ES3cAPe Programme Description

Only offered at the University of Auckland

This is an interdisciplinary programme integrating geology, geography, ecology and biological studies with environmental science, policy and economics as a basis for tackling environmental issues arising at the interface between nature and society.

Field Camp: January 19 to February 22, 2010

The 5 week field camp experience is divided into several realated modules. For 2009, the programme began with our newest module "The Marine Ecology and Coastal Management Module" set in the Northland of New Zealand. Students learned the academic principles in marine ecology with applied management tools to investigate human impacts on coastal ecosystems. For 2010, this module will be moved to the Cook Islands. More information on this exciting new module is coming soon!

Following this, the programme transitions to the North Island's Central Volcanic Plateau and Bay of Plenty. Students are introduced to geologic processes and natural landscapes as a baseline for measuring how humans manage natural resources and hazards. Much of the field camp will be based from Maori tribal meeting houses (marae), and modules will combine field studies with visits to and analyses of commercial and government entities such as geothermal power plants, hydro-power schemes, pulp and paper mills, and environmental agencies.

In the final week of field camp, students will initiate a team research project that may involve technical field equipment training and the collection of data to be processed during the campus semester. The field module descriptions for 2010 are:

  • Field Module 1: Marine Ecology & Coastal Management in Northland, New Zealand (Cook Islands for 2010)
  • Field Module 2: Maori perspectives on environmental guardianship or kaitiakitanga 
  • Field Module 3:  Volcanoes- giveth life and taketh away: cone construction, hazards, ancient life and natural resources
  • Field Module 4: Surf and Turf: A study of a Holocene prograding dune system using ground penetrating radar, vibra-core, and total station surveying techniques
  • Field Module 5: From source to sink: Using environmental field techniques techniqes to understand the fate of contaminants from source (a superfund-like waste site) to sink (a coastal and esturine environment)

To learn more about the ES3cAPe field camp, including completed 2009 module descriptions read the 2009 ES3cAPe report .

Campus Semester: February 23 to June 29, 2010

The field camp experience will transition into a semester at the University of Auckland. Students will enroll and receive credits for 3 courses within the School of Geography, Geology and Environmental Science (as approved by their home college or university), and a required fourth course based on research initiated during the ES3cAPe field camp.

For more specific and curricular information contact us at Darren@frontiersabroad.com