Archives International News and Events
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This section contains archives of news articles about our international activities.
- Dr. Fred Cubbage Visits Chile, Summer 2007
- PhD Student, Rodrigo Arriagada Presents Paper in Chile
- Dr. Toddi Steelman teaches Sustainable Land Use in B.C.
- Dr. Pedro Sanchez, 2002 World Food Prize Winner, Speaks at NC State
- FER Sponsors International Conference in Turkey
- NC State Signs Agreement With 5 Leading Chinese Universities
- Sweden Week 2007
- Camcore Annual Meeting in Argentina
- Colleagues and Friends in All Sorts of Places
- Recent Trips/Internships Abroad
Dr. Fred Cubbage Visits Chile, Summer 2007
Fred Cubbage visited Chile from June 22 to July 10, with stops in three locations to perform research and establish better ties with prospective university partners.
Part of the research cooperation focused on collecting information through interviews with forestry firms about the impacts of forest certification in Chile through the Certificación Forestal (CERTFOR) and Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) systems in the country. Research also was conducted on the respective role of government policies and organizations in achieving sustainable forest management (SFM) in Chile, as part of a similar study in the Americas.
Potential research and teaching cooperation with university partners were discussed with the respective Deans at faculty in economics, management, and policy at the Universidad de Austral, Chile, Universidad de Concepción, Chile, and Universidad de Chile, Santiago.
Outcomes
The trip was very productive. Detailed interviews about the impacts of forest certification in the country were conducted with both the two major CERTFOR certified forest products firms in Chile, covering a total of about 1.6 million ha of forest land. One interview with the largest FSC certified firm in the country also was conducted, with about 400,000 ha of forest area. In all three cases, forest certification made major changes in the environmental, social, and economic practices of forestry firms.
In addition, about 10 forestry faculty, nongovernment organization representatives, and government officials were interviewed to assess the impacts of forest regulation and incentives on SFM in Chile. These interviews provided a rich mix of facts about government laws and regulation and incentives, and the perceived effectiveness of those laws in achieving environmental, social, and economic objectives. This study will be used as part of a larger research project on the role of government and markets in the Americas, which will be the basis for a PhD project by Kathleen McGinley. Pablo Donoso at the Universidad de Austral will cooperate on this research as it progresses.
PhD Student, Rodrigo Arriagada Presents Paper in Chile
In late September, Forestry PhD student, Rodrigo Arriagada presented his research done in Costa Rica at a conference in Santiago, Chile. The conference was put on by Congress of the Latin American and Caribbean Association of Environmental and Natural Resources Environmentalists (ALEAR) . The paper was selected as the best paper presented at ALEAR by a PhD student. The complete paper is also available for viewing. He also participated in as a grant-holder in the Latin American and Caribbean Environmental and Economics Program workshop t o present preliminary results of my analysis of the impact of the Costa Rican Program of Payments for Ecosystem Services using census tracts data.
EVALUACION DE INICIATIVAS CON PAGOS DIRECTOS PARA CONSERVACION: ANALISIS ECONOMETRICO DEL PROGRAMA COSTARRICENCE DE PAGOS POR SERVICIOS AMBIENTALES
Evaluating Initiatives with Direct Conservation Payments: Econometric analysis of the Costa Rican program of payments for environmental services
Rodrigo A. Arriagada, Erin O. Sills, Subhrendu K. Pattanayak, and Paul J. Ferraro
ABSTRACT
As the first long-term, large-scale initiative with conservation payments for tropical forests, Costa Rica’s Programa de Pago por Servicios Ambientales provides a unique opportunity to evaluate direct payments as a conservation policy tool. This program is a mechanism whereby the State provides financial compensation to owners of forests for the environmental services that these provide. Forest cover change is used as the outcome; the hypothesis is that conservation payments generate a net increase in the area of forest. Because this is a non-experimental real-world program, estimating its impact is not trivial. The differences in outcome between the “treatment” (program participants) and “control” (non-participants) groups may be attributable to the program or they may be a result of a systematic difference between them. Case studies including in-depth interviews are used to identify the main factors that influence program participation. By using the method of matching, we address the missing counterfactual: what would have happened with forest cover of participants had they not participated. The goal of this method is to identify a comparison group that is “similar” to the treatment group with only one difference: the comparison group did not participate in the program. We find that in its initial phase, the program had a statistically significant impact on forest conservation, but that this effect is small and not very robust to changes in the sample, specifications, or other assumptions.
