University of North Dakota

Graduate Student, Educational Foundations and Research

Education and Human Development

Thesis Title: Dissertation: Community Conservation Education at a Tropical Biological Research Station

About

M.A.,Environmental Education
B.S., Field Zoology
Art Education Teaching Credentials (California)
Former Interpretive Coordinator, Center for the Interpretation of Amazonian Ecuador

I'm currently a doctoral candidate and graduate research assistant in Educational Foundations & Research. I was honored to be selected as a 2011-12 Fulbright Dissertation Grant Alternate to Peru. 

I am proud to be a project photographer for the Blue Earth (www.blueearth.org) with a new website for this long-term documentary at www.rainforeststories.org My editorial website is www.brucefarnsworth.com

I bring a real passion for nature-based education drawing from my experiences as a field zoologist, professional conservation photographer and interpretive specialist both in Amazonian Ecuador and with the National Park Service at Point Reyes National Seashore, California.  My editorial work has focused on Amazonian wildlife, sustainability initiatives at tropical reserves and indigenous studies with feature and assignment credits in National Geographic, Wilderness, Smithsonian, Nature Conservancy, CondeNast and Harvard's ReVista.   

During five years of continuous residence in Amazonian Ecuador, I enjoyed transformative experiences of acculturation and collaboration with lowland Quichua  (Napo Runa) and mestizo communities.  My Masters work, completed while serving as the Interpretive Coordinator at the Center for the Interpretation of Amazonian Ecuador, examined the use of  locally-appropriate methods to interpret the landscape ecology and place-based significance of lowland rainforest for local Ecuadorians and international tourists. 

My research interests reside with conservation education in tropical research communities, articulating the pedagogical value of the photographic narrative and reforming educational practices in ecotourism.  I am currently working with a lowland Quichua co-researcher on an innovative place-based narrative study. 

I'm a board member of the Ecuadorian Rivers Institute and actively involved with the North American Association for Environmental Education, The International Ecotourism Society and the Blue Earth Alliance.

Feel free to contact me!

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