UMEB: Comparative Ecology: Perspectives on Environments Across Space, Time and Cultures

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The University of Notre Dame (ND) and the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of Montana (CS&KT) have a joint venture for education and research on environmental biology, which includes an educational program for undergraduates from all universities. Each student cohort participates in two summer sessions (10 weeks each): the summer between Sophomore and Junior years in northern Michigan and the summer between Junior and Senior years in Montana. Each summer session is preceded by a one semester preparatory course. A cohort consists of 8 students; 4 will be Native Americans. UMEB funding supports 8 Native American students (two cohorts). Summer sessions are offered by ten faculty from four universities.Each summer session includes various field ecology course modules. The modules offered in Michigan are forest, aquatic, insect, amphibian/reptile, and mammalian/avian ecology. The modules offered in Montana are grassland and montane ecology and paleoecology. Both summers also contain a module offered by archaeologists and tribal members on the ecology of traditional life ways of local Native Americans and how the environment shaped these and the peoples' environmental attitudes. However, the main focus is each student's independent research project and environmental monitoring by student teams. Research topics are focused on course modules or projects of senior researchers working on the properties. Team-based monitoring is overseen by senior scientists. In the second summer, research projects and monitoring stress ecological comparisons between the properties. The program seeks to instill four qualities in environmental biology students: 1) scientific knowledge on a diversity of environments; 2) ability to integrate this knowledge with others in a team; 3) ability to generate scientific knowledge through independent research; and 4) ability to consider a diversity of environmental attitudes, especially those of Native Americans, because novel attitudes may aid in addressing environmental problems. Native American students will be better educated in environmental biology to manage tribal lands. Non-Native American students will be exposed to Native American attitudes that may aid in solving complex environmental problems and foster environmental justice for all groups. For more information, contact Dr. Gary Belovsky (phone: 574 631 0172; e-mail: Belovsky.1@nd.edu).