Dragonfly students amplify primate conservation through research and media

Current Dragonfly students Maegan Leavendusky (right) of Mayetta, Kansas, and Rachel Medley of Lexington, Kentucky, recently traveled to Cameroon, West Africa, where they worked on The Great Ape Conservation Film Project (GACFP), a partnership between GLOBIO, a media conservation organization, and Ape Action Africa, a local non-governmental organization.

For two weeks, the GLOBIO team trained local community members to administer teacher questionnaires in nearby schools to assess teachers' knowledge and awareness of great apes. The data collected from the teacher questionnaires will aid in the creation of a follow-up questionnaire for students, and the combined data from both will drive the creation of both primate- and region-specific films.

This project builds and expands upon previous community film conservation initiatives in Africa and Southeast Asia. GACFP utilizes the uniqueness and power of film to raise and amplify awareness, improve knowledge of and attitudes toward great apes, address conservation education research gaps, and inspire impactful conservation action in communities living near great apes and threatened habitat.

Leavendusky, who is a GFP student in Miami's biology department, will earn a Master of Arts next month. She holds bachelor's degrees in nursing and anthropology and works as the Outreach Education Coordinator for GLOBIO. Leavendusky is also GACFP's Project Coordinator and focused her graduate work on creating connections and lasting impacts for primate conservation.

Medley is working on her biology master's degree through the AIP with experiential learning at Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden. She has been an elementary teacher for more than 20 years and recently transitioned into a new role as a clinical educator for a local university. Read more

Soon-to-be-graduate finds conservation voice, starts wildlife non-profit

Meg Sczyrba of Portland, Oregon, who is an AIP student in Miami's biology department, will soon earn her master of arts degree. After a 30-year career as a lawyer and financial services regulatory compliance officer, she pondered her next steps.

"I wasn’t sure what form that might take until news broke that Cecil the Lion had been lured out of his sanctuary home and killed," she writes in her final capstone course portfolio. "As I read the flurry of news articles that followed, my passion for wildlife conservation ignited. ... I started this program to learn about wildlife conservation, but I am graduating with so much more. I have mastered empathy and inquiry ... I’ve also learned how to motivate conservation action through social marketing."

And through this journey, Sczyrba also found her conservation voice: "Each piece of the puzzle allowed me to solidify the focus of my graduate work (internally dubbed a 'master plan') to encourage environmental stewardship, primarily by founding the non-profit, Wildlife at Heart." Read more

A note of thanks to our good stewards on Earth Day

GFP graduate student Melanie Branson of Ridgecrest, California, was published in The News Review, a weekly newspaper of the Indian Wells Valley (IWV). In the opinion piece titled "Conservation in the IWV: Birds, Gardens and Water" Branson identifies several local "good steward" organizations and encourages readers to get involved in good stewardship—to join in helping conserve water, plants, animals and ensure a cleaner, more balanced and sustainable future. "If you know someone you admire in their eco-friendly efforts, please give them a hug, pat on the back, or high five this Earth Day month," she writes. Read more

Researching the power of social media for zoos

AIP graduate student Ezekiel Miller of Cleveland, Ohio, was published in the journal of Social Work in Mental Health. His article is titled "Connecting people to conservation agencies through social media posts: an examination of the power of marketing that zoos maintain."

For his research he examined one calendar year of Facebook posts by 10 AZA accredited zoos to compare how often zoos mentioned small, large, and government conservation agencies. His findings included no significant difference in the amount of posts by zoos mentioning small organizations as opposed to large conservation agencies. Read more

Combating parachute science in Latin America

GFP graduate Emily Utset '23 of New York, New York, was published in the journal Conservation Biology. Her article examines strategies to combat parachute science in Latin America. Parachute or ‘colonial science’ sidelines local researchers on field studies conducted in their own countries. Utset's research "demonstrates the importance of fostering local, Latin American-based research to further Indigenous agency in conservation, rather than continuing to rely on Western...science." She adds that "by dismantling parachute science on both fronts, conservation work in Latin America can become more effective and equitable." Read more

Addressing real-world problems through citizen science

GFP graduate Safiya Sabir '21 of New York, New York, was published in NSTA's Connected Science Learning. In the article Sabir helps educators identify what's needed to organize a community bioblitz. A bioblitz—a biological survey that brings together students, teachers, parents, and scientists—is a great way to introduce citizen science and get communities outside learning about local habitats. "With the help of web-based citizen science projects like bioblitzes, scientists and the global public can have access to vast catalogues of useful data about the natural world," Sabir writes. Read more

Improving life through city park community gardens

GFP graduate Lindsey Smith '23 of Columbia, Missouri, published an article, "Community Gardens in City Parks," for the MOST Policy Initiative Inc., a non-profit that is bringing scientists and policymakers together to improve the livelihoods of people and communities in the Midwest. "Community gardens, defined as a piece of land cultivated by a group of people individually or collectively, can improve food security in rural and urban areas, improve health outcomes for all ages, and provide working green spaces within densely urbanized areas," she writes. "Many communities are establishing community gardens in public parks." Read more

