2015 SUMMER COURSE ANNOUNCEMENT (July 15-August 9) FIELD COURSE IN TROPICAL ETHNOBOTANY (TEB C-15) COURSE LOCATION: Bocas del Toro Biological Station, Boca del Drago, Isla Colon, Republic of Panama. The biological station is located on a hill facing the Caribbean Sea and surrounded by lowland tropical wet forests. The juxtaposition of the two most biologically diverse ecosystems along with Panama's rich cultural diversity that include the Ngöbe and Naso indigenous peoples of the Bocas del Toro region, the indigenous Kuna of the San Blas Islands, Afro-Caribbeans, Mestizos and many other ethnic and cultural groups provides tremendous opportunities for education and research. See http://www.itec-edu.org/ for details. INSTRUCTOR: Dr. Lisa Aston Philander, Plant Sciences Department University of Wyoming. Email: [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> Phone: (01) 612-961-8881. Specialty: Ethnobotany, Ethnomedicine, and Agroecology. COURSE DESCRIPTION: Tropical ethnobotany, the study of how humans utilize plants for ritual practices, medicines, ornamentation, farming, food, apparel and construction in the tropics will be the focus of this field course. Much of the course will be spent learning qualitative and quantitative field techniques and carrying out various class activities in the surrounding rainforest and local communities. Ethnographic and data collection techniques will be applied to the various cultures in the Bocas del Toro region that may include Afro-Antillean, Mestizo, Ngöbe Bugle and Kuna peoples. Travel away from the field station to other islands and to the mainland will be required to meet with various communities for demonstrations by local healers, artisans, chocolate farmers and other specialists who utilize plants. Formal lectures and readings will focus on the plant use and traditional cultures of Panama and the surrounding regions of Central and South America, as well as innovative methodologies and current theory in the discipline. FORMAL LECTURES: Formal lectures will take place in the classroom and will include the use of PowerPoint presentations and chalkboard. Lectures will generally be given in the evening so that more daylight hours can be spent in the field. Lecture topics will include: · Definition and Evolution of the Discipline of Ethnobiology
· Ethnobotany and Culture of Bocas del Toro and Panama · Tropical Plant and Forest Ecology · Useful Plants Classification- Neotropical Plant Families · Ethnobotanical Research Project Development · Ethics, Intellectual Property Rights and Ethnobotanical Protocols · Role of Humans in Diversification of Plants and Gendered Knowledge · Qualitative Techniques and Quantitative Methods · Interviewing and Ethnographic Methods · Plant Collection, Pressing, Drying and Mounting Herbarium Specimen · Audio, Photo, and Video Documentation · Local Markets and the Commodification of Plant Resources · Wild Foods and Traditional Diets · Tropical Agriculture and Agroforestry · Entheogens- Psychoactive Tropical Plants · The Botany of Cacao and the Production of Chocolate · Traditional Medical Systems and Ethnomedicine · Medicinal Plants and Bioprospecting · Non-Timber Forest Products · Biocultural Conservation · Sharing Research Results and Development of Community Projects READINGS: Readings corresponding to lecture-topics will be assigned from the course text and from relevant articles in the primary literature. In addition, each student will read, critique, and provide oral reports on published papers from the primary literature. * Required Text: Martin, Gary J. 2004. Ethnobotany: A Methods Manual. Plants and People Conservation Series. Earthscan Publications: London and Sterling, VA. * Required journal articles will be provided to students before the field semester. FIELD BOOK: A field book will be required in the course. The field book will contain all data related to group projects and independent research project. The field book should also contain all other incidental observations such as species lists, behavioral notes, etc., and contain detailed location information. The field book must be waterproof and either pencil or waterproof ink used to record data. GROUP EXERCISES: The purpose of group projects is to familiarize students with an array of field qualitative and quantitative techniques commonly used in ethnobotanical studies. Students will practice techniques, collect and analyze data, present the results in class and/or write a report. Students will learn the following field techniques: · Market Surveys · Homegarden Inventories · Rapid Rural Assessment · Free Listing · Pile Sorting · Forest Walks · Forest Plot Analysis · Ranking · Consensus analysis INDEPENDENT RESEARCH PROJECTS: Each student will be responsible for designing and completing an original research project, which may deal with any topic in ethnobotany. During the first week, students will visit several sites to familiarize themselves with the area and to make observations that may lead to individual research project topics. In the evenings, students will participate in debriefing sessions¹ during which they will identify characteristics and patterns of local plant use, which will assist them in establishing their independent field projects. In consultation with the instructor, students will choose their research topic, and by the beginning of the second week, will submit a written proposal for evaluation in terms of conceptual validity, experimental design, and feasibility. Students will have about 10 days for data collection. Students will analyze their data and write up their findings in scientific journal format. Findings will also be presented to the people from whom they gathered data and an oral presentation will be given during a station-wide symposium on the last day of the course. GRADING: Students should arrange credit for the course through their home institutions (see below). All assignments must be completed before leaving the field station, so that a final course grade can be assigned. Course grades are calculated as follows: · Individual Research Project 40% · Group project participation 30 % · Written Exam 20% · Classroom Presentation 10% BOQUETE CLOUD FOREST FIELD TRIP: This three-day field trip takes place midway through the course and will allow students the opportunity to experience tropical cloud and seasonally dry forests. We travel in ITEC boats to the mainland and then by private bus to the town of Boquete which lies at the base of 11,000 ft Volcan Baru. The bus trip will take us up and over the central mountain range and through remote Palo Seco National Park. Several stops will be made in route. COURSE LENGTH: ITEC Summer field courses are about four weeks in length. The TEB C-15 will run from July 15 through August 9, 2015. TUITION: $2150 USD. Tuition fee includes all instruction, lodging, meals and airport transfers in Bocas del Toro. The tuition also covers transportation and lodging during the cloud forest field trip to Boquete. There is a $100 lab fee associated with this course which covers field trips away from the field station. REGISTRATION DEADLINE: June 15, 2015. The course is limited to 10 students and applications will be evaluated as they arrive. If you believe that your application may arrive late, notify ITEC. GRADING and COURSE CREDIT: Up to 6 units of credit will be given, 3 for the lecture portion and 3 for the field portion. A letter grade will be assigned based on exams, reports, proposals, attendance at lectures, as well as by less tangibles such as personal attitude, motivation, and contribution to the course. Course credit must be arranged at the student's institution. Contact ITEC for details. APPLICATIONS can be found at: http://itec-edu.org/education-programs/application/. CONTACT: Institute for Tropical Ecology and Conservation, 2911 NW 40th PL, Gainesville, FL 32605, phone: 352-367-9128, email: [email protected], web: http://www.itec-edu.org ITEC is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded in 1996. ********************************* Peter N. Lahanas, Ph.D. Executive Director Institute for Tropical Ecology and Conservation (ITEC) 2911 NW 40th Place Gainesville, FL 32605, USA phn: 352-367-9128 web: http://www.itec-edu.org In Panama: 011-507-6853-2134 [email protected] Bocas del Toro Biological Station Boca del Drago, Isla Colon, Panama Field Station Manager, Enrique Dixon 011-507-6624-9246