Dr. Toddi Steelman teaches Sustainable Land Use in B.C.
Toddi Steelman, Associate Professor of Environmental and Natural Resource Policy, headed to Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, British Columbia in December 2007 until June 2008 on a Fulbright Fellowship. She will be researching and teaching about sustainable land use. The United States and Canada have many similarities, as well as differences, when it comes to land use. Canada and the United States both have federated systems of governance with the dominant power over land use held by the province or state. In both Canada and the United States, per capita consumption of land is increasing. Consider for instance that U.S. populations grew nearly 25% between 1980-2000, while the amount of developed land increased by 34%. The total area of urban land in Canada also has increased in recent decades. Between 1971 and 2001 the amount of urban land in Canada increased by 98%, while the number of urban dwellers increased 50%.
Dr. Pedro Sanchez, 2002 World Food Prize Winner, Speaks at NC State October 2006
From L to R: CNR Dean Robert Brown, Borlaug lecturer Dr. Pedro A. Sanchez, CNR-CALS Service Awardee Professor Steven McKeand and CALS Dean Johnny Wynne.
by Dan Robison
The College of Natural Resources and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at NC State recently hosted 2002 World Food Prize winner and agroforestry specialist Dr. Pedro A. Sanchez, who delivered the first ever Borlaug Distinguished Lecture on Global Service to Society and Environment.
Dr. Sanchez is the Director of Tropical Agriculture and Senior Research Scholar at the Earth Institute of Columbia University and serves as Co-Chair of the Hunger Task Force of the Millennium Project, an advisory body to the United Nations. Dr. Sanchez also served as Director General of the World Agroforestry Center (ICRAF) headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya from 1991 to 2001. In April 2006, Sanchez was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He was named a MacArthur Foundation Fellow in 2003 after receiving the World Food Prize in 2002. His academic experience includes serving as a Professor of Forestry and Soil Science at NC State University and as a visiting professor at the University of California, Berkeley.
Dr. Sanchez spoke on The African Green Revolution Takes Off. A transcript of his presentation will be web posted in the coming months. He challenged his audience to consider the needs and importance of Africa and Africans, the potential for projects like the Millennium Villages Projects to make a difference, and the need for people everywhere, including at NC State, to contribute to these efforts. He spoke specifically of the need to comprehensively consider issues of human health, soil fertility, crop genetics,education, gender equity and political realities when working to assist Africans to sustainably build their own capacity and emerge from desperate situations of poverty, food insecurity and environmental and health challenges. A morning of individual technical presentations and a roundtable discussion with Dr. Sanchez and Dr. Cheryl Palm, Senior Research Scientist with the Tropical Agriculture Program, Columbia Earth Institute, followed his speech. The lecture was open to both the campus community and the public.
The Borlaug Lecture is named in honor of Nobel Laureate Dr. Norman E. Borlaug, an agriculturalist and forester who spoke at NC State in 2004 on Bridging the Divide Between Agriculture, Environment and Forestry. Borlaug was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970 for his work bringing the Green Revolution to practice worldwide. It is a huge honor for NC State that he agreed to lend his name to our lecture series. Information on Dr. Borlaug and a transcript of his compelling presentation can be found at http://natural-resources.ncsu.edu/borlaug.htm.
FER Sponsors International Conference in Turkey October 2006
Attendees of the October 2006 international congress in Antalya, Turkey on Breeding and Conservation of Forest Genetic Resources gather in the best preserved Roman Theater near Antalya city, Turkey. The theater is still being used for classical music concerts and for other events.
FER Research Professor Dr. Fikret Isik organized and chaired an international conference in Antalya, Turkey from October 9 to 13, 2006. The convention was sponsored under the the auspices of the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO) and the Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources. FER Department Head Barry Goldfarb, director of the NCSU Tree Improvement Program Steve McKeand and NCSU Interim Vice Provost of International Affairs Bailian Li all lent Isik support in making the conference a reality.
