Achievement

The CPC IGERT approach to training has been one of participatory learning through the research process. As such, students are involved in nearly all aspects of the project, helping when their skills permit and realizing what skills they need to acquire to become more meaningful players in the research enterprise. Recently, Walsh taught a graduate seminar in geography that culminated in the development of a preliminary ABM for a “virtual” Galapagos National Park that was published in the journal, Population & Environment (Miller et al. 2010). Walsh subsequently used the model in an undergraduate course to examine the challenges of conservation and development on land use change, invasive plant species, and occupational alternatives. In the newly created UNC Study Abroad program in the Galapagos faculty members from both campuses educate in the field, lab, and classroom;in addition to partnering with the UNC Institute for the Environment to develop an International Field Site in the GI.