Postcards from Abroad heads all the way over to Africa to visit with junior Stephen Koester of the Muhlenberg baseball team. A biology and environmental science double major, he is studying in Tanzania this semester.
What classes are you taking?
I am taking classes in Wildlife Management, Wildlife Ecology, Environmental Policy and Swahili Language and Culture.
What are you doing while abroad in Tanzania?
While I'm here, I am studying wildlife management, environmental policy and wildlife ecology. We are also conducting directed research on the ways in which the livelihoods of people living in rural communities, who are mainly farmers or pastoralists, are affected by climate change. The main effect of climate change is that there has been an extended drought for the past couple of years due to the absence of the short rainy season between September and November. This has significantly decreased the yield of farmers and decreased water availability, which was already scarce during this time of year.
We are also researching species abundance, diversity and behavior within the National Parks of Northern Tanzania. We are mainly working in the Serenghetti, Lake Manyara, Tarangire, and the Ngorgoro Crater. We also do research in Game Controlled Areas and Wildlife Management Areas such as Manyara Ranch and the Burunge Wildlife Management Area.
Is that all?
In addition, we also look into human wildlife conflicts in local settlements, which include settlements that surround the National Parks. We then look at how these conflicts are affecting both humans and wildlife. Humans mainly have their crops raided or livestock killed by wildlife, which is not good since the main ways of life are farming and pastoralism.
I am also partaking in community service with the local village of Rhotia by visiting local primary schools and orphanages to help teach children English, which is important as they grow older if they want to be able to get a job in tourism. We are also working on several rebuilding projects. We are currently building a library in the village, rebuilding the kitchen of a local primary school, and helping out at a local tree nursery that is working to plant trees in order to decrease the amount of erosion that occurs in the long rainy season.
What's your favorite part of the trip?
My favorite parts of the trip are doing research on wildlife in National Parks, learning how to mitigate human wildlife conflict, visiting orphanages, the primary school and giving back to the local community.
Previous "Postcards":
Morgan Weiss, Women's Lacrosse (Washington, D.C.)
Eva Sodaitis, Women's Basketball (Florence, Italy)
Erin Duca, Women's Lacrosse (Copenhagen, Denmark)
Alisa DeLuca, Women's Lacrosse (Maastricht, the Netherlands)
