This program changed the way I thought about environmentalism, wildlife management, and what ‘conservation’ means in different countries. It has significantly shaped what I want to do with my life; I would not be the same person I am today without my summer abroad with SFS.
— Alexandra Klimko, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Summer ‘13
Northern Tanzania, home of world-famous national parks such as Tarangire, Lake Manyara, Kilimanjaro, Serengeti, and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, offers a tightly packed hub for wildlife conservation and tourism opportunities amid a growing human population and development activities. This magnificent setting on the Maasai steppe is our classroom.
Expeditions to the national parks and other protected areas offer students significant opportunities to experience hands-on learning about environmental issues and a suite of strategies for resolving them. Students learn about the complexities of sustainable wildlife conservation in the Tarangire-Manyara ecosystem of northern Tanzania. The course combines concepts and principles of ecology, natural resource management, and socioeconomics, all of which are components of effective and sustainable wildlife conservation. In this course, students develop field skills to explore the ecology, social organization, and behavior of common large African mammals.
Central to this first summer session is the understanding and evaluation of protected areas management in the region. Students learn methods of conserving wildlife both inside and outside protected areas amidst a rapidly changing socioeconomic and political environment. In addition, they examine constraints to the conservation of wildlife among resource-poor rural populations and identify key aspects of human-wildlife conflicts.
FIELD RESEARCH, LECTURES, AND EXERCISES
- Learn about social organization, basic taxonomy, and conservation status of charismatic large mammals in African savanna ecosystems
- Go on game drives in world-famous national parks and conservation areas
- Practice basic skills in field techniques such as animal identification and behavioral ecology of larger African wild mammals, vegetation and wildlife sampling, social surveys and participatory methods
- Visit local villages and group ranches to understand local organizational components and community dynamics related to the challenges of rural livelihood and wildlife conservation
- Develop recommendations and potential solutions to conservation challenges in Tarargire-Lake Manyara ecosystem
- Travel on field lectures to study changing land uses among pastoral communities and implications of these to wildlife and environmental conservation
SUMMER COMBINED: SESSIONS I + II
This summer course can be taken individually (4 credits) or in combination with Session II: Techniques for Wildlife Field Research (8 credits). The combined summer program provides a thorough introduction to community wildlife management and the research methods routinely used to assess wildlife ecology. Students participating in both sessions receive a $1,000 discount.
Students live at Moyo Hill Camp (MHC) in Tanzania’s Tarangire-Manyara ecosystem between Lake Manyara National Park and the famous Ngorongoro Conservation Area. This wonderfully scenic area is world-renowned for its beauty, geography, history, and wildlife. MHC is a fenced facility nestled among maize plantations and other crop fields. Students reside among the native acacia and fig trees, and birdsong fills the air in the morning. The camp consists of multiple buildings including an administrative block, a chumba, which serves as an eating and social activity center, a classroom and library, and a computer room. MHC is part of the small community of Rhotia where students can enjoy daily interaction with neighbors. Walking, jogging, soccer, and socializing outside of the camp round out daily life at MHC.