Connecting history and science through interpretive presentations

AIP graduate Luetta Jean Coonrod '12 of Lombard, Illinois, wrote an article about her experience as an interpretive presenter on women’s roles in the 1860s at the Glenview History Center for the National Association for Interpretation's Legacy magazine. The experience "brought me to realize that history and science are two sides of the same coin," she writes. "The story is more completely told when you have the perspective of both. You can better understand the importance of the prairie grasses when you connect that to the life of the people living among it." Read more

GFP graduate and teacher named FFT fellow

GFP graduate Nickele Morgan '14 of Perry, Ohio, was awarded a Fund for Teachers (FFT) fellowship for travel to Iceland this summer. FFT honors the professionalism of dedicated teachers like Morgan and values their judgment as to what best impacts their practice. This summer Morgan will have the opportunity to "experience the unique aspects of Iceland’s climate and geology, learning ways that people manage scarce resources, a harsh and changing climate, and a unique ecosystem with innovation, technology, and sustainability to create an informative virtual field trip." Read more

GFP graduate contributes research to book about animal tourism

GFP graduate Jacqui Sadashige's research on elephant tourism has been published in Emerging Voices for Animals in Tourism and appears in the "Hands Off Herd" chapter. Her research was conducted in spring 2019 at Burm and Emily's Elephant Sanctuary, also known as BEES, in Maechaem, Thailand, and was supported by sanctuary founders Emily McWilliam and Burm Pornchai Rinkaew. Sadashige of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is a 2020 graduate. Read more

Rescuing waterbirds in crisis

Current GFP student Angie Trumbo of Long Beach, California, who works for International Bird Rescue (Bird Rescue), presented "Fifty and Better's Spring Lectures: International Bird Rescue's Work Rescuing Waterbirds in Crisis" in early April at California Lutheran University. Trumbo talked about Bird Rescue's origin and history of oil spill response and wildlife rescue. Today, in addition to operating two full-time wildlife hospitals and responding to waterbird crises around the world, Bird Rescue aims to give a voice to waterbirds through conservation, advocacy, and wildlife literacy.

Trumbo was also published in Benicia Magazine. In her article titled "Experience the Wonder of Local Wetlands" Trumbo leads us on a stroll through the Cordelia Slough, a 10.8-mile-long tidal watercourse which discharges to the Suisun Slough, which in turn empties into Grizzly Bay in Solano County, California. Read more

A full circle moment for GFP graduate at John Brewer Reef in Townsville, Australia

Earlier this year GFP graduate and science teacher Sam Wheeler '12 of Durham, North Carolina, led a group of 23 students and six adults to Australia to learn about the Great Barrier Reef and the biodiversity there. The local television station did a story on Wheeler's group. Watch here 

"Every year, I take a group of students to different places around the world -- my own version of what I experienced in the GFP program. We snorkeled off the coast of Townsville on the John Brewer Reef, and we were led by two marine biologists from the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority," said Wheeler.

"During the trip out to the reef I had a chance to get to know both of them and to talk with them and they mentioned they routinely work with a program from the U.S. that brings teachers and science educators to the same places we visited. I asked what that program was and they said the Earth Expeditions program! The scientists, Julie Spencer and Craig McGrogan, who took us out were top notch."

"I can't help but smile at the irony," said Wheeler. "I had wanted to do the Australia trip when it was first offered in 2011," but he wound up traveling to Guyana for his third Earth Expeditions experience.

Addressing inclusion problems in STEM

This month current GFP student Aurelia Valente of Sante Fe, New Mexico, presented "Disability Inclusion in STEM Academia" at RedHawk Talks, a TED-like talk hosted by Miami's Graduate School. Valente's talk focused on how being a disabled graduate biology student has shaped her research. "Just because I have these disabilities, it shouldn't prevent me from pursuing the things that I'm passionate about. ... We have a little bit of an inclusion problem in STEM. Even in biology, it can be really hard to keep diverse researchers around, which is very strange to me considering that the word biodiversity has the word diversity in the name. I mean, especially in biology, some of the research advancements we have wouldn't have existed without inclusion." Watch here

Graduate's final inquiry action project comes to life in new education access program

GFP graduate Ginger Levinson '23 of Nashville, Tennessee, launched a new environmental conservation education access program—La Vergne Public Library Learning Links—in her community as a result of her master's coursework. The program allows community members to check out membership cards to the Smyrna Outdoor Adventure Center and the Discovery Center at Murfree Spring for free. Read more

Real-life tales of transformative experiences in nature and other wild stories

Earlier this month AIP graduate Lisa Yeager '23 of Seattle, Washington, was part of KUOW Public Radio's Wild Stories, an evening of storytelling hosted by Kent Whipple from Story Collider and Chris Morgan from The Wild podcast and co-sponsored by the Story Collider and KUOW Public Radio. A sold-out crowd of about 700 guests heard real-life tales of adventure, wildlife encounters, and transformative experiences in nature from Yeager and three others.

