GEM Student Ambassador Program projects

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GEM approved funding for eight students in 2007. Applications for the next round of ambassadorships (summer 2008) are due Nov. 16, 2007.

GEM awards cover project costs including transportation, room and board, project-related supplies & equipment, and travel medical insurance.

Costa Rica
Guatemala
Guyana
India
Kenya
Mexico
Peru
Puerto Rico
South Africa
South Pacific
United States
- Alaska
- Wisconsin


	CHINA Stacy Iruk Stacy, a senior who has earned a degree in environmental education and interpretation, worked at a tropical botanical garden in the Xishuangbanna region, in southwestern China. Her summer 2007 ambassadorship focused on educating and evaluating Chinese children on their lifestyle choices that affect the environment, and their environmental awareness. A poster and two surveys were completed. The project was carried out at the botanical garden and in two ethnic Chinese villages, a Hani village and a Dai village. The goal was to get the children thinking about simple lifestyle choices that make a difference and to instill confidence that they can make a difference. Quote from Stacy: Being in China and working on this project has thus far been the most amazing experience of my life and life-changing. The doors have opened and I now know that I can face any challenge. I have friends all over the world now and am very excited for the future. COSTA RICA Kurt Rasmussen Kurt majored in Water Resources, with a minor in Soil Science. His ambassadorship, *The Sarapiquí* *River* *Project, took him to north-central Costa Rica in May 2004 to assist in water monitoring training workshops and to collect and analyze water samples to help develop assessment reports for water quality in the Sarapiquí River that will then be used as teaching supplements in the U.S. and Costa Rica. Kurt also received a Kramer Family GEM International Studies Scholarship and the Byron Shaw Scholarship. Kurt's project advisor is CNR Water Quality Specialist Nancy Turyk. GUATEMALA* Top of page Verónica Alba & Jesse Majerus Verónica and Jesse spent fall semester 2006 in Todos Santos Cuchumatán, Guatemala assisting the local government with a water quality study and the Institución Mam de Desarrollo Integral (Mam Institute for Integrated Development - IMDI),¹ a local NGO, with a stream bank stabilization project along the Río Limón. Tiffany, a Watershed Management major with a Spanish minor, led the water project, which focused on sampling tap water from throughout the community and then testing water from the source springs for tap water samples that tested positive for coliform bacteria. Jesse, a Forestry major, led the stream bank stabilization project, which consisted of evaluating erosion potential on several slopes and then identifying appropriate vegetation for subsequent planting in summer 2007. Both students also took intensive Spanish classes in September at the Academía Hispanomaya (Hispanomaya Language School). The projects were directed by GEM researcher Brian Kermath and guided by Desiderio Martín of IMDI with additional assistance from GEM water specialist Wes Halverson. ---------------------------------------- Tiffany Short Tiffany, a junior in Watershed Management with a Spanish minor, spent fall semester 2005 in Todos Santos Cuchumatán, Guatemala assisting the Institución Mam de Desarrollo Integral (Mam Institute for Integrated Development - IMDI),¹ a local NGO, with its efforts at managing the Río Limón watershed. Tiffany focused on two specific projects: 1) to map land use/land cover along a stretch of the Río Limón from just above the town to the lower end of town; and 2) to draft a proposal for IMDI to construct a large rain harvest tank in the highlands near the village of Chichim. Tiffany also took an intensive Spanish class at the beginning of her stay in Todos Santos at the Academía Hispanomaya (Hispanomaya Language School). She was guided in Guatemala by IMDI President Desiderio Martín and her project was directed by GEM researcher Brian Kermath. Quote from Tiffany: "It was the best experience of my life." ---------------------------------------- Carly Smith Carly, a forestry-ecosystem restoration major, spent the summer of 2007 in the indigenous community of Todos Santos Cuchumatán, Guatemala She volunteered at a local tree nursery, which is involved in a successful governmental reforestation project that requires each tree that’s cut down to be replaced with 10 seedlings. Todos Santos is in a mountain valley and the surrounding slopes have suffered from deforestation in the past. Carly also spent time exploring and researching local sustainability practices and how they’ve changed over time. Todos Santos is a rapidly growing community strongly influenced by American ideals. This means that different aspects of the environment and people’s lives are changing positively and negatively. She was fortunate to have been able to converse with powerful people in the community on a regular basis, and learn about the history and current state of Todos Santos’ culture. Carly also took weeks of intensive language/cultural classes at the Hispanomaya Spanish language school in town, which provides scholarships to local children. ¹ Note: "Mam" is a Mayan language spoken by a majority of the people in Todos Santos Cuchumatán. For an introduction to the Mam language click HERE. GUYANA Top