Friday June 18 DRIVERS OF CHANGE; SOLUTIONS

Today was another day full of lecture and did not present many picture taking opportunities. I promise that there will be some good photos starting tomorrow!

I had a hard time getting up this morning as I was up all night reading about the Lakers big win…But, I managed to crawl out of bed in time for the days activities.

8:00 am: Breakfast

9:00 am – 12:00 pm: Ecological Economics

Presenter: Jon Erickson, University of Vermont

This lecture addressed questions such as: How do we place economic value on healthy ecosystems? What does it cost society to implement ecosystem health programs, and what does it cost society if we don’t? What are the trade-offs, and how do we work toward solutions that balance ecosystem health and conservation with the economic well-being of individuals, communities, and the business sector? It was full of fun and interesting games to illustrate many of the important points.

For anyone interested in a quick econ refresher her is a fun link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVp8UGjECt4

12:00 pm: Lunch

During lunch I caught up on all of the world cup action with some fellow students and professors. Not sure I should be happy the USA made a comeback or upset that they didn’t get the win.

1:00 – 2:30 pm: Current Events: Oil Spills and Wildlife

Presenter: K. Gilardi, UC Davis Wildlife Center

The Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico is an environmental disaster that will have environmental consequences for the foreseeable future. Gilardi presented an overview of the impacts of oil on wildlife, oiled wildlife care, and provided a firsthand account of working on oil spill response. Kirsten worked on the San Francisco oil spill in 2007 and was forced to give this lecture because all of the current experts are presently occupied in the Gulf of Mexico.

2:45 – 4:15 pm: One World, One Health

Presenter: Steve Osofsky, Wildlife Conservation Society

Human-animal interactions have important consequences for both human and animal health, as well as for the health of the environment we all share. These connections are increasingly relevant as climate change potentially facilitates expansion of disease vectors and as population growth means humans and animals increasingly share the same habitat. The “One Health” approach, focused on catalyzing problem-solving in places where tensions and challenges at the interface between animal (wild and domestic) and human health are often greatest, can be relevant at a range of scales. Osofsky discussed various 'One Health' entry points for mitigating conflicts between conservation and development by identifying and facilitating 'win-win' opportunities. Much of the discussion focused on the COMACO project is described on the website www.itswild.org. If you are really interested you can watch this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjFfRAtZ83c&feature=player_embedded

4:30 – 5:30 pm: Gilman International Conservation Projects Worldwide

Presenters: Steve Shurter, Gilman International Conservation, White Oak Conservation Center

Shurter provided an overview of White Oak Conservation Center, and Gilman International Conservation, and introduced flagship species conservation as an ecosystem health tool to protect remarkable sites of biodiversity. We spent a lot of time talking about the Okapi project they are working on. For those of you who might be wondering, Okapi are the only other member of the Giraffe family and are found almost exclusively in the volatile area of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

5:30 – 6:00 pm: Group Assignment Introduction.

Presenter: K. Gilardi

We were broken up into groups to work on a group assignment. I am in a group with Colleen (Wisconsin), Lia (Indonesia), Wilson (Tanzania), Albert (Tanzania), and Aemlie (Canada). We attempted to select our topic but had a difficult time coming to a consensus. It should be fun!

7:00 pm: Dinner

As usual, dinner was amazing. I sat with some classmates and Scott Citino, the only full time veterinarian and white oak and another member of the UC Davis Wildlife Center team.

Once we finished eating, several of us made our way to the bowling alley to end the night on a fun note. We also squeezed in a few games of foosball and a round of billiards.