Delivering Invaluable Global Field Experience in Close Quarters with Academic Experts and Spectacular Wildlife
Students in ecology-related fields acquire vital field-work skills alongside professors while studying fascinating creatures in distant locales
This coming May, Trent students will delve into a global, learning adventure of a lifetime—complete with whales, dolphins and countless birds as wild, yet inspiring study partners. It’s not too late to join the adventure.
Once again, Trent University is participating in the Ontario Universities Program in Field Biology (OUPFB). The Module 9 Coastal Field Ornithology course with Dr. Erica Nol, professor of Biology, will take place from May 5 to May 20, 2017 at Chincoteague Island and Assateague Island National Seashore, Virginia, an area known for over 300 species of birds, feral ponies and as a spring breeding ground for horseshoe crab.
The Module 10 Dolphin and Whale Biology and Conservation in Tropical Asia course with Dr. Bradley White, director of Trent’s Natural Resources DNA Profiling and Forensic Centre, and Dr. John Wang of the Biology department, will be offered from May 7 to May 20, 2017 in Hong Kong and Taiwan. As students learn data collection and research methods at sea, the course will focus on dolphin and whale conservation issues in populated industrialized countries.
Honours Biology graduate, Sarah Bonnett, participated in the Ornithology course offered in Virginia in May 2015, with Dr. Nol and Dr. Walter Wehtje of the Biology department.
“This program transformed my curiosity and interest in Ornithology to a passion,” said Ms. Bonnett who is now an avid birder and volunteer with the Long Point Bird Observatory. “The opportunity to work so closely with professors allowed us to learn so much more, and also build a relationship. The course enables students to learn the skills directly, and places the classroom literally in the middle of the field.”
Ms. Bonnett learned bird identification, survey techniques and took part in lectures delivered in the field. As part of her studies, she examined human intervention on coastlines and took a canoe trip to observe Prothonotary Warblers. She also had ample opportunity to put her skills to the test and conduct her own study.
“Any student considering a field course should definitely take the opportunity,” stated Ms. Bonnett. “The skills learned and time spent not only learning, but using those skills, is invaluable.”
The courses provide a launch pad into ecologically-related fields, enabling students to prepare for thesis and graduate work and to hone their skills. They provide realistic insight into the extreme conditions that field work can entail and offer experience required when applying for field-base employment.
As Trent University is renowned for outdoor learning, Ms. Bonnett concludes, “Spending so much time with your professors outdoors definitely makes their passion for the subject matter contagious.”