of page Quote from Ben while in the field: "I am having the best time of my life." INDIA Adam Washebek - Udaipur Adam, who is majoring in General Resource Management and Life Science, worked with fellow GEM Student Ambassador Ben Vondra on an ambassadorship project based out of Udaipur Rajasthan in summer 2007. Adam and Ben were hosted by and worked with staff from the Foundation for Ecological Security. Working with two villages, each with a population of about 800, Adam and Ben made a preliminary study of resource use. They collected data through village focus group meetings, manual GIS, observation and individual conversations. The end result was a 50-page paper recommending different land-use methods so the villagers could reap a larger benefit from their finite amount of land. KENYA DeNae Dandridge - Kitui DeNae, a CNR graduate student, spent summer 2007 in Kitui, Kenya, where she volunteered at Nyumbani Village, an eco-village designed to sustainably house children orphaned by HIV/AIDS. The community members around Nyumbani work on its organic farm, where they learn dry-land farming techniques and have access to a parcel of land, seeds, water, and markets. DeNae’s task was to provide technical training to the community farmers on food preservation and appropriate cooking technology for small business development. DeNae hosted nine workshops in eleven weeks, which drew more than fifty people throughout the series. Fifteen farmers received certificates of completion by attending at least half of the workshops. The workshops consisted of solar fruit and vegetable dehydrating, cake and bread baking, fruit and vegetable canning, cheese making, jiko (mud stove) building and repair, barrel oven construction, and small business and cooperative development. Quote from DeNae: The workshop participants became very close to me and taught me as many things as I was teaching them. I am proud of the participants and expect them to take this knowledge onto the next level. MEXICO Top of page Ashley Atkinson - Puebla Ashley, a senior with a double major in Environmental Education/Interpretation and Secondary Education, traveled to Mexico in July 2005 to work on an environmental education teacher exchange for GEM's Global Environmental Teachings (GET) Program. Ashley’s project focused on the Zempoala River Watershed of Northern Puebla (Map) and incorporated her interests in teaching, environmental education, and photography. Ashley's project was coordinated through GEM's GET program and was guided by UWSP environmental education professor Dan Sivek, GET Program Coordinator Susan Ermer, and UACh forestry professor Edgardo Hernández Vázquez. ---------------------------------------- Emily Lain - Puebla Emily, a senior majoring in Forest Ecosystem Restoration and Management, spent most of the summer of 2005 in Mexico. After taking several weeks of intensive Spanish at the Universidad Autónoma de Chapingo (UACh), Emily focused her work on gathering baseline data on the biota and land use and land cover of the Zempoala River Watershed of northern Puebla (Map) as part of a larger capacity building initiative in the town of Zapotitlán de Méndez (click photo at left). Emily's project was coordinated through GEM's Sustainable Communities Network and the Forestry Management Department at UACh and her work was guided by UACh forestry professor Edgardo Hernández Vázquez in the field and GEM Research Associate Brian Kermath at UWSP. Top of page ---------------------------------------- Julie Milliren - Nuevo León Julie, a senior majoring in Forest Ecosystem Restoration and Management, spent most of the summer of 2005 in Mexico studying Spanish and working on an applied restoration project in Mexico's northeastern state of Nuevo León. After taking a month-long intensive Spanish course at the Universidad Regiomontana in the city of Monterrey, Julie spent the rest of the summer assisting with a restoration project of the matorral vegetation ecosystem in the semiarid region of eastern Nuevo León near the town of General Bravo. The project involved constructing and maintaining on-contour water-harvest furrows (or swales) on private ranches, mapping, monitoring of reintroduced white-tail deer (Odocoileus virginianus mexicanus) and other wildlife, and developing a project website for the Centro de Calidad Ambiental at Monterrey Technological University and GEM's Sustainable Communities Network. Her fieldwork was part of a larger project run, and supervised by forest ecology professor Mario Manzano of Monterrey Tech. Top of page ---------------------------------------- Veronique Van Gheem - Oaxaca Veronique is majoring in Forest Ecosystem Restoration and Management and is now in Oaxaca for the fall 2005 semester. After taking an intensive Spanish course in Oaxaca City, Veronique moved to the village of Santiago Comaltepec in the Río Grande Watershed of the Sierra Norte (click photo at right) to participate in a forest restoration project run by the Oaxacan based NGO, Estudios Rurales y Asesoría Campesina (ERA). As part of GEM's Sustainable Communities Network, this project will help kick off the U.S. AID funded ALO/TIES collaborative sustainable watershed management project between GEM, ERA, the Universidad Autónoma de Chapingo, and Monterrey Technological University. Veronique's fieldwork is being being guided by biologist Clarisa Jiménez and forester Gonzalo Hernández of ERA. PERU Top of page Angie