I'm excited that the field course will run this June (11-20) at the Millard Learning Centre. We should be at full strength (15 students) after last year's smaller than usual cohort because of COVID. This put lots of pressure on admissions. I'm impressed by how many student projects have been implemented by our partner, the Galiano Conservancy Association. For example, in 2021 Kelsey and Lisa developed a "photosphere" and repeat photography project to document the Cedars for the Next Century restoration project. Shania and Courtney developed an interpretive plan for redevelopment of a restoration trail.
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Today, June 28, 2020, would have been the last day of a 9-day field component of ES 471/ER 412 for 2020, marking the eight consecutive offering of the course. Covid-19 ended the run, but I am already planning for the course in Summer 2021. I'm keen, several students who had planned to take it this year have pledged their interest for next, and the Galiano Conservancy Association--our community partner--is looking forward to welcoming an impressive group of UVic Environmental Studies students. I am taking up some of the slack by offering an ecological design course in the Fall Term, (ES 482) which will combine elements of the field course with a focus on design. I'm excited, if a little daunted. Please let me know by July 15th if you're interested. The image below was taken last Friday on the evening ferry return from a visit to Galiano.
I look forward very much to late June on Galiano Island. This year is the eighth annual offering of the Advanced Principles and Practices of Ecological Restoration course. It's a highlight of the year for me getting to work in a community setting on restoration priorities with a talented group of students. There are changes each year, and in 2020 we welcome the new Program Centre, where the Galiano Conservancy Association bases its staff and operations. It will be great to have everyone at the Millard Learning Centre, an inspiring 76 hectare oceanfront property. We'll straddle summer solstice, and I'm hoping for warm days and starlit nights. As with last year, I welcome Dr. Jeanine Rhemtulla from UBC, who is an expert in forest ecology. She will lead us through some tree-aging work on site, and help understand the dynamics of landscape change and forest restoration. I've extended the course this year by one day, which will allow for a much need short break for everyone in the middle. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out: [email protected].
It's been a while since I updated this blog. We enjoyed a great field experience in August 2018 just after my return to Canada after a year on research leave in the Netherlands. The course will take place this year from June 23-July 1, 2019. I am locking in this late-June timing for the next several years to provide some predictability for students and the Galiano Conservancy Association. I love the late summer for the long stretches of amazing weather, but most of the plants are dormant, the birds have fledged and some have already left, and if the last few years are anything to judge by the spectre of wildfire smoke is a risk. So, late June it is.
Starting with the May 2017 version, the course has a new number: ES 471/ER 412 (formerly ES 441/ER 411)! It may prove temporarily confusing, but the new numbers represent a greater diversity in courses offered by the School of Environmental Studies. When the Galiano course was first offered in 2013, I was just embarking on a new field course adventure. It made sense to use a tried-and-true course number (ES 441, and the ER 411 cross-list). Now that the Galiano course is around to stay, it makes sense to give it a unique designation. Nothing else has changed about the main elements of the course--still great field experiences and the benefits of sharing learning with an amazing group of students in a dynamic Gulf Islands community.
I'm excited that we're up and running again with the 2017 edition of the Galiano field course. This year it is being offered in early May (5-14), partly as a way of attracting students who find it hard to break away from mid-summer activities, to avoid the crazy busy season for Galiano Conservancy staff, and to catch flowering plants while they are still flowering! Please spread the word, and encourage people to contact me if they are interested. Here's the 2017 poster.
From July 3-11, seventeen UVic students from Canada, the United States, Japan, China, and Italy spent time learning and living together at the Learning Centre. We had sunshine, but also rain--lots of it--and this added a new quality to the experience. The students worked on projects including the design of an apiary, a native food forage forest, strategies for removing Scotch broom, implementing a meteorology program, designing a backcountry campsite, ramping up a native seed bank, and bringing solar education to the Learning Centre.
Congratulations to the 2016 for such accomplishment, good humour, and cooperation.
I'm very pleased to announce that the 2016 version of ES 441/ER 411 will run from July 3-11, 2016 (yes, the same dates as last year). The course will offer the same approached honed last year: two major field assignments, the design project in collaboration with the Galiano Conservancy Associations, morning seminars, evening guest seminars, and lots of time to talk and roam the amazing Learning Centre. If you know of someone interested in the course, please pass along this news to them. I'll be making announcements in UVic classes over the next couple of weeks. Special bonus: Esther-Ruth and her sister Elanor will be charge of the kitchen. |
Eric Higgsteaches the ES 441/ER 411 course. He is a Professor in UVic's School of Environmental Studies. Archives
January 2022
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