The conference focused on low input conservation and breeding strategies of forest tree species. More than 25 nations covering a wide diversity of cultures and with interests in a variety of forest tree species were represented at the 5-day event. The Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources put a strong appearance in at the conference: FER was represented by the Tree Improvement Program, Christmas Tree Genetics Program and Camcore. Drs. John Frampton, Bill Dvorak and Fikret Isik addressed the conference attendees on behalf of these three research units, emphasizing the need for efficient conservation and breeding strategies for exploited and neglected species.
The conference was supported by the Food and Agricultural Organizations of the United Nations (FAO) Forest Resources Division, the Turkish Ministry of Environment and Forestry, the Scientific and Technical Research Council of Turkey and by the European Union Forest Genetics Resources Program. Akdeniz University in Antalya, Turkey hosted the conference.
Various presentations and discussions led to recommendations involving plantation husbandry, in situ and ex situ genetic conservation, the integration of biodiversity conservation with tree breeding programs, partnerships between farmers and forestry owners and more efficient ways to transfer genetic materials across borders. For more information on the topics explored, please visit the conference web site.
NC State Signs Agreement with 5 Leading Chinese Universities November 2006
NC State recently signed an agreement with five universities in China, including the country's top three universities, to provide reciprocal study abroad opportunities for students, generate research initiatives and offer access to resources that could well redefine international education at NC State. The agreement is expected to create new avenues for graduates to compete globally while offering the people and companies of North Carolina new opportunities for links to an emerging economy. Many NC State administration are now traveling in China as part of this agreement and posting to an online journal. To read their posts, visit http://ncsu.edu/china/profiles.html. See more information on the agreement.
Sweden Week January 2007
by Gary Blank
During the week of 29 January, the Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources and College of Natural Resources hosted a delegation from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU). The delegation included six people interested in broadening already close ties between our two universities. Organized by Maria Sterner (International Exchange Coordinator for the faculty of forest sciences), the delegation met with a variety of NCSU department, college, and university faculty and administrators, presented a seminar, lectured in several classes, and hosted a reception with Swedish foods on 1 February in the Biltmore Hall lobby.
Other members of the delegation were Anna Lauritz (International relations officer in the Office of Strategy and Planning), Per Edenhamn (Study adviser, Office of Student Affairs), Tord Magnusson (Director of Undergraduate Studies), Karin Johansson (Forestry researcher and former Nicholson Ph.D. student at NCSU), and Mats Olsson (Forest soil scientist). Professor Olsson, a frequent visitor to the NCSU campus spent his sabbatical at NCSU last spring and team teaches a summer course with Dr. Gary Blank.
Key accomplishments of the week were discussions about student exchanges at the masters and doctoral levels, a draft memorandum of understanding between the two universities, and initial links to the Colleges of Veterinary Medicine and Design.
Camcore Annual Meeting in Argentina 2006
by Bill Dvorak
Each year the Camcore (International Tree Conservation & Domestication) program in the Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources holds its annual business meeting in a different country. The meeting includes field visits to see various forestry activities, technical meetings to discuss the latest research results, and budget presentations. Depending on the venue, the meetings run between 10 and 14 days and give Camcore participants the chance to see new forest technologies, renew business acquaintances and make new friends.
In 2006, Camcore active members Alto Paraná and Bosques del Plata hosted the 14-day annual meeting in Argentina. Forty-participants from 22 private sector organizations representing 10 countries attended the meeting. Also present were four Camcore staff members; Bill Dvorak, Gary Hodge, Juan Lopez and Willi Woodbridge, and the Department Head, Barry Goldfarb, all of whom represented the College of Natural Resources. It was the largest group to attend a Camcore annual meeting in the 26-year history of the program.
The Camcore group began the forestry tour in the delta region of Buenos Aires. A visit was made to Papel Prensa that grows Populus and Salix in an area of wildly fluctuating water tables. The bus took us north to Concordia, where Camcore participants were hosted by INTA (Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria) and Masisa. INTA has been a leader in establishing both pine and eucalypt trials throughout the country and we had the opportunity to see several interesting genetic trials at the agricultural experiment station. At Masisa, we were shown the new plant that produces 450,000 m³ of MDF using both pine and eucalypt wood. The trip continued north to the provinces of Corrientes and Misiones. In Corrientes, Bosques del Plata (BDP) has most of its forestry operations and commercially plants Pinus taeda and the P. elliottii x P. caribaea hybrid. We visited its pine nursery operations, pruning activities, sivicultural trials, and a Camcore species trial (P. greggii and P. maximinoi look promising). We also had the opportunity to visit Tapebicua, a producer of eucalypt plywood. In Misiones, Alto Parana (APSA) representatives led the field visits. APSA has a very large commercial forestry program of several hundred thousand hectares of P. taeda. We visited a state of the art sawmill, cutting and hedge production of P. taeda at the nursery, and a sister Camcore species trial to one seen at BDP. The visit finished at Puerto Iguazú where the final technical and business sessions were held.
