2024 application fee waived for attendees of a Dragonfly webinar

Please join us for one of our upcoming free, live webinars with Project Dragonfly faculty, staff and graduates! The Miami University Graduate School (GS) will waive the $50 application fee for those who attend our 2023-24 webinars. Webinar attendance must precede payment of the application fee. Applicants are encouraged to start their application prior to attending an info session, as they can complete the application prior to paying the $50 GS application fee. Read more and register

AIP in-person and virtual info sessions from AIP sites

Each year our premier zoological, botanical, and wildlife conservation AIP sites offer their own in-person and virtual information sessions. These free sessions allow applicants to learn more about the Miami University degree and the experiential learning that takes place on-grounds at AIP sites and in and around the cities where they are located. Learn more

Grieving with, healing through, nature

GFP graduate student Chau Nguyen of Pomona Valley, California, wrote for "The Mindfulness Bell," a journal of the art of mindful living. She shares about her Earth Expeditions Thailand course—studying in the forest of Khao Yai National Park with her classmates while connecting to her grief of losing her father. "When my turn came to speak, I felt strong emotions of grief about my dad’s passing and asked to sit outside with my partner, Kim," said Nguyen. "A pair of hornbills flew and perched on the tree. Kim said, 'The hornbill is a sign from your dad!' I connected with the possibility that my dad sent the hornbill to listen to my grief pour out." Read more

Learning to love snakes

GFP graduate student and environmental educator Rachel Munro of Lilburn, Georgia, was recently published in a blog she wrote for the North American Association for Environmental Education (NAEE). Her article, "Learning to Love Snakes," describes what happened when she and a group of 15 fifth-graders encountered a venomous copperhead snake while on a hike in the North Georgia Mountains. "As we get closer, I start to recognize the distinctive Hershey kiss markings and a triangle-shaped head," said Munro. "It is a copperhead, a venomous snake native to the area, and we are headed straight for it!" Read more

Saving mangroves, local economies in Thailand 

GFP graduate student Aaron Moy of Bangkok, Thailand, contributed an article to the SevenSeas Travel Magazine. His article, "The Greener Side of Koh Phangan," helps readers understand the ecological and human contributions of mangrove forests and how Moy is working with the local community to raise awareness.

"These economic benefits are in jeopardy ... because more than half (62 percent) of the mangroves in Thailand have been lost to development," he writes. Despite these threats, local communities are mobilizing efforts, such as seed-planting initiatives, government funding, regulatory actions, and regional aerial surveys, to revitalize shrinking mangrove populations. Read more

Award-winning educator cultivating eco-literacy

GFP graduate Rachel Arbor '23 of Beacon, New York, was recently presented with the Science Teachers Association of New York State (STANYS) Excellence in Science Education award for the environmental education program she's building for PK-8 for her school district. Arbor also recorded a podcast with renowned psychologist Sheryl Ziegler on "Dr. Sheryl's PodCouch." In the "Eco-Anxiety with Rachel Arbor" episode, Arbor explains her mission to cultivate a generation of environmentally literate global citizens to help alleviate eco-anxiety. She said she aims "to connect students with themselves, with each other, and with nature to help them feel empowered—not powerless." Read more

Reflecting on Thailand

AIP graduate student Grace Masaoka of Seattle, Washington, reflects on her 2023 Earth Expeditions Thailand course, writing "the experiences in Thailand taught me so much, in so many different ways." When reflecting on one of the first moments in her Eco Solo experience in the forest, Masaoka created this haiku:

In a bamboo grove

A scarf wrapped around my head

It smelled like my mom

"It’s amazing how one smell could bring me feelings of home while I was halfway across the world," she wrote.

Masaoka's experiential learning takes place at Woodland Park Zoo. Read more

Turning dreams into reality, inspiring others

GFP graduate Brooke Mitchell '17 of Columbus, Ohio, was recently featured in her local newspaper, the Chillicothe Gazette. The article, "Zane Trace student returns to inspire others," describes what happened when she returned to her old middle school to speak with students about wildlife conservation and how to make their dreams a reality. Mitchell, who traveled to Baja, Namibia, and India with Earth Expeditions, created a podcast in 2021 offering authentic travel stories and ways to rewild our planet. She currently serves as executive producer and host of Rewildology and is the director of conservation for the safari company, The Wild Source. Read more

Advocating for social and environmental action

AIP graduate student Kelly Bono of St. Louis, Missouri, was published on the Metropolitan Congregations United website. Her article, "Environmental Action is Social Action," focuses on her MCU Environmental Justice internship through which she worked to increase community garden uptake in St. Louis County, Missouri. 

“I often stand with one foot in the sustainability field and the other in the social justice realm," said Bono. "But community gardens are places where I can firmly plant both of those feet. ... We can improve outcomes for people by caring for our environment. We just have to dig in."

Bono's experiential learning takes place at Missouri Botanical Garden. Read more

Studying conservation, bettering the world

GFP graduate student Ali Patton of Playa del Rey, California, was featured in Playa Vista magazine, a publication that highlights the news, events, and people in the Play Vista neighborhood of Los Angeles. The article is about her journey in the GFP master's degree, work as volunteer coordinator for the Aquarium of the Pacific's Mammal-Bird Husbandry Department, and her 2023 Earth Expeditions course in Mongolia. “Vast” is how Patton described the great steppes of Mongolia. In Mongolia she and her classmates learned about the conservation story of two key steppe species: Pallas’ cats and Przewalski’s horse. Patton's international fieldwork with Project Dragonfly has also included studying coral reefs, manatees, howler monkeys, and jaguars in Belize and cheetah conservation in Namibia. Read more