FEWSUS in collaboration with UT Smith International Center for Sustainable Agriculture launch joint fieldwork program with collaborating institutions in Guatemala.
Study Abroad
Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Challenges in Guatemala (AGNR 491, 3 credit hours, course). A peri-urban FEW-focused undergraduate course taught jointly by Dr. David Ader and Sara Mulville (project manager). A group of 12 students traveled to Guatemala for ten days in March 2022 to visit local actors working on FEW-related activities in the towns of Panajachel, Antigua, and Santa Lucia de Cotzulmaguapa. Students were exposed to scenarios related to consumption and production challenges in urban and peri-urban centers. They also visited municipalities to learn about solid waste management programs. This course helped students understand the complexities of food-energy-water related work in developing countries.
Summer Fieldwork placements: Three students of UT traveled with faculty to Guatemala to work with local scientists and stakeholders for demonstrations of sustainable technologies for water management, carbon sequestration, and community garden development. Specific arrangements are:
-Duncan McCurry (M.S. student at UT, major in environmental and soil sciences) will work for three weeks (May-June 2022) with Guatemalan technical staff at the Private Institute for Climate Change Research. He was mentored by UT faculty Dr. Shawn Hawkins on the installation of UT-designed precision rainfall runoff and erosion monitoring system. This demonstration model will be used by the institute for educational purposes and replicated by producers in the region.
-Mathew Barnicki (senior undergraduate student, major in forestry) visited the Private Institute for Climate Change Research for six weeks in May-July 2022 to work on a reforestation project and conduct tree measurements for calculation of CO2 storage (riparian forest and Pacific coast mangroves).
-Lucinda Langley (Senior undergraduate student, major in plant science) woked with the local staff of Niños del Lago (a community-based organization) for two weeks to deliver with local staff agricultural and nutrition education modules to local students, teachers, and parents in the town of Panajachel.