The two-day technical sessions at the Camcore meetings are divided into 4 working groups: Conservation, Breeding, Species Characterization, and Pine hybrids. The Camcore staff, Barry Goldfarb, and participants from the industrial sector gave technical presentations on latest developments in each of the four working groups. Great progress is being made by Camcore and its members in the area of ex situ conservation, wood quality assessment and pine hybrid work. We believe that in several years, some industrial members will be clonally propagating pine hybrids developed by Camcore that exhibit a combination of broad adaptability to changing climates and good growth, disease resistances and wood quality.
The annual meeting also had its relaxing moments; a boat trip through the delta region, a visit to a tea plantation and old Jesuit mission ruins, and a scenic day spent at Iguazú Falls. We want to thank our hosts, Bosques del Plata and Alto Parana for organizing a wonderful 1200 km-long forestry excursion through Argentina. We look forward to seeing all the Camcore members at our next annual meeting in Colombia in 2007. Camcore is reaching its goal, as our mission statement urges, “To be a leader in conservation and domestication of forest genetic resources for sustainable economic, ecological, and social benefits of present and future generations”.
Colleagues and Friends in All Sorts of Places 2006
As described in the above article, I had the opportunity and privilege of attending the Camcore annual meeting in Argentina. Besides the relief from the never-ending task of signing forms, I found this to be a truly beneficial experience for my own professional development, as well as for expanding contacts for our department, college and university. The format of the meeting—a mixture of field trips, indoor technical sessions and common meals and social hours promotes a great deal of formal and informal interactions and collegiality among all the participants. I had the chance to catch-up with people from around the world who I have known and worked with for some time, as well as making new colleagues and friends.
These interactions have incalculable value for our programs. If the “world is flat,” then so many of the critical forest conservation and production issues are increasingly occurring on the “bottom,” that is, the southern hemisphere. The Camcore program and the many other activities and contacts that derive from it give us the opportunity to participate in these issues in a very substantive and constructive way. These activities and contributions help to maintain and further NC State’s reputation as the go-to place for balancing production forestry with environmental and economic sustainability.
Many of the technological and other forestry activities that we saw in Argentina are among the most advanced in the world. In Camcore’s long history, it has established the tradition of members sharing knowledge about their forest practices. This promotes advancement of forest practices and conservation throughout the world and contributes to the expertise of our faculty, staff and students. As we look ahead to expanding the international experience and perspective of everyone in our programs, the contacts and friendships made along the way will help pave the way for new shared academic programs and scientific endeavors. I wish to extend my personal thanks to all those in Camcore who operate the program and made all these arrangements and to the many members, without whose support, the program with all of its benefits could not exist.
Recent Trips Abroad
Exploring Pine Genetics in Sweden 2005
by Ross Whetten
Thanks to the Gunnar and Lillian Nicholson Faculty Exchange, I traveled to Sweden in July of 2005 to work with Dr Rosario García-Gil, a member of the faculty at the Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology at SLU in Umeå, and her doctoral student on a project related to genetics of pine productivity. Most of my time was spent in the laboratory, working with my colleague and her student, but we did travel to visit a local timber company that is supplying them with plant material for the genetic analysis they are doing.
The housing arrangement was very convenient. The department arranged for a studio apartment in a university housing complex within walking distance of the Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology. The apartment had a rudimentary kitchen and full bathroom, and was comfortable but spartan. Public transportation in Umeå is by bus, and is easily accessible and very affordable. The town is not so large that it is necessary to take the buses, though — I usually walked from the University to downtown when I wanted to go to the center of things. There are two grocery stores and several restaurants near the University housing complex, so not much bus travel is really necessary except for sightseeing or shopping trips, and I did not do much of either.
