Why do you do what you do?
I work for Round River because I believe it helps make this Earth a better place. Growing up, I was privileged to have had mentors who exposed me to birds, mammals, plants, reptiles, and all sorts of other critters as a naturalist. These mentors also helped instill in me a deep love of nature and an awareness of the peace and clarity it can provide when we spend time outside. In teaching with Round River, I feel I am able to continue the work of these mentors and pass on the eye-opening teachings of being a naturalist, and in the process hopefully instill an appreciation of the places we are striving to protect inside students. Many people growing up in this day and age don't have the luxury of having large forests out their back doors, or growing up hiking, or being active outside, and I hope to instill a love for these activities in our students so they (and the Earth) can be healthier.
Round River participants exploring the Darhad Valley of Mongolia
What is your favorite part of your job?
My favorite part of working for Round River is hearing at the end of semesters how the experiences have changed students. Sometimes it is easy to get stuck in the field work, logistics, grading, and attending to daily needs as an instructor, and taking the time to remember why I am doing this work (and hopefully to see it helping and changing students) is what makes it really rewarding. Also seeing the meaningful conservation results we can achieve for our partners with national parks and research stations, and doing research with direct management applications has been extremely rewarding. I have not found another organization that so thoroughly combines student education and meaningful conservation into the same program.
Waterfowl Surveys with Round River students in the Darhad Valley of Mongolia
Describe a typical day at work.
A typical day in the field varies a lot, depending on the project. It can involve getting up at 6:00 a.m. for a week in a row to point count surveys of Neotropical birds in Costa Rica, driving for 10 hours over bumpy steppe in Mongolia while counting Daurian Pika latrines, or a 20 km hike through snowy larch forests leaving basecamp before dawn to retrieve camera trap cards. Days often involve both field work, and discussions of research-related articles that help round out the ethical and human side of the work. The depth the students bring to these conversations often amazes me, and has shaped my own views on conservation. Somewhere in a day is time for cooking, naturalizing, hanging out, playing instruments, and appreciating the wild places that surround us.
What makes Round River special?
The model for achieving meaningful conservation that Round River has adopted by using student-based programs for not only funding, but creating meaningful connection of students to the places they work, is something I have not found among any other study abroad programs.
Saker Falcon from the Darhad Valley of Mongolia
What are some current projects you are working on?
Some of the current projects with which I have been involved in Costa Rica include assessing Neotropical Otter habitat quality, occupancy and density of Neotropical birds on the Osa Peninsula, and doing biodiversity assessments for local landowners to aid in establishing payments for ecosystem services. In the Darkhad Valley of Mongolia, I have been involved in plant collection, basic bird point counts, waterfowl migration and breeding surveys, talus-based Pika surveys, Daurian Pika surveys looking at vegetation effects on densities, and establishing a protocol for a 2 km grid system of 50 camera traps to help the national park monitor their large mammals through occupancy.
Why should someone choose Round River over competitors?
Round River involves a strong field component, which not only gives students physical skills from the program, but also puts the teachings from their classrooms into practice. I often find university students these days are given solely theory in environmental science and wildlife educations, and lack the grounding of doing physical field work and real conservation that most biologists look for when hiring.
What qualities in program & host community relations are important to you? (And to Round River?)
I value the giving role Round River often takes in partnerships with the communities we work with. We usually approach partners by asking what their needs are for research, instead of a list of projects we propose to do. This creates a relationship in which we can help communities in ways they genuinely value, instead of what we as westerners think they value.
What do you hope participants take away from your programs?
I hope participants take not only a physical set of skills from the field work we do, but also a deep connection to the wildlife, land, and people we work with. My hope is that these help change their perception of wild places and their understanding of themselves and how they fit into these places.
Round River participants leaving field camp in Russia
Why is it important for people to travel abroad and experience new cultures?
I believe it is important for people to travel and experience other cultures because our lives in the United States are very different from those of the majority of the world. Studying abroad makes it easier to look through the eyes of those we hear about in the news or in conversation, with whom we otherwise have little personal connection. Seeing the appreciation students gain for simple things such as clean drinking water, electricity, and the food we eat, along with their perceptions of how much people need to live and how this relates to the happiness and strong communities of the people we work with are a few of the other reasons I appreciate teaching in less-westernized countries.
What does meaningful travel mean to you?
Meaningful travel to me combines experiencing cultures or wild places that change my perception of how I fit into the world. It also involves giving back to locals if possible and supporting local conservation work when possible.
