Center of Excellence at Peninsula College
  • Home
  • Education
  • Applied Sciences
    • Environmental Science>
      • Fisheries and Aquaculture
        • Elwha Project
          • Nearshore Ecology
            • Florida Turtle Study
              • Rainy Creek Forest Study
              • GeoSpatial Analysis>
                • NASA Lab
                  • Wildland-Urban Interface
                • Environmental Humanities
                  • Voices of the Strait (a film)
                    • Featured Scholar/Artist/Scientist
                      • Mindful Inquiry in Environmental Humanities: a blog
                        • Collaborators
                          • Poetry
                          • Publications
                          • Contact
                            • Jack Ganzhorn
                              • Brian Hauge
                                • Kate Reavey
                                  • Dan Underwood
                                    • Bob Lawrence
                                      • Anne Shaffer
                                        • Shea McDonald

                                        _

                                        _
                                        Expanding PC field research opportunities in Costa Rica and Florida
                                        Published on Wed, Jun 8, 2011 by Kassandra Grimm

                                        Read More News

                                        Field research and other learning opportunities based in the temperate rainforest of the Olympic National Park (ONP) to the tropical rainforest of Costa Rica are going to be available to Peninsula College students if Biology Professor Brian Hauge has anything to do with it.

                                        Hauge has been awarded sabbatical for next year, and he has plans to expand his research, educating students along the way.

                                        "The purpose of sabbatical is to rejuvenate, go out and do something to bring back to the college," Hauge said. In his year outside the traditional classroom, Hauge plans to travel to Florida four times for turtle research and to spend about two months in Costa Rica studying tropical ecology.

                                        Students have been accompanying Hauge to the springs and lagoons of Florida for hands on field research since 1999. He took 16 students to Florida in March. Data from this project has been used to benefit students, serving as an educational tool in Hauge's classes.

                                        In Costa Rica, part of Hauge's work will be to create material for ecotourists. They will help record sightings of species he is researching at a resort, which he has a working relationship with.

                                        One goal outlined in his sabbatical proposal was "to begin conducting turtle and other herpetological research projects here on the Olympic Peninsula." If approved, students would have another form of access to the ONP for local field research experience.

                                        Kirk Lang, a PC student, is already working with Hauge on proposals for permission to work in the ONP. "It's a good opportunity to gain experience," said Lang, who hopes to have a career in Ecology.

                                        A new class, BIOL 283L Techniques in Field Ecology, will also be a result of Hauge's sabbatical. It will be a five-credit class followed by a field trip.

                                        ...