Semester in the West

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Semester in the West

Semester in the West is Whitman College's environmental studies field program focusing on the ecolog

11/30/2024

Our journey southward ended in Patagonia, Arizona where we met with the Borderlands Restoration Network to talk watershed restoration, community gardens, milkweed, agave, and bats. We drove up to Tucson to speak with author Mike Wilson, a Tohono O’odham human rights activist, about his spiritual and ethical journey from US military service in Central America, to seminary school, to creating water stations on tribal lands for migrants across the US-Mexico border.

To hear more about the borderlands, come to the 2024 Western Relation Readings this Tuesday and Wednesday from 4-6pm in Maxey Auditorium or via Zoom.

10/10/2024

Oh Klamath we will miss you!

More photos from our time in the Klamath watershed. From our tour of the drained reservoirs in California to our time at Ambodat Fish Hatchery and the National Wildlife Refuge, we learned so much from the land and from our hosts. Students finished their first drafts of their Western Relations (formerly epiphanies) under the stars by the Williamson River. Come December and the end of the program, each student will share out some of their written work. We can’t wait to share more of our journey with you

08/18/2024

Abigael and Rachel have been hard at work getting ready for the start of the 2024 program today. Happy first day of Semester in the West! 🏔️

08/16/2024

POV: Getting the audio/visual gear ready for Semester in the West 2024’s semester of storytelling and learning around the west!

11/13/2022

After our time in El Paso, we moved camp to the Joshua Tree area of southern California. Our camp was surrounded by dancing Joshua Trees and huge boulders sitting on sand. A full moon lit the landscape after the sun went down, making it feel like an intricate and endless stage set.

We were fortunate to meet with Jon Christensen to discuss this year's elections and environmental-political strategy.

11/10/2022

We spent several days camping just outside of El Paso, Texas for a unit with Victoria Blanco about writing the border.

Every day was full and powerful as we met with locals from both sides of the border. One day, we walked across the pedestrian bridge into Ciudad Juarez to meet with several Rarámuri women from the state of Chihuahua. On another, we got a musical tour of the historic El Paso neighborhood of "Duranguito", a community locked in conflict against a city trying to push them out for new infrastructure.

11/06/2022

Our river trip ended at the Adams Ranch outside of Terlingua, Texas, where we were graciously hosted by ranch managers Bonnie and Billy Pat.

As a conservation ranch owned by Cemex, they work on myriad projects to protect wildlife habitat and fuel life in the low desert through innovative water catchment systems.

We took advantage of 3 sunny days here to write, clean all of our group gear, and (perhaps most importantly) shower.

10/31/2022

And we're back! We left much of our equipment behind for a multi-day canoe trip on the Rio Grande in Big Bend National Park; photos and description of the aquatic adventure to come.

These beautiful photographs were taken last week by Westie .roller from sunrise birding at the Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico. We arrived just after the early waves of migrating Sandhill Cranes.

10/22/2022

Selected photos from an impromptu long-jump competition. Strategy and success varied, but fun was consistent.

10/20/2022

Here are some photos from our previous section with Paul Arbetan in Tsaile.

Westies put some miles on their hiking boots while exploring several canyons on the Navajo Nation.

Some key takeaways:
- If you want to predict what vegetation will be in a certain area, consider moisture and temperature. We saw typically high-elevation species like Aspen grow in the bottom of canyons, because they have water and a cooler environment.
- The absence of data is still good data. We hiked to several places looking for specific plants, and did not find them; that is still useful information about the area.
- If a stray puppy walks up to a group of 21 college students in the desert, 100% of them will fall in love.

We are currently outside of Santa Fe, New Mexico as our ecology segment with Paul Arbetan continues.

Photo credits to .roller

10/14/2022

Today was the perfect example of why learning in the field is exceptionally effective. We slowly climbed into elevation of the Chuska Mountains, watching the vegetation change. We saw barren badlands transition to grasslands, to Pinyon-Juniper woodlands, to Ponderosa Pines, to Douglas Fir/Aspen, and finally to Supalpine Fir.

10/13/2022

Day 1 in the field with ecologist Paul Arbetan is in the books! Westies teamed up with students from Diné College for an ecology walk through the Pinyon-Juniper woodland that lines the rim of Canyon de Chelly on the Navajo Nation.

Tonight, we're making hamburgers with the grass-fed beef from our last speaker, Kathryn Wilder; a rare (but topical) foray into red meat for the Semester in the West kitchen.

Photo credits to .roller

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Walla Walla, WA
99362

Website

http://semesterinthewest.org/

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