The Program
Join us in Greece as we embark on a field study to investigate this region’s unique geography, wildlife, and ecology, with a special focus on ancient cultural ties. At the crossroads between Europe, Asia, and Africa, this mountainous Mediterranean wonderland is home to over 6,000 islands (only 227 are inhabited), several of which we will visit. Greece is an ideal location to experience wildlife and land management conservation techniques and better understand the current struggles of species reintroduction, human-wildlife cohabitation, marine protection, and climate change.
Bursting with opportunities for field studies, students who join our Summer two-week program or Spring six-week program will leave with a deepened understanding of how climate impacts the Mediterranean in terrestrial and marine environments and the processes used to navigate human-wildlife cohabitation.
SUMMER 2023 two-week program: Through a journey that spans three key locations and topographies (mountains, coastlines, and islands), students will focus on two core program themes – marine conservation and climate change impacts and adaptation. This intriguing program begins with a backpacking field study to explore the elevation gradient from ocean to mountains and gain firsthand experience with the topography and wildlife in central Greece. We then move to the coastline, where students will examine the extensive marine life and initiate our study of climate change on marine environments. We end this program with a thorough review of indicator species, strategies for adaption, and the amazing resilience of wildlife and marine ecosystems in this ancient land.
SPRING 2024 six-week program: Students on our full term program will build on topics covered in our two-week program while gaining the opportunity to work with several local field researchers, conduct their own independent research projects, and apply their findings as proposed management solutions. The team will travel into far north Greece to discover firsthand key rewilding methods and the socio-economic concerns of cohabitation with wild animals in an area that has deep cultural ties to the resources of the land. In conversation with various stakeholders, including people who have practiced semi-nomadic pastoralism, students will deepen their understanding of the interactions and impacts of culture on the environment. The terrestrial section of our spring program culminates in a weeklong community-based project where students work directly with local conservationists to propose a solution that helps negotiate the regional challenge of reintroduction and protection of wild species to the cultural ties of this land.
The second half of our spring program takes students to the Greek Islands and National Marine Park of Alonissos with multiple opportunities to snorkel the Mediterranean Sea. We start along Greece’s glorious coastline, where students will discover numerous species of fish (about 300), birds (over 80 species), reptiles, and mammals. After familiarizing ourselves with the marine environment and using indicator species such as sea urchins as our guide, our team will discover how observations of marine life can inform researchers about water quality, overexploitation, and other sustainability issues of concern.