Arkin Angie is a senior Waste Management major with interests in composting and sustainable agriculture. Her work will be based in the Quechua-speaking Eco-Village of Ccachupata, a sustainability project near Cusco in Andean Peru. Angie is currently in Cusco studying Spanish will spend the rest of the Fall 2005 semester in Ccachupata assisting the Center for Construction with Earth and Sustainable Development (Centro de Estudios para la Edificación con Tierra y el Desarrollo Sostenible - CEETyDeS) and Ccachupata residents expand the community's composting, waste management, and irrigation systems. As part her program, Angie also participated in a Permaculture course in California and will take an intensive Spanish course in Cusco. Angie's project advisors are CEETyDeS Executive Director Antonio Bueno in Peru and GEM Sustainable Communities Program Director Brian Kermath at UWSP in the U.S. Click HERE for a presentation by Antonio Bueno on the project. ---------------------------------------- Sarah Orlofske A senior majoring in Wildlife Ecology and Management, Sarah’s ambassadorship, *Amphibian Population Monitoring and Ecotourism, took her to Reserva Amazónica on the Madre de Diós River in southern Amazonian Peru. As part of a larger project by UWSP biology professor Eric Wild, Sarah's project focused on the decline of Neotropical amphibians and developing interpretive materials on herpetofauna for Reserva Amazónica. Additional information: Global Amphibian Assessment Report & Disappearing Jewels, an article from NatureServe. PUERTO RICO Top of page Susan Ermer* A Master's student in Environmental Education, Susan's ambassadorship, *An Evaluation of an International Environmental Education Program for Teachers, is part of GEM's Program for Global Environmental Teachings (GET), which Susan coordinates. Susan traveled to Puerto Rico in July 2004 to help implement and evaluate a model for an international environmental education program that has allowed Wisconsin and Puerto Rican teachers to share their experiences and learn from one another. Susan was co-supervised by CNR Environmental Education Professors Dan Sivek and Dennis Yockers. ---------------------------------------- Kelly Mumm* Kelly is a junior majoring in Forest Restoration and Management. Her ambassadorship focused on forest restoration using native plant species at Hacienda Verde, a private reserve in the karst mountains of west-central Puerto Rico during the summer of 2005. Staff from Hacienda Verde and personnel from El Yunque, The Caribbean National Forest of the USDA Forest Service guided Kelly's reforestation efforts and CNR Forestry professors Les Werner and Richard Geesey advised her from UWSP. SOUTH AFRICA Top of page Mark Breunig Mark is a junior majoring in Watershed Hydrology and Management. The field portion of his ambassadorship, *The* *Development of a Watershed* *Management Strategy for the Kat River* *Valley, Eastern Cape, South* *Africa,* took place during the Spring 2005 semester in a water-scarce region of South Africa. He participated in an innovative study to develop and apply methods for establishing a cooperative water management strategy for the region that may be applied elsewhere in South Africa. Mark also received a Kramer Family GEM International Studies Scholarship. Mark's mentor is Water Quality Specialist Nancy Turyk. For photographs of Mark's experience click HERE & HERE. ---------------------------------------- Chad Heimerl Chad is a senior majoring in Watershed Management with a minor in Soil Sciences. Chad’s ambassadorship, *The* *Development of a Watershed Management Strategy,* *Kat River Valley, Eastern Cape, South Africa* , took him to a water-scarce region of South Africa for the Spring 2005 semester to participate in an innovative pilot project to develop and apply methods for establishing a cooperative water management strategy for the region. Chad 's GEM Student Ambassador award was supplemented with a Kramer Family International Studies Scholarship. Chad's mentor is GEM Watershed Program Manager Wes Halverson. ---------------------------------------- Edward Moye Ed is a junior Water Resources major. His ambassadorship, the *Four Corners Biodiversity Survey, took him to Rhodes University in Grahamstown, South Africa during the summer of 2004 to assist in an aquatic biodiversity assessment of the Upper Zambezi River system as part of the development of a sustainable resource management plan. Ed also received a Kramer Family GEM International Studies Scholarship. Ed's CNR mentor was Professor Bryant Browne and his advisor in Grahamstown was Rhodes University Professor Paul Skelton. Top of page ---------------------------------------- Paul Vanderford* Paul, a Master's student in Land Use Planning, currently is in South Africa where he is working on a project titled *The Development of a Watershed Management Strategy for the Kat River Valley, Eastern Cape, South Africa. With a strong interest in land use and resource management, Paul will focus his Master's thesis around this project. Paul's Ambassadorship mentor is GEM Watershed Program Manager Wes Halverson and his graduate advisor is CNR Land Use Professor Anna Haines. ---------------------------------------- Sam Werner* Sam’s summer 2007 ambassadorship took him to the Western Cape Region of South Africa. This is home to the Cape Floral Kingdom, the smallest of the world’s six floral kingdoms and among the most