KAMLOOPS – Just over a month from now, 13 students from across the disciplines at TRU will be boarding a plane for the Central American country of Belize, where they will participate in a field school, working on a riparian restoration project, and learning about the environmental challenges facing another country.

“This course examines the issues, approaches and people involved with natural resource management in a tropical country,” said faculty sponsor Karl Larsen, who teaches in the natural resource science program at TRU.

“We run this course in Belize, Central America, because the country is relatively accessible and English is the spoken language. Belize also has good facilities, and many of its diverse natural resources are in the early stages of development,” he explained.

Of the 13 days the students will spend in Belize after they arrive April 30, two of them will be spent working with students from the University of Belize on the restoration project, and in showcasing resource issues in their respective countries. The students will also spend some time chatting in small groups, getting to learn one another’s perspectives.

“I personally feel this might be one of the most enriching points in the course,” said Larsen, adding “Although I’m sure looking forward to getting back into the old growth rain forest, and snorkelling with the sea turtles!”

He went on to explain, “Anyone who has done international travelling will also recognize the value of getting at least a wee bit outside of ‘one’s comfort zone’; aside from the focus of the course (natural resource management), I think our students will benefit immensely from just seeing another part of the world, and interacting with the people who live there.”

Participating students, all in their third or fourth years of study, represent a wide range of program areas, including biology, journalism, geography, history, arts, business and natural resource science.

Larsen, who will be accompanying the students along with TRU range ecology specialist Wendy Gardner, explained the value of the course to students in all disciplines.

“Natural resource management involves not just science, but also social and cultural issues, economics, and a historical perspective. This course is designed to expose students to these issues within a developing, tropical nation such as Belize. ?

“Students in this course are not ‘based’ at one particular location for the duration of the course. Instead, we make short-term trips to various sites throughout the country, in order to examine a wide array of areas, concepts and subjects. Some, but not all of the resource sectors we investigate are animal and plant conservation, costs and benefits of ecotourism, government policies, cultural resources (e.g. Mayan temples), industrial development, fisheries, and agriculture.”

The students not only will learn from their experiences in Belize, but also from one another; in fact, a part of the course’s mark is based on an ‘expert oral report’ that each student must deliver to the other students, at an appropriate point in the trip.

Once back in Canada, the students will also write a short report which is basically a self-analysis: what did the student learn, and what area(s) were particularly intriguing, and may make them think about the sort of work they want to do in their careers.

There’s also a philanthropic aspect to the course, said Larsen.

“Some of the course charges, along with additional funding, will be put toward offering a student at the University of Belize the opportunity to come here to TRU and Kamloops, for approximately two weeks,” he said. “We see this is a way of ‘putting back’ something into the country that is going to host us for two weeks this spring. ?The professors at UB have already said the excitement is brewing with the announcement that a class of Canadian students will be spending a couple of days with them, and that one of them will be able to come up here for a visit.”

Arts student Chantal MacDonald, who has already travelled extensively in northern, central and eastern Europe, as well as Mexico, Jamaica, Chile and the Dominican Republic, was attracted to the course because it will afford her the opportunity to learn outside of the classroom setting.

“I previously went on [TRU Anthropology professor] David Sheffel’s Eastern European field school, so I’m aware of the educational possibilities when exposed to a different culture,? she said. “Since natural resource management is outside of my studies, I find it quite interesting to explore a new area of interest while combining it with my anthropological training.”

MacDonald won?t be staying put when she returns from Belize.

In the next academic year, she’ll spend her last two semesters in Spain on an educational exchange, and once finished, will graduate with a bachelor of arts degree concentrating in anthropology.

“I’m not exactly sure what I want to do after TRU because there are so many different opportunities,” she said. “Though without a doubt, I will continue to travel and learn from experience.”

Fellow student Morgan Rankin, who will complete her degree in natural resource management this year, is also excited about the trip.

“The fact that I?m able to go to another country and learn so much in two weeks in unbelievable,” she said. “I know that if I went down on my own I would not learn as much. Now that I have an education in natural resource science, I’m sure I’ll appreciate things a lot more and gain more knowledge.”

This is the first year TRU has offered a field school in Belize, but Larsen hopes it’s the first of many, and he’s already talking up next year’s course.

“We will be starting to accept applications in September, but students potentially interested in the course can drop us an email at any time at belize@tru.ca,” he said, warning that, “Students who want to consider joining for the May 2007 course may want to start planning soon, as we expect the demand and number of applications to go up this fall, now that the word is spreading.” Interested students may also check out course details on the web.

For more information, please contact Karl Larsen at 250-828-5456 or Chantal MacDonald at 250-377-3536.