By Gary Blank, Associate Professor, Director of Undergraduate Programs, Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources
Traveling 4,061 kilometers by bus, the NR350 course, entitled Sustainable Use of Natural Resources in Turkey, included almost that number of contrasts and surprises. Four weeks of intensive study from 22 June until 18 July 2009 immersed 17 students and four faculty members in realities of the Turkish landscape and culture.
The class crossed incredibly varied terrain from Istanbul and the Bosporus Strait to alpine mountain valleys to vast steppes. Staying places that receive 10 inches of rain and places receiving 8 feet of precipitation per year, students and faculty examined land uses and constraints on use from such climate conditions. They interacted with local farmers, hazelnut and tea plantation operators, commercial tour guides, and a score of Turkish forestry faculty members as they researched water use, reforestation, climate change and elevation effects on species adaptation.
Dr. Gary B. Blank and Dr. Fikret Isik, from the Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources, joined Dr. Barny Dunning of Purdue University and Dr. Mats Olsson, of the Swedish Agricultural University in leading the 17 students from their three universities, the University of Maine, and Haceteppe University in Ankara. Erika Luchsinger, Kim Bernard, and Funda Ogut were enrolled from NC State.
Primary venues besides the University of Istanbul included Trabzon on the Black Sea coast, Ayder in the Kackar Mountains, Goreme in Cappadocia, and Antalya on the Mediterranean Sea coast. From each site, the class visited more remote locations to see historic and contemporary examples of resource use. For example, from Antalya, several hours by bus and mini-bus brought the group to forest sites near Elmali where groves containing 800-year-old juniper and 1000-year-old Lebanon cedar trees can still be found.
Further information about this summer course will be presented in October as part of the FER Monday seminar series. Next summer NR350 will explore sustainability of resource use in Canada’s Maritime Provinces, so FER students interested in studying abroad should stay alert to the announcements that will be coming this fall about that experience.
Learn more: course catalog description for NR350, International Sustainable Resource Use