Field tour
Ken Carloni, PhD.
Along with the amazing work being done with younger students by our AmeriCorps, Christine Smith (see her article in this issue), Umpqua Watersheds continues to support authentic field learning experiences to college students and community members of the 100 Valleys and beyond. Here are some opportunities to get involved:
If you happen to be free from March 22nd to Apr. 1st and are looking to mix adventure with learning about the natural world, join us on our third field tour to Baja! Credit students are currently taking quizzes and other online learning activities in one of UCC’s innovative “hybrid” courses, BI 101A: Evolution, Diversity and Ecology of the Baja Peninsula. This year we are contracting with the famous Green Tortoise Adventure Travel company and will ride in style on one of their ingenious “sleeper coaches” (www.greentortoise.com). 
Along the way, you’ll have opportunities to investigate estuary and tide pool habitats, survey the changing desert landscapes, explore historic missions, visit botanical gardens, take a whale-watching tour, ride a rope swing into a freshwater lagoon, and view evocative ancient rock art. We will camp at several locations where we will hike and snorkel as we experience the interplay between land, ocean, sky, and the unique life they support. This year I am particularly excited to be accompanied by Matt Hunter, UCC professor and expert birder and herpetologist.
You can help support this unique learning opportunity — there are still a couple of seats available for community riders! The cost of the tour is a steal at $989 which covers all transportation, camping and most meals. Contact me at ken.carloni@umpqua.edu for details on the tour itinerary and how to register.
If you can’t make the Baja tour but want to experience this unique type of edutourism, I will be teaching another hybrid class focused on botany — BOT 204: Flowering Plants of Southwest Oregon and Northern California — from June 19th to the 24th. The tour associated with this class explores one of the most botanically diverse regions in the world from the Siskiyou Mts. through the Redwoods, Mt. Shasta and the McCloud River to Burney Falls, up through Lava Beds National Monument to Crater Lake and the North Umpqua before returning to UCC. Email me at the above email address for info on this tour.
