The United Nations General Assembly declares today, March 3rd, as World Wildlife Day! This year the theme is Forests and Livelihoods: Sustaining People and Planet. Today celebrates the central role of forests, as well as species and ecosystems in general in sustaining the lives of millions around the world.
Here in the AWP, and LFS in general, students and faculty are carrying out research into many different topics regarding wildlife, such as the impacts of humans on wildlife, wildlife conservation, biodiversity monitoring and many more. If you are interested in learning more about wildlife, and want to get involved in these research projects there are many interesting courses available!
APBI/CONS 495 Human Wildlife Conflict is a course taught by Dr Kristen Walker that focuses on the challenges faced by wildlife in urban settings and investigates the application of methods to reduce human-wildlife conflicts. Recent examples of student led projects involve tackling the issues of coyotes on UBC campus and in Stanley Park, monitoring bird collisions on UBC campus, and raising public awareness about how to safely coexist with wildlife in urban environments. For more information about APBI 495 click here!
In APBI 416 Compassionate Conservation Dr Kristen Walker teaches students about the developing field of compassionate conservation, linking the individual welfare of an animal with the needs of the greater population. For a hands on experience working in compassionate conservation there is LFS 302D a field study program on Asian Elephant Compassionate Conservation in Thailand. Although this class is currently on hold due to COVID-19 restrictions, check out this link for more information about this field experience!
There are many opportunities, both here in the AWP and beyond, for students to learn about wildlife and participate in research. For more information, or to ask questions about the courses listed above please contact Dr Kristen Walker (kristen.walker@ubc.ca).
