User: | Open Learning Faculty Member:
I was lucky in that I got to explore not only a foreign (read interesting) environment, but that the sparse vegetation and flat land made my job quite easy. I did not have to change much of my design other than that I was a bit ambitious initially. I had planned to measure substrate densities and root moisture as well in the beginning. Perhaps, by myself the scope of my experiment was a bit ambitious. I am happy that I could refine it into a product that I am proud of!
Engaging in my own field research is a first for me in my years of education. Ecology was initially a subject I had little interest in despite my background in Biology. Through the process, I began to contemplate not only origins of life but how to care for and preserve it. This course also taught me that ecology was not simply a science of preservation, but also in very detailed relationships between organic and non-organic processes. The complicated relationships between species and their environment, rivals and abiotic factors reminds me of physics and how everything affects each other.
By going out into the desert, I also learned the field ecologists have quite a difficult job. The concentration it takes to sample while exposed to the elements could be draining and frustrating at times. My appreciation of the dedication to ecological theory has increased by leaps and bounds.
Thank-you for a wonderful class,
Darren Hildebrand
