HOGL researchers Dr. Hans-Werner Herrmann and Taylor Edwards are instructors for the course, 'Desert Ecology and Conservation Biology in Namibia', offered through the University of Arizona Study Abroad and Student Exchange Program. The course graduate and undergraduate students to Namibia for five weeks where students are exposed to a multitude of unique experiences, including meeting foreign scientists and conducting independent research projects.

In addition to the primary instructors, the program is privileged to be joined by additional instructors, including; Dr. Thomas Wilson, lecturer in Soils, Water, and Environmental Science at the University of Arizona, Dr. Jerry Weber, professor of field geology at University of California Santa Cruz and Dr. Sue Holt, Instructor of Environmental Sciences, Statistics, and Economics at Cabrillo College, CA. With this additional instruction, students are exposed to a strong, interdisciplinary perspective in keeping with the discipline of conservation biology.

The program travels over 4,500 km in 4x4 vehicles and visits several conservation and management institutions including Polytechnic University in Windhoek, the Gobabeb Training & Research Centre, Namib-Naukluft National Park, Save the Rhino Trust, Twyfelfontein, Cheetah Conservation Fund, Etosha National Park, as well as visiting traditional villages. For students interested in the biological sciences, conducting field research "in situ" is invaluable in their professional development. A highlight of the program is the independent student research projects conducted during the last week of the program in the Kaokoland region. Projects have ranged from an inventory of Nile crocodiles in the Kunene River, examining commensalism with giant Baobab trees, mark-recapture and behavioral studies of agamid lizards, track count monitoring of vertebrates and invertebrates, and surveying local Himba people on the changing role of ecotourism in their area.

View pictures of the program here: Namibia2008 (and others by J.Weber), Namibia2009 (and other pics by HW Herrmann and T.Wilson).

This program is offered during Summer Session I. For more information, please visit the UA Study Abroad and Student Exchange Program; Namibia site or contact Dr. Hans-Werner Herrmann or Taylor Edwards. We can also be found on the Facebook Group page; Namibia: UA Study Abroad Program.