain is also more of a mist, so you can still continue most activities,” she laughs. More importantly, though, she says, “I have found stronger feminist, women-of-color and queer-people-of-color communities here than anywhere before. The program has a fierce female graduate student body.”

As soon as Gabby entered the program, she was connected with her interim advisor, Kari Norgaard, and with the other ENVS graduate students Kari advises. “This really helped me have a safe space and get connected to people who were consciously thinking about race, sexuality, and class, especially in relation to environmental issues.”

Being a part of this supportive community, along with attending presentations by some of the UO’s “amazing speakers,” gave Gabby the confidence to do what she was most passionate about for her Master’s project. “[After attending] a great talk put on through the African Studies Lecture Series about a woman who has spent her life researching in Tanzania and China, I decided that I needed to switch my project to something that allowed me to go back to Tanzania because that is where my heart was calling me.”

Gabby is now hard at work putting the finishing touches on an environmental education and leadership program on tourism, society, and the environment which she will spend five months this summer and fall implementing and evaluating at the United African Alliance Community Center (UAACC) in Tanzania’s Arusha Providence.

Gabby didn’t always know that she wanted to do environmental justice work. “I first became interested in environmental studies in my freshman year of college during a seminar class on energy. During that class I decided to change my major from biochemistry to environmental science, and then eventually to geology.” Later, when she took an environmental sociology course, Gabby realized that she wanted to focus more on the sociological aspects of environmental issues in graduate school.

“I felt that environmental issues are the biggest issues we have to address right now. I decided that my geology background could help me stay grounded in the science of climate change but that I really wanted to be more connected to working with people, especially low income communities and communities of color.”

The flexibility of the ENVS Graduate Program has allowed Gabby to incorporate her diverse interests into her research. “My focus on environmental justice really spans multiple disciplines: sociology, ethnic studies, women’s and gender studies, environmental studies, and education,” she says. What’s more, the Program’s option do a self-designed terminal project has given Gabby the opportunity to integrate some of her current passions into her graduate education: when asked what she wants to do after she graduates she says with a smile, “return to Tanzania and continue working on this environmental education program as well as on more community work with the UAACC.”

She continues: “Eventually, I would like to return to the States to help with the environmental education system here, making it more accessible and relevant to all communities; however I have no idea when or if that will ever happen!”

Their project was selected by the annual competitive program as outstanding research that made creative, extensive use of UO library services and resources. In partnership with the Berggren Demonstration Farm, the Sustainable Farms team created a conservation plan for the farm that includes designs for pollinator hedgerows and an educational garden. They provided recommendations for pollinator-friendly farming practices such as creating feeding and nesting habitat through cover crops, interplantings and nest site structures. In addition, they contributed to the farm and gained a broad understanding of sustainable agriculture by assisting with farming tasks. In collaboration with local blueberry farmers, the team also conducted research on the role of native bumblebees in pollinating blueberry bushes. The students’ work will help local farmers improve pollination services and conserve native insects.

For more about their project, please visit the Sustainable Farm Team’s website.

Aaron presented on his work with an  elementary school in Monteverde, Costa Rica to develop a composting system that supplemented the school’s current garden. Along with two fellow interns, Aaron designed educational signage, a composting manual, and a lesson to integrate the composting system into the school’s curriculum.

View Elise’s profile here.

From his abstract:

“At various times, in various ways, and to various degrees, the US Fish and Wildlife Service has recognized and attempted to address risk to maintenance-dependent species from species-based land-use regulation. Citing currently proposed rulemaking for streaked horned lark as a case study, I argue that the Service might have found an effective and efficient mechanism to address this risk under federal law and might have an opportunity to improve the survival of such species by more fully considering its use.”

The conference schedule and other details are available here.

"Stars in Motion" by Mason Trinca

The Environmental Studies Program cosponsored the Twenty-fifth Biannual Meeting of the Nature Photographers of the Pacific Northwest. Frans Lanting, hailed as one of the great nature photographers of our time, served as the guest speaker. His morning presentation was entitled “Eye to Eye with Life” and his afternoon presentation was “Cheetahs on the Run.”

As in past meetings, there was a digital projected image competition and a print competition. The three categories for the competitions were scenic, wildlife, and plantlife. Advanced Camera was also present to clean digital sensors at a bargain price.

The meeting took place on Saturday, April 6th from 10 am to 5 pm in Columbia Hall on the University of Oregon campus. All nature photographers, amateur and professional, were invited to attend.

Additional information may be found here.

Selections from Frans Lanting’s work are available at his website.

Read the article as a webpage here or in virtual magazine format here.

To learn more about the awards and all twenty-two awardees, click here.

Read Paul’s piece here.