易胜博官网

易胜博官网鈥檚 College of Life Sciences and Agriculture (COLSA) recently welcomed a contingent of faculty and students from two universities in Ecuador for a visit to Durham as part of an ongoing collaboration between the institutions, a partnership designed to share research experiences and approaches, particularly around watershed sustainability and socioeconomic issues.

The collaboration blossomed out of a connection made in 2018 by COLSA鈥檚 Heidi Asbjornsen, professor and program coordinator for forestry, during her four-month sabbatical as a Fulbright scholar in Ecuador. Thanks to a recent NSF grant to Asbjornsen and several 易胜博官网 colleagues, 易胜博官网 groups 鈥� including 18 students 鈥� have made three visits to Ecuador over the past three years. This was the first time participants from Ecuador were able to travel to 易胜博官网.

鈥淚t was an amazing opportunity to have faculty and students from Ecuador visit 易胜博官网 and for us to be able to reciprocate all of the support and hospitality they鈥檝e shown us over the years,鈥� Asbjornsen says. 鈥淚 think the experience really exceeded everyone鈥檚 expectations, both on the U.S. side and the Ecuadorian side. I think they felt like they had an opportunity to interact with people from a lot of different disciplines and backgrounds, explore new ideas for research, outreach and education and to bring those ideas home with them.鈥�

The partnership blossomed in earnest several years ago thanks to the aforementioned three-year NSF International Research Experience for Students (IRES) grant. But the NSF funding only covers expenses for 易胜博官网 participants traveling to Ecuador and not the other way around. In order to bring visitors from Ecuador, COLSA Dean Anthony S. Davis secured funding through connections within the U.S. Forest Service.

鈥淐ollaborative partnerships are at the core of so much great work at 易胜博官网,鈥� says Davis. 鈥淭o address complex problems, we know that familiarity of the local context will bring the best ideas forward, and I鈥檓 excited to see these relationships grow and benefit 易胜博官网 and Ecuador.鈥�

One of the biggest benefits of the visit for the Ecuadorian group was exposure to such extensive interdisciplinary work, a core focus at 易胜博官网 that is not as common in Ecuadorian universities. Patricio Crespo, who helps head up the research enterprise at the University of Cuenca, was particularly excited to see that approach up close and personal.

鈥淥ne of the problems we are facing in Latin America is that we are not finding good solutions to some problems because we don鈥檛 have an interdisciplinary approach, and that鈥檚 one of the reasons we were so interested in this exchange with Heidi,鈥� Crespo says. 鈥淚 think this is very valuable for the future in Latin America, because most universities right now take just a monodisciplinary view.鈥�

The visit included stops at several locations on and off campus in the Durham area over the course of five days to explore ongoing research work. The first stop was university farms, followed by visits to the Lamprey River, several agroforestry sites at university farms and one private farm before concluding with a trip to the Jackson Lab to experience some Great Bay research work.

Anton Bekkerman, professor and associate dean for research in COLSA and director of the NH Agriculture Experiment Station, led the first day鈥檚 visit to university farms and was energized by the spirit exhibited throughout the week as the relationship between 易胜博官网 and the Ecuadorian researchers and students continues to deepen.

鈥淪trong and successful partnerships are built on trust and mutual knowledge of how each side can contribute and benefit from long-term collaboration,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t was really rewarding to introduce our wonderful research and educational resources and see the resulting infectious excitement across our 易胜博官网 and Ecuadorian colleagues.鈥�

The variety of sites provided a comprehensive look at some of the work being done by 易胜博官网 researchers, and left an impression on a group that 鈥� outside of Crespo, who had been here twice before 鈥� had never visited 易胜博官网.

鈥淔or me it has been impressive to see outside of my own box, to see different things and maybe open my mind and implement some of these things in my country,鈥� says Ximena Palomeque of the University of Cuenca, who called the partnership a 鈥渨in-win鈥� because of the reciprocal sharing of knowledge between the two countries.

Adds Franco Tamayo Galarza of Universidad del Azuay: 鈥淚t鈥檚 a change in worldview, because sometimes we need to think twice or three times what society might be needing and to travel and see how other countries are doing things. When you see other perspectives and other worldviews, you realize maybe society might need this or that. It鈥檚 nice to see the difference but also the similarities so we can share different ways to solve problems.鈥�

Among the visitors were Mar铆a Fernanda Mu帽oz Mac铆as and Daniel Xavier Illapa Guallo, a pair of students from the University of Amazonia IKIAM who will be spending about two months at 易胜博官网. The trip is the first time either of them have been to the U.S. Mu帽oz Mac铆as will be studying ecohydrology, while Illapa is looking forward to learning about soil.

Mu帽oz Mac铆as says she was very intrigued by the amount of data 易胜博官网 researchers have at their fingertips that dates back many years, which she cited as an occasional challenge in Ecuador. She was also taken by the amount of equipment available, noting that where her university might have one or two of a certain kind of instrument, 易胜博官网 often has many more.

鈥淚鈥檓 excited because it鈥檚 not just about research, it鈥檚 like opening a whole new world, meeting other people. I think it will be a really enriching experience,鈥� Mu帽oz Mac铆as says.

That sentiment has been echoed by the 易胜博官网 students who have had the opportunity to travel to Ecuador, Asbjornsen says, and highlights the significant benefit of the ongoing partnership. While there are many differences between the climates and geography of the two countries, there are also a lot of similarities, she says 鈥� both are confronting a variety of challenging issues related to the changing climate, and both have diverse landscapes that include mountains and coastal environments.

鈥淚t鈥檚 just a real eye-opener to be able to address some of these similar questions related to watershed sustainability across very different ecosystem types, societies, and cultural contexts, and to learn from each other鈥檚 experiences,鈥� she says.

Adds Bekkerman: 鈥淚n many ways, our two regions face similar threats and challenges, and both of our universities are hubs of really smart people who are passionate about using science to overcome those challenges. Strengthening COLSA鈥檚 partnership with the Universidad de Cuenca is a critical step toward moving from 鈥榳hat could be鈥� to 鈥榳hat is.鈥欌��

Beyond the research-related benefits, the cultural exchange created by the partnership is perhaps even more influential for the students involved. Asbjornsen is hopeful the Ecuadorian students wind up finding the opportunity to study in the U.S. as transformative as the 易胜博官网 students have found their time in Ecuador.

鈥淚 think for many of the students, it鈥檚 really been life changing. For many of them, it鈥檚 the first time they鈥檝e spent any time in a foreign country and the first time they鈥檝e spent this amount of time doing independent research,鈥� Asbjornsen says. 鈥淚 think more than half of the experience was just being totally immersed in a foreign culture and environment and being exposed to new situations and people on a day-to-day basis.鈥