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Hello and happy New Year! We celebrated our December graduates in person for the first time since the pandemic, and what a great day it was! Many of our Global Field Program (GFP) and Advanced Inquiry Program (AIP) graduates gathered for this photo at Millett Hall at Miami University in mid-December. Congratulations to all of our 2022 graduates! All the best as you continue making a difference in your lives, professions, and communities.
The application due date for the Global Field Program and Earth Expeditions (EE) is right around the corner, January 28, and we look forward to reviewing applications soon for our newest cohort of students. If you're applying, there's still time to get your materials submitted, and still plenty of time to complete the quick Earth Expeditions application to take a course for stand-alone credit. Earth Expeditions has been operating for 19 years, and Project Dragonfly as a program for 28 years! Is this your year?
Learn more about the great things that have been happening at Project Dragonfly below!
On behalf of the Dragonfly Team,
Jamie
Jamie Bercaw Anzano
Director of Communications
bercawj@MiamiOH.edu
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Earth Expeditions: Rejuvenate Your Passions | |
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Like Charles Darwin, this group of Project Dragonfly students made a pilgrimage to the Galápagos archipelago, observing and studying giant tortoises, finches, and other taxa.
Apply now and come walk in Darwin's footsteps. Photo by Global Field Program graduate and Community Learning Leader Angela Dill '18 of Alton, New Hampshire.
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Keeping your cup full with an Earth Expeditions course; only a few more days to apply
As the saying goes, "You can't pour from an empty cup." How do you fill yours? Maybe it's hiking, exploring nature, or learning something new. If you fill your cup in one or all of these ways, won't you join us on an Earth Expeditions course? Apply here by January 28.
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Top Dragonfly stories of 2022
As we've turned the page to 2023, let's reflect on the biggest news we celebrated in 2022, including a TikTok from our Namibia II class (linked above). Read more
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Check us out on YouTube
Subscribe to our YouTube channel and watch our recent info sessions (including January's, linked above), past Diversity Cafes, our favorite student perspective videos, and more!
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AIP graduate on new Discovery Channel show
Catch Advanced Inquiry Program (AIP) graduate Josh Jeffi '20 on "Sewer Divers," a new show on the Discovery Channel, airing at 9 pm ET Sundays (also available via YouTube). Josh, who appears a minute into the show's trailer, conducted his AIP field study at Cleveland Metroparks Zoo and lives in Brunswick, Ohio. Read more
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Dragonfly contest winner highlight: Best Caption
“Not all heroes wear capes. Some wear rubber boots.” Non-profit Associação Mico-Leão Dourado (AMLD) team members track golden lion tamarins in Brazil’s Atlantic Forest. Photo by Miami University Global Field Program (GFP) graduate student Sara Fee of Atlanta, Georgia.
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Finding and tracing frogs in the Amazon
As part of her master's coursework, Miami graduate Jennifer Udema '22 of Aurora, Colorado, had an article accepted for publication in Current Conservation magazine. Her article focuses on how she found and tracked frogs in the Amazon rain forest. Jennifer is a budding biologist and a conservation enthusiast. She lives in Colorado with her pets and partner but travels for field work, exploration, and adventure. Read more
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Leading teens in city-wide waste reduction project
Miami graduate Shelley Shrader '22 of Charleston, South Carolina, submitted a blog post and was published on NAAEE's site. In the blog, Shelley shares how her work as a Youth Development Coordinator, working with teens 14–18 years old, led to a project addressing waste problems in New Orleans. "Teens often get a bad reputation ... The teens I have the pleasure of working with love this planet ... The passion they carry is contagious. I know because I feel it." Read more
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Dragonfly students join Miami Graduate School's Research Forum; Rachel Arbor named top presenter
Congratulations to current GFP student Rachel Arbor (left) who was named a top presenter last month at Miami University's Graduate Research Forum. Rachel of Beacon, New York, and AIP student Alyssa Simms of Cortland, Ohio, were among more than 110 graduate students who presented. Rachel focused on environmental literacy, while Alyssa talked about climate change. The top presentations were selected by Graduate School alumni and faculty judges. Read more
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On Belize
"This experience changed the way that I viewed the world. I found myself promoting more conservation-based education in my classroom, and I am finding that my students are having more success when they are a part of the big picture instead of just looking through a lens!" says GFP graduate Charles Ruff '22 of Shelby, North Carolina, reflecting on his field experience in Belize. Read more
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On Borneo and Dragonfly
"Honestly, it's hard for me to put my field memories and reflections into words because they are quite personal. The trip and this entire program as a whole have so far been much more than a cool experience and a few classes. They are a gateway to the life I see for myself...” says GFP graduate student Elizabeth Jackson of Los Angeles, California, reflecting about Project Dragonfly and her field experience in Borneo. Read more
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HUTAN receives prestigious Earthshot Prize nomination
Congratulations to Datu Abulani, HUTAN Field Manager, and the HUTAN team on their 2022 Earthshot Prize nomination. HUTAN, one of our EE Borneo partners, was among 15 finalists recognized for their work in finding and growing solutions to repair our planet. HUTAN has studied and monitored the region’s biodiversity, from wild orangutan and elephant research to hornbill and frog surveys. Read more
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Guyana's Samantha Meiwa and Wildlife Clubs
Check out this video about the Wildlife Clubs of North Rupununi, Guyana. The narrator is Samantha Meiwa, the Community Outreach Manager for our Guyana partner, the Iwokrama International Centre for Rainforest Conservation and Development. The ICC is the largest environmental organization in Guyana and works closely with the North Rupununi Makushi communities. Read more
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Project Dragonfly is committed to dismantling the structures and forces of exclusion and oppression, particularly in our education systems and in the environmental and conservation movements. To learn more about our Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) initiatives, please visit our DEI webpage. | | | |
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A transformative education initiative within Miami University's department of biology, Project Dragonfly oversees the world's largest graduate degree programs dedicated to community-driven ecological and social change. Dragonfly students join the frontlines of community innovation, working across an extraordinary network of leading U.S. zoos, botanical gardens, and community organizations around the world. Dragonfly offers the Advanced Inquiry Program and the Global Field Program master's degrees which combine online and on-site experiential learning, as well as individual field courses through Earth Expeditions.
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