July is a beautiful time of year to visit Umeå. It is early summer, so the lilacs and roses (and many wildflowers I did not recognize) were blooming, and the weather was very pleasant. The sun rises about 1:30 or 2 am and sets about 10:30 or 11 pm, and the sky stays light (similar to just after sunset here) all night long, so it is always light enough to read street signs.
Effects of Reforestation on Carbon and Water Fluxes in China
by Ge Sun
China’s economic development in the past decade has shocked the world. However, these rapid socioeconomic changes have put great pressure on China’s forest and water resources. The Chinese government has recognized the problems and put large efforts in ecosystem restoration in the past decade. Little scientific guidance is available to the massive restoration efforts under a global change environment. For example, uncertainty remains about the effects how to conduct reforestation on degraded lands at the regional scale.
To address these types of issues, FER's Dr. Ge Sun and Dr. Steven G. McNulty developed a strong collaboration program that included the US — China Carbon Consortium network. Various US and Chinese institutions including the USDA Forest Service, University of Toledo, Beijing Forestry University, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Forestry and Inner Mongolia Academy of Forestry all participated in this research network. Their research activities focused on measuring and modeling carbon and water balances of disturbed ecosystems that include plantation forests, crop lands, and natural wetland and grasslands. For more information email Dr. Ge Sun or call (919) 515-9498.
In recent years, China has initiated a series forestry program called Grain for Green to control soil erosion and future degradation of ecosystems including banning logging in the headwaters of major large rivers and farmland conversions. This education bulletin board located in Inner Mongolia, NW China says: "Ecological restoration should come ahead of economic development in western China."
Soil erosion control is a major objective of forest reforestation campaign in China. This photo was taken in Ji County, Shaxi Province on the Loess Plateau Region, North Western China.
George Hess Teaches a PhD Master Class in Scotland 2006
PhD Master Class students and faculty on Cairngorm Mountain. Hess is center,
wearing hat and sunglasses.
During the first week of October, 2006, Dr. George Hess, Associate Professor of Forestry & Environmental Resources, participated in a PhD Master Class hosted by Gunther and Bärbel Tress of the University of Aberdeen and David Miller of the Macaulay Institute, a land use research center. The course brought 10 international scholars and 24 PhD students from around the world together for a week of discussion and exchange in the beautiful countryside of Laggan, Scotland.
Faculty presented research on landscape change — the primary focus of the course — and, perhaps more importantly, provided mentorship and professional development opportunities for the students. Each student was assigned a primary and seconday faculty mentor and required to submit a paper before the course began. Each student presented his or her paper during the course and received feedback from the faculty and their peers.
Hess led an activity entitled How much more conservation science do we need? in which he examined with the students the intersecting roles of science, policy and economics in areas undergoing intense suburban development. As part of the professional development activities, he also conducted a workshop on creating effective poster presentations.
Intense intellectual activities were punctuated by social activities, including long breaks, wonderful dinners, walking excursions and a trip to Cairngorms National Park, Great Britain's largest national park.
Students were extremely pleased with the experience, rating it a 4.4 out of 5 on average. One remarked, "We worked 14 hours a day, never thought this could be so much fun!" For Hess, there will be long-term benefits derived from having met students and faculty from around the world and learning to see landscape change from so many different perspectives. He intends to develop further collaborative teaching and research activities with the faculty and students.
Student Summer Internship Report, Italy: Su Ann Shupp, Senior in Fisheries and Wildlife
This past summer I interned, in conjunction with the University of Rome, on the Large Carnivore Project in Abruzzo National Park, Italy. The project began in 2006, involving two major areas of study, monitoring the migratory pattern of brown bears and the reproductive patterns of gray wolves. Supervised by Dr. Luigi Boitani and Dr. Paolo Ciucci, my work there focused on locating rendezvous sites by conducting wolf howling surveys. Along with two graduate students, we monitored nine separate wolf packs within the Park. While the wolf howling surveys were conducted at night, our lab work was conducted during the day. In the lab I worked on diet analysis of scat collected over the past two years from scat trails. At the project house where I stayed there was always work to be done and papers to be read, but there was always time for good food, and great atmosphere.
