Imagining the Earth and Marine Ecology

Two weeks ago, we had a change of pace by diving into Imagining the Earth with Drew Ward. This course, also titled Environmental Literature, challenged us to reconsider our relationship with the earth and what environmentalism means through looking at various selections of environmental prose and poetry. It was an exciting week that not only led us to look at the earth but also at ourselves in new ways. Drew was very enthusiastic about the subject matter, which made it all the more enjoyable for us. On that Wednesday, we took a trip to Mountain Pine Ridge where we had class on the balcony of Five Sisters Lodge, overlooking a series of waterfalls. We ended our class session with a very refreshing dip in the stream, right below another beautiful waterfall.


April 22 was Earth Day! We celebrated by waking up early and planting two mahogany trees, plus some papaya seeds. This followed several days of intentionally focusing on different topics of sustainable living, including food, energy, and trash. It was a fun week and helped us to integrate some of what we've been learning and to think about it in a more practical way!


Following Imagining the Earth, we had Marine Ecology with Dr. Laurie Furlong. For this class, we packed up our bags and left early Monday morning for Glover's Atoll, where we would spend four days studying the marine life. About half of the class was lecture, and the rest of it was getting into the field. We snorkeled right off the shore of our island, we snorkeled way out where the ocean floor plummeted out of sight, and we snorkeled at night! It was an amazing experience, and we saw such a variety of marine creatures, from the brain coral to the angel fish to the Christmas tree worm. It was great to have Laurie passionately teaching this class, and thanks to her we left Glover's Atoll with the experience of seeing first-hand and understanding an undersea world that most people only get to watch through their television sets.