The Kenneth A. Picerne Foundation

A collaborative partnership initiated by KAPF between the University of California, San Diego and Earthwatch Institute, this program is designed to help develop future leaders in global conservation. UCSD professors will accompany small groups of students to international conservation sites and provide academic instruction while Earthwatch scientists supervise the students’ participation in actual field study conservation projects. University students in host countries will be invited to participate in these projects.

The Opportunity

With the global expansion of business, it is increasingly important to be able to study and preserve critical biodiverse areas around the world. In addition, international conservation organizations are playing an increasingly important role in discussions of global business affairs. As a result there is a growing need for the development of leadership in international conservation.
Currently the vast majority of university-based study abroad programs contract with their counterparts in major urban settings such as London, Paris, Madrid, Rome, etc. There are very few opportunities for university students to do field research coupled with on-site classroom instruction in environmentally sensitive areas of the world.
Conservation organizations are currently seeking to expand their educational missions as a result of these trends. In the past they have been very focused on their scientific, fundraising and public awareness missions with educational investment limited to graduate students and post-graduate fellows.

The Kenneth A. Picerne Foundation initiated a partnership with the University of California San Diego (UCSD) http://icenter.ucsd.edu/ and Earthwatch Institute http://www.earthwatch.org/default. In order to design and create this collaboration, the Foundation provided capacity building support to the partners.
UCSD professors accompany small groups of students and provide academic instruction in a critical international conservation setting while Earthwatch scientists supervise their participation in actual research projects.
In the first phase of this project, programs are offered for a five-week summer term. Students receive 8 quarter credits for participation.
University students from the host country are invited to participate in these programs.
The Foundation provides scholarships to both American and host country student participants.
In the future this project will be expanded to semester abroad study programs and will be offered throughout the entire University of California system.

Beginning in the summer of 2010, UCSD professors will accompany small groups of students to various biodiverse areas for 5 weeks. The professors will provide academic instruction on site while Earthwatch scientists supervise their participation in actual research projects.
This program serves as an opportunity for UCSD faculty to collaborate with the Earthwatch Institute scientists in field research studies.
Future scientists from the host country will be invited to join these courses.
Interaction with the host country students will also provide important cultural learning for the UCSD students.

Currently these Earthwatch programs are being considered for UCSD students:

Kenya - Wamba: Grevy’s zebra conservation, carnivore ecology & human-wildlife sustainability, and medicinal plants
Mongolia - Ikh Nart Nature Reserve: Conservation management for local wildlife species
Peru - Puerto Maldonado: Macaw biology and conservation
Vietnam - Tam Dao National Park: Conservation of butterflies as well as forests and other ecosystems
Mexico - Laguna San Ignacio, Baja California Sur: Feeding ecology of black sea turtles
Fiji - Viti Levu Island: Excavating earliest human settlements on Fiji
Canada - St. Lawrence Estuary: Marine mammal observation and conservation.

International Conservation Study Abroad Program