Contact:
Alyssa Rothman, Director
Office of Information Services
Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences
(954) 262-7956
FT. LAUDERDALE, FL. - Students in Barry Barker’s
environmental science classes get some unique assignments. A professor
at Nova Southeastern University, Barker, Ph.D., has a hands-on approach
to learning that includes research expeditions to faraway places such
as Ecuador, Madagascar, and, most recently, the Caribbean island of
St. Lucia. The tool used in his research is photography.
A diverse group
of 17, invited by the St. Lucia Ministry of Tourism and led by Barker,
landed on the shores of this island nation armed with cameras, laptops,
pens, paper, and an overwhelming curiosity. Their task: document, photograph
and learn and collect digital data about the people, culture, history,
flora and fauna, and the sights, sounds, and smells of this volcanic
island in the West Indies.
Their goals were to create environmental awareness
connected with economic development; educate themselves and their host
country on the sustainability of ecotourism, as well as environmental
and public health issues; devise ways NSU can develop programs that
will help St. Lucia; and lay a foundation to create a program that
will establish jobs in areas of ecotourism,
Divided into six groups, the photographers,
writers, and students fanned out over the island with itineraries that
took them through rain forests, fishing villages, botanical gardens,
offshore islands, mountain waterfalls, a drive-in volcano, sulphur
springs, coral reefs, cities, rural areas, and working plantations.
Activities included scuba diving, hiking, birding, cooking lessons,
school celebrations, flower festivals, and meeting as many St. Lucians
as possible.
Jennifer Michaud and Charles Sherrer were two
of the students traveling with Barker. Both have been on previous ecotours
and both agree, when traveling with Barker, they got to know the country
they were visiting. “You
get a real feel for the country, the culture, and the people,“ said
Michaud, a finance major who was part of the culture and heritage group.
Her daily journal will become a report on the economics and environment
of St. Lucia.
Sherrer, an environmental science major, was
part of the adventure group. This included scuba diving and documenting
the rich array of marine life. “This
is a grassroots awareness. We’re building a momentum here. We want
to train people to monitor all eco systems. Our challenge is to provide
a platform for the locals to participate in the gains from tourism
while educating them about the environmental concerns of their country.”
One of the many results of the documentation
will be a spectacular photographic exhibit in the spring. More than
100 photographs will be chosen from the thousands taken during the
week-long trip. The pictures will be on display at the Alvin Sherman
Library, Research and Information Technology Center, which is located
on the main campus of NSU. The exhibit will be open to the public for approximately
three months. At the end of three months, the photographs will become a traveling
exhibit for the St. Lucien Ministry of Tourism.
In keeping with the NSU tradition of learning
beyond the classroom, Barker gets his students into the real world
and challenges them to make a positive impact. Promoting, protecting,
and restoring habitat areas through photography and technology are
among the many goals Barker strives to achieve through his classes,
ecotours, and his Wild Spots Foundation. Barker created Wild Spots
to save habitats and protect threatened and endangered species, while
incorporating an understanding of the indigenous people living in these
areas.
“My students are expected to apply, demonstrate, create, and originate solutions
to promote, protect, and conserve living things and their habitats. The answer
is not in education or wrapping yourself around a tree, but doing deeds to make
a difference. What works is action, application, and demonstration.” The ultimate
field trip allows students to do all of this and more,” he said.
For information about Barker’s classes or to participate with these Nova research
expedition projects, call 954-262-8303. For information about Wild Spots Foundations
and the upcoming spring photo exhibit, call toll 954-816-1974 or visit the web
site at www.wildspotsfoundation.org.
