Story: Phillip Tutor | Photos: Contributed
New biology track at UWA gives professional skills, qualifications to build careers in outdoor rec, conservation enterprises
Dr.聽Lee Stanton聽expected the baby直播鈥檚 creation of a conservation enterprise track within its聽environmental science degree program聽would be a measured exercise. Worthwhile and fulfilling, yes. But purposefully deliberate.
It just hasn鈥檛 worked out that way.
鈥淲e were expecting a little bit of time to develop these third- and fourth-year classes,鈥� said Stanton, an assistant professor of biology at UWA and the director of the Black Belt Conservation and Research Institute. 鈥淏ut the heat鈥檚 been turned up on us because we have several (students) who are at that stage now.鈥�
Though UWA鈥檚 new academic track started recently with little public fanfare, two transfer students are already enrolled. In Stanton鈥檚 view, that exemplifies the interest in a program designed to give graduates real-world skills attractive to employers in fields such as state parks, nonprofit conservation organizations, hunting lodges and national wildlife refuges.
At UWA, program graduates will earn a bachelor of science degree in environmental science that includes a conservation enterprise track. Similar programs are offered on only two other campuses, and , Stanton said.
鈥淲e鈥檙e just trying to recognize that there鈥檚 a need for this training in our area,鈥� Stanton said. 鈥淥bviously, our region is very undeveloped. There are a lot of natural resources and there is a tremendous interest in a lot of these outdoor activities in this area.
鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to identify this niche that we hope can provide training to these students who are ready to hit the ground running. This isn鈥檛 necessarily a degree program that鈥檚 going to train students for graduate school or anything like that. This is designed for students who are ready to go to work and like to work outdoors.鈥�
Vital to the track鈥檚 success is its requirement of multiple two-hour practica. In those, students will focus on a variety of hands-on skills, such as gun safety, fire ecology, deer management, chainsaw safety, tree felling, invasive species management and herbicide application, among others.
For instance, students who enroll in a deer management practicum will learn modern methods of managing deer populations, ways to increase the size of deer antlers, and effective uses of proteins and supplements for growing deer herds.
Practice in gun safety will give students expanded exercises in the safety techniques publicly taught by law enforcement agencies and reputable gun clubs. For practical reasons, most of the practica will rely on adjunct professors and instructors.
鈥淲e鈥檙e certainly starting off from scratch here,鈥� Stanton said. 鈥淥bviously, my Ph.D. is in oceanography and I know my way around a gun, but that鈥檚 not my training. We鈥檙e going to rely on those individuals who do have that training to provide that instruction to our students.鈥�
To develop the track鈥檚 courses, Stanton and colleagues in UWA鈥檚 Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences looked at the department鈥檚 existing catalogue and 鈥渃herry-picked鈥� some of the best ideas from other university offerings, particularly Kansas State鈥檚 Wildlife and Outdoor Enterprise Management program.
UWA鈥檚 program, Stanton explains, 鈥渋s not heavy in chemistry. You鈥檙e not going to have to take a lot of the more complex biological topics.鈥� Along with the hands-on practica, conservation enterprise students will take courses common in the environmental science program and courses in hospitality and accounting to develop business skills.
Additionally, conservation enterprise students will complete internships similar to those required in the environmental science program. Stanton envisions those students will be appealing interns for U.S. Corps of Engineers sites or managers of the myriad hunting lodges throughout west baby直播 and east Mississippi.
With recruiting of high school students interested in the conservation enterprises track underway, UWA expects its first freshman enrollees in the program in August 2022, Stanton said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 really exciting,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e wanted to design a degree program that actually gave students not only book smarts, but also gave them a skill set that makes them valuable as soon as they get off campus.鈥