Yeager, who currently works as a program manager, shared her wild story drawing from her more than 10 years as an informal education volunteer and including how she learned to face her nemesis: zoo guests with a fear of snakes. Read more

Helping audiences experience the Antarctic Peninsula virtually and engaging with STEM

GFP graduate Susan Dorsey '19 of Baltimore, Maryland, has completed a number of deliverables for her Grosvenor Teacher Fellowship, including free digital interactives (maps, media, and education activities) for Junior Wildlife Ranger audiences, which are now available online:

The Falkland Islands: https://juniorwildliferanger.org/discover/falklandislands

South Georgia: https://www.juniorwildliferanger.org/discover/southgeorgia

Antarctica: https://www.juniorwildliferanger.org/discover/antarctica

Dorsey was also published in the Journal of Research in STEM Education. Her article titled "Sciencing Out, an informal STEM education program in Madagascar: A case-study," describes the program’s unique educational components and evaluation data, measuring the impact of student engagement with STEM topics. "The results demonstrate that out-of-school, field based experiences that connect students to local experts and biodiversity topics are important for increasing access to STEM knowledge and careers." Read more

AMLD: The historic comeback of the golden lion tamarins

This video on American public broadcast television follows the amazing conservation story of golden lion tamarins and our Brazil partners at Associação Mico Leão Dourado (AMLD).

The golden lion tamarin stands as a beacon of hope and survival in

the face of extinction after an outbreak of yellow fever led to a loss

of nearly a third of their wild population. ... Today, the tamarin

population has soared to 4,800 individuals, nearly doubling their

numbers before the yellow fever outbreak. This journey from the

brink of extinction to recovery exemplifies the potential of con-

servation and scientific intervention, providing renewed hope for

this iconic species' future.

Our Brazil Earth Expeditions course examines the “flagship species” approach to conservation so well represented by the golden lion tamarins, and the course explores next steps. It also focuses on multi-faceted species conservation, including biological issues relevant to species reintroductions and translocations, management of wild and zoo-based populations, community-based habitat restoration, and participatory conservation education.

AERF: 25 years of pioneering conservation on the ground in the Northern Western Ghats

The award-winning Applied Environmental Research Foundation (AERF), our partner and host in India, has been working with communities in the Western Ghats for more than two decades to support groundbreaking work on sacred groves and conservation. One of their most recent conservation milestones, includes this on mangrove-blue carbon efforts:

Mangroves are a buzz word in the global carbon market with, studies showing that they sequester almost 10 times the carbon than terrestrial forests. If this financial mechanism indeed delivers on its promise,

revenues from carbon credits can save mangroves and provide long-

term economic benefits to local communities. We have been conserving

the mangroves of Raigad and Ratnagiri districts for more than three years

with the support of global partners like Apple Inc. AERF further teamed

up with Conservation International (CI) and Good Carbon, Germany, to evaluate and assess the feasibility of setting up the first 'blue carbon'

project in Maharashtra... —AERF newsletter, 2024 first quarter

Students in the India Earth Expeditions course journey through the rich ecological, cultural, and spiritual landscapes of the Western Ghats, exploring sacred groves and forest temples and examining the relationship between people and nature.

Seeing is believing; listening is knowing

Through our podcast series, hosted by Dragonfly's Kevin Matteson, we seek to share the inspiring stories of Dragonfly community members making ecological and social change. All podcast episodes can be found on Dragonfly's Spotify and YouTube pages.

Thanks to our special guests (so far): GFP student Angie Trumbo, IRB Conservation and Education Specialist; GFP graduate Adam Kerins '22, Executive Director of Turtleback Zoo; AIP graduate Debbie Clemens '13, Orangutan Outreach Coordinator; GFP graduate Trevor Mia '22, Zoo New England; AIP advisors Agnes Kovacs (Chicago's Brookfield Zoo) and Julia Walz (Seattle's Woodland Park Zoo); Dragonfly Visiting Assistant Professor Laura Abondano; AIP graduate and raptor handle Jennifer Redmond '22; and Dragonfly co-founders Chris Myers and Lynne Born Myers.

Lessons in ethical tourism

Dragonfly Visiting Assistant Professor Michelle Szydlowski Ph.D, Department of Biology, was recently published in Emerging Voices for Animals in Tourism and The Conversation, an online resource of a nonprofit, independent news organization dedicated to providing news straight from scientists and scholars themselves.

Her eye-opening article on elephant tourism sheds light on an industry that is putting a huge strain on ecosystems. She also shares insights on how to be an ethical tourist. "Wildlife tourism – which involves viewing wildlife such as primates or birds in conservation areas, feeding or touching captive or “rehabilitated” wildlife in facilities, and bathing or riding animals like elephants – is tricky business," she writes. "I know this because I am a researcher studying human relationships with elephants in both tourism and conservation settings within Southeast Asia." Read more

A digital art show focused on climate change impacts

Perhaps you were in the Oxford area and had a chance to see the "Changing Climate, Changing Communities: Local Reflections of a Global Issue" art exhibit in person March 8 - April 5, 2024! If not, no worries because you can view a digital slideshow of all the artwork above.

The exhibit, which includes artwork from Miami students, faculty, and community members, aims to engage the community in conversation action about climate change and is a collaboration of Miami University’s E.C.O. (Engaging for Climate in Oxford) Team as well as community partners and the Oxford Community Arts Center.