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UGA, Chilean non-profit collaborate on new program |
| By Christopher Anderson |
|
| During the past academic
year, the UGA’s
Institute of Ecology and the Omora
Foundation, a Chilean non-profit research and education organization,
began a new study-abroad program to train undergraduates in the multidisciplinary
nature of biological and cultural conservation. The venture allows UGA students the opportunity to do research and internships in the subantarctic forests of the Tierra del Fuego and Cape Horn region of Chile, identified by Conservation International as one of the 37 most pristine ecosystems remaining on the planet. The opportunities with Omora also are available to faculty and graduate students and include projects as diverse as ecotourism, marine biology, ethnobotany and economics. “The collaborations initiated with UGA have contributed significantly to our programs,” says Ricardo Rozzi, president of the Omora Foundation. “The opportunity for Georgia students and faculty to contribute to the development of this region is tremendous. We hope that our relationship with UGA can continue to grow as we see it of mutual benefit.” The relationship between UGA and Omora began in 2001 during the seventh Congress of the International Society of Ethnobotany held in Athens. At that time UGA’s Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies launched the Network of Latin American Ethnobotanical Sister Gardens, which includes the UGA Latin American Ethnobotanical Garden and the Omora Ethnobotanical Park. The Omora park is a 400-hectare long-term research site, as well as an “outdoor” classroom where students and teachers from schools and universities can learn about and explore the biological and cultural heritage of the Tierra del Fuego and Cape Horn areas. In 2002 the Institute of Ecology, part of the College of Environment and Design, signed a memorandum of understanding with Omora to promote mutual projects of interest in the areas of ecology, education and conservation. The study-abroad program is the first project to result from the agreement. Devin Thomas Moody, a recreation and leisure studies major with an emphasis in resource management, spent fall semester 2003 in Chile. During his internship, he assisted in stream ecology projects on Navarino Island. He also coordinated the logistics and assisted in carrying out an Earthwatch Institute expedition for 10 days to study the owls of the Cape Horn archipelago. Clayton Ross Griffith, an ecology major, visited the Omora Ethnobotanical Park during spring semester 2004. He assisted in various research projects, including a boat expedition through the channels and fjords around Tierra del Fuego. In addition, he conducted his own undergraduate honors thesis research on the impact of the North American beaver on stream-side vegetation. The beaver is an introduced species that has invaded much of the Tierra del Fuego region and altered the ecology of both forests and streams. |
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