2011 University of Washington Exploratory Seminar

This year’s class was made up of a fantastic group of young women who had a very intense 4 weeks on Kosrae. The class focused on the relationships between Kosraean communities, culture and the local environment.

Most days the class was in the field, slogging through the mangroves (studying, replanting, and collecting propagules), snorkeling over coral reefs (learning to identify the common corals and reef creatures, collecting environmental data and assessing risks to the reefs), along with excursions to visit the Lelu Ruins, the clam farm and other field trips. Relax in the evenings and on weekends? Nope! Evenings and Saturdays they had classroom activities, learning the science behind what they were seeing in the field.

The class spanned the Kosrae Island Liberation holiday weekend which celebrates the end of World War II. The instructors, Julian Sachs and Neimah Ladd had organized a homestay for the students over that weekend and they had 3 days of total immersion in the Kosrae culture and community.

Here are some photos of the Liberation festivities and their underwater exploration.

Enjoy!
Katrina