Colby-Sawyer College Hosts the Environmental Studies Expo 2009: Facing the Challenges of Conservation in Africa
NEW LONDON, N.H. — The Colby-Sawyer College Environmental Studies Department will host its annual Environmental Studies Expo. This year's expo will feature Kenyan Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence at Colby-Sawyer Dr. Isaac Nyamongo, who will speak about “Politics, Development and Conservation of Forest Resources in Kenya” and faculty member and Program Director for the Doctoral Program at Antioch University, Beth Kaplin, Ph.D., who will discuss “Capacity Building: Developing the Next Generation of African Conservationists.”
The Environmental Studies Expo will take place on Wednesday, April 22, at 7 p.m. in Clements Hall, at the Curtis L. Ivey Science Center. This event is free and open to the public.
Dr. Nyamongo is the first Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence at Colby-Sawyer, where he has been an active member of the college community since the beginning of the 2008-2009 academic year. He is a medical anthropologist and an associate professor and director of the Institute of Anthropology, Gender and African Studies from the University of Nairobi in Kenya.
Dr. Nyamongo's research primarily focuses on public health issues in Africa, and his discussion will highlight the interactions between healthy ecosystems and human welfare. His lecture is based on the observation from Kenya's Nobel Laureate Wangari Maathai, who states that “when you destroy the environment, the environment will destroy you.”
Dr. Kaplin is a tropical ecologist and conservation biologist, and the director of the Center for Tropical Ecology and Conservation. She has spent many years on research projects in the Albertine Rift Valley in East Africa. Kaplin received the National University of Rwanda grant to develop a master's program in conservation at the National University of Rwanda. She has a deep commitment to developing ways to share knowledge for conservation efforts and to build infrastructure and capacity in tropical nations. In her discussion at Colby-Sawyer, Dr. Kaplin will present her experiences in Rwanda and discuss the challenges and promise for conservation efforts in Africa.
To learn more about other public events at Colby-Sawyer, visit www.colby-sawyer.edu/events.
-Michelle L. Buser '09
Michelle L. Buser is a Communications Studies major and an intern in College Communications at Colby-Sawyer College.
Colby-Sawyer, founded in 1837, is a comprehensive liberal arts college located in the scenic Lake Sunapee Region of central New Hampshire. Students learn in small classes through a select array of programs that integrate the liberal arts and sciences with pre-professional experience. Visit us on the World Wide Web at www.colby-sawyer.edu. Colby-Sawyer College, 541 Main Street, New London, N.H.
