Students will live, work and think as researchers in the rainforest as part of unique new program

By James Stevenson

If done right, a university education generates a wide set of experiences to look back upon fondly in later life. Bumping into a black caiman crocodile the size of a canoe isn’t normally one of them. But it can be.

Coming unnervingly close to the largest predator in the Amazon basin means, among other things, that you’re no longer sitting sleepily in a classroom on the Canadian Prairie. It may also mean that you’ve been selected to study conservation and development in northeastern Peru this summer on a unique multi-disciplinary field study program new to the University of Calgary.

The Clavero research station enters a tributary of the Amazon.

Following an intense screening and selection process to be concluded later this month, about 20 U of C students will be spending most of May in the Amazon, living and working on a floating research station and earning credits in geography, biology and development studies. The concept is fairly rare to Canadian universities and speaks to the fact that environment and development disciplines have historically kept separate company, says Chui-Ling Tam, an assistant professor in development studies and one of the principal organizers.

“Such important things as conservation-development shouldn’t be separated because they inherently belong together,” agrees Conny Davidsen, another organizer and assistant professor in political geography and environmental policy. “We’re trying to stress to students that you shouldn’t just take a conservation course here and a development course there in isolation. They’re actually the same thing, just different perspectives.”

Biologist Alfredo Dosantos with a fasaco (hoplias malabaricus)

What makes this approach special is that three different courses are being put together, so that students learn about conservation, development and biological monitoring all at the same time.

“They’ll live, work and think as a researcher in the rainforest—giving them a great opportunity to stretch across disciplines and break out of the one-academic-box way of thinking,” says Davidsen.

For nearly two weeks, students will be on a boat—a slightly rusty but perfectly safe and functional former river cruiser turned research station—in the Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve in the Upper Amazonian Basin.

It’s the largest protected flooded forest in the world and home to an amazing array of species, many of which are on the protected or endangered lists. This includes gray and pink dolphins, manatees, giant river otters, the aforementioned black caimans and river turtles. And that’s just in the water. The boat makes many stops along the way for in-land excursions.

At the same time, the protected area has a human population of about 100,000 living along the riverbanks in scattered settlements. As such, the region is a vast, living laboratory in which to study the struggle between daily survival and future conservation.

Students will be eating what the local Peruvians eat and showering in water drawn straight from under the boat (quickly learning the Spanish for “more water please” in the process). Most importantly, they’ll be working side-by-side with local crew members and scientists from around the world.

Living the lessons, rather than simply absorbing information from books and computer screens is another invaluable experience from the program, aimed at undergrad students from across a wide spectrum of faculties and backgrounds. A prior passion for traveling is an asset but not mandatory.

“Students often theorize about what they’ll be encountering,” says Tam. “But actually being and living in a developing country, seeing first-hand the interactions between humans and their environment provides a much better perspective of the challenges and the potential for change.”

Poison Dart Frog (Ameerega trivittata) with tadpoles attached to her back.

To provide the best field-study program available with proven logistical support and established networks, the U of C has partnered with Operation Wallacea, a U.K.-based group that leads biological and social science expeditions world-wide. The Peruvian field study this summer will be led by Kent University scientist Rick Bodmer, a world-renowned specialist on Amazonian conservation.

Student interest has been very strong, with organizers expecting a difficult time paring the list down to just 20. Kyla Jewett, a third-year development studies major, says she’s applying because it’s a perfect way to put her classroom theory into practice, all the while learning about the challenges encountered in the field. “I just think it would be an unbelievable experience to go to the Amazon and to meet the local Peruvian people,” she says.

Not to mention the black caimans.