diverse areas on earth, home to more than 6,200 endemic plant species. Many South Africans are concerned with the troubled state of their rivers and want to do something about it. Community groups and municipalities are driving the initiative to start turning things around. One community group is the Friends of the Liesbeek River in Cape Town. On one of his projects, Sam worked with Dr. Kevin Winter, professor of Environmental Sciences & Geography at the University of Cape Town (UCT) in Rondebosch and president of the Friends of the Liesbeek River. Founded on past research, their work added new insights and data, and together they constructed the Liesbeek River Survey. The goal was to provide a “quick and simple” tool for community groups by contributing scientific information through education for the rehabilitation and preservation of the urban rivers of South Africa. Methods, materials, and products of the survey were given to the Friends of Liesbeek and UCT with the project handed off to another student upon Sam’s departure. Sam presented the conceptual model of and the results of the survey to the Friends of Liesbeek over several group meetings. GIS and GPS technologies greatly aided in the organization and presentation of the data. The survey and results are posted on the Friends of Liesbeek website @ fol.org.za SOUTH PACIFIC Justin Barrick Justin is a sophomore majoring in Watershed Hydrology and Management with a minor in Geographic Information Systems. Justin’s ambassadorship, An Assessment of Microbial Contamination in Cooks and Opunohu Bays on the French Polynesian Island of Moorea west of Tahiti, took him to the South Pacific in January, 2005 to assess microbial contamination of surface water. His research will help identify possible causes of contamination to residents and help with an education campaign on the connection between land use, water quality, and human health. Justin also received a Kramer Family GEM International Studies Scholarship. Justin's mentor was CNR Professor Ron Crunkilton. UNITED STATES Top of page Nelli Atkinson - Alaska Nelli, an Environmental Education and Interpretation Master's student, developed an *Interpretive and Educational Plan for the Thorne Bay Ranger District in the Tongass National Forest in Alaska* for her ambassadorship. During the summer of 2004, Nelli traveled to Prince of Wales Island in the Tongass where she worked with USDA Forest Service staff to develop an educational and interpretive plan for the Thorne Bay Ranger District. Nelli also received the Bonnie Clark Student Explorer Award. Nelli's ambassadorship mentor and thesis advisor is CNR Emeritus Professor Michael Gross. A copy of the executive summary Nelli wrote for her project with photographs is available HERE (in pdf format). ---------------------------------------- Rebecca Mattano - Wisconsin Rebecca is an Environmental Education and Interpretation Master's student working with the Center for Land Use Education on the development of a Creative Land Use Series for Teachers and Educator Resources (CLUSTER) for her ambassadorship. The innovative project consists of a comprehensive land use environmental education guide accompanied by an on-line training course. Rebecca anticipates that CLUSTER will become a recognized framework — locally, nationally, and internationally — for educator training and will bring visibility to land use issues and concepts into K-12 curricula. Rebecca also received awards from the Wisconsin Environmental Education Board and the Environmental Protection Agency. Her ambassadorship mentor and graduate advisor is Land Use Professor Anna Haines, Director of the Center for Land Use Education. ---------------------------------------- Jessica Orlofske - Wisconsin Jessica, a senior majoring in Wildlife management and Biology, conducted a research project titled *Odonate species (dragonflies and damselflies) diversity as an indicator of anthropogenic perturbations of wetlands* in *southeastern* *Wisconsin. Her research focused on determining whether or not Odonates could be used reliably as effective bioindicators of human disturbances in a variety of wetland environments in southeastern Wisconsin near Milwaukee. Jessica’s mentor was CNR Wildlife Professor Eric Anderson. Click HERE for a presentation (in PDF format) that Jessica delivered on her research. For more on Odonates click HERE or HERE. For additional information on Odonates as bioindicators click HERE or HERE. Top of page ---------------------------------------- Brian Wahl -* Wisconsin Brian is an Urban Forestry Master's student. His project (which is currently underway), titled Urban Tree Throughfall and Litter Leachate Contributions to Phosphorous Loading of Urban Runoff, is an examination of the effects of varying degrees of canopy cover on phosphorous loading from overland flow in urban residential landscapes of central Wisconsin. Brian's advisor is Urban Forestry Professor Les Werner. Like what you see? Click HERE for Current Opportunities and apply today. You could be one of the next student ambassadors. Awards cover project costs including all transportation, room and board, project-related supplies, and medical insurance. Top of page Check often for updates and contact Ron Tschida with questions. The GEM Student Ambassador Program is funded by the United States Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).
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