Su Ann Shupp conducting a wolf howling survey in Mainarde
Trip Report: Forestry and Natural Resources in Turkey, June 2007
By Paul DerOhannesian, Sports Management Major, PRTM Department
This summer I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to go on a study abroad trip focusing on the Forestry and Natural Resource Management in Turkey. I really wanted to visit Turkey because my grandfather and his family were immigrants from Turkey. While searching through different programs with my parents, we came across a course being taught in the summer by teachers from the Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources. Although I am a Sports Management major in the PRTM Department and know very little about forestry, I saw it as an opportunity to learn about something I have little knowledge on and to learn about Turkish culture and history. Our study abroad program went from June 11 through June 29, 2007. There a total of 11 people on this trip, 8 students and 3 professors. What was great about the course was the way professors Dr. Bronson Bullock, Dr. Fikret Isik and Dr. John Frampton were able to integrate the course material on forestry and natural resources with the history and culture of Turkey. Because Dr. Isik is from Turkey and did his undergraduate and graduate studies there, he was able to take us to the most important places and was our translator whenever we needed someone to speak Turkish. When I first applied for the program I thought everything that we would be doing would involve forestry and natural resources, but we did many other great activities that helped us to all enjoy Turkey and learn about its history and culture as well.
We arrived in Istanbul and finished up our trip in the tourist city of Antalya. Throughout the time, we visited the cities of Bolu, Ankara (the capital), the area of Cappadocia, Isparta and Kas. Each area that the professors brought us to had something unique that made what we did very diverse. While we stayed in a hotel at almost every city we went to, in Bolu the professors had us stay at a lodge in the mountains. It was my first time spending a night in a lodge far from society and being in the mountains. We went on a hike to see the beautiful Pinus Brutia trees near our lodge and visit a lake not far from where we were staying. In Isparta and Antalya, the professors arranged for us to stay with host families who treated us all like we were part of their family. The families I stayed with took me into the cities in which they reside, and prepared Turkish cuisine while we talked and learned more about each other. We visited a several universities in Turkey, including Middle East Technical University and Istanbul University. At these universities, we learned about the forestry programs they offer and listened to guest lectures on forestry and natural resources in Turkey. In the Mediterranean region (Antalya and Kas) we went on two boat rides and spent some time snorkeling in the crystal clear Mediterranean Sea; we saw some fantastic scenery while our boat cruised from place to place. I think the most exciting thing we did while we were on the trip is when our professors took us on a white water rafting trip while we were in Kas. Rafting is something else I had not previously experienced, but I had one of the best times of my life going over the rapids and being in nature. We saw many great historic sites on the trip – it would take a long time to list and talk about them all. The sites that highlighted the trip were visits to the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia museum in Istanbul, the underground cities in Cappadocia, and Aspendos which is a very old theater/stadium from Roman times.
I am very grateful to Dr. Doug Wellman, Head of the Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management (PRTM) department, who helped offset the cost of my academic studies in Turkey. The College of Natural Resources also provided funds to aid in making this trip feasible for me. Not only did I learn a lot about forestry, natural resources, history, and Turkish culture, I also learned a lot about myself on this trip. Although a lot of what was discussed in guest lectures and in the places we visited was new material to me, I was able to take in a lot of what was discussed. For example, when we were going to Antalya we stopped at a place where they had a whole bunch of different trees from different elevations and we compared the different growth traits of trees growing at higher and lower elevations. We learned that trees at higher elevations grow straighter and have branches that grow parallel to the ground. I learned a great deal about the people and culture of Turkey. Everyone I met treated me with great respect and was very kind and welcoming to me. To this day, I still communicate with some of the friends I made over there and the pictures provide great memories of my experience. I highly encourage every student here at NC State, for at least one part of their academic career, to take advantage of the many opportunities to study abroad. I also recommend that people step out of their comfort boundaries when choosing a course. Countries like England and France tend to draw the most applicants, but I hope students realize there are other interesting destinations such as Turkey. Further, I would recommend not limiting your program selections to those that exactly match your major. As I stated earlier, I knew very little about forestry and natural resource management, yet I was able to have a wonderful educational experience despite my lack of disciplinary knowledge. It is a good thing to learn about things that are not your primary focus and to be around people not like you because it will make you a more diverse and well rounded human being. Lastly, I would like to once again thank Drs. Isik, Frampton, and Bullock for making this study abroad program an experience I will never forget.
Students and Faculty on the hills of Cappadocia in Turkey
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