California State University, Channel Islands
AC-5: Immersive Experience

CSUCI offers a unique interdisciplinary Field Studies programs that gives upper division students a chance to spend 24 days on Santa Rosa Island. The programs offered through Biology and Environmental Science and Resource Management (ESRM), bring students to live on the island while learning about the environment, wildlife, cultural history, and many other aspects of the island from a variety of experts.

CSUCI also offers a small group of students the opportunity to participate in an immersive research experience in Maui, Hawaii for one week. Teams of approximately six people observe the behavior of humpback whale mother/calf pairs and other groupings from a small boat. Team members use GPS to mark locations, make behavioral observations and photograph whales for identification. Additionally, the research teams sample ocean water for microplastics and zooplankton in the field and later analysis in the laboratory. More information about the project can be found on their website: https://www.caringforcalves.org/

The ESRM 492 Trip to New Orleans is a two-week interdisciplinary program designed for students interested in environmental topics. It provides education and exposure to both scientific and human aspects of environmental issues. The work portion of the trip involves working on wetland restoration projects in Belle Chase’s Woodlands Trail and Park, one of the few remnant bottomland hardwood forests surrounding Greater New Orleans. More information about the course can be found at http://nola.piratelab.org/course-info/course-overview/.

https://www.csuci.edu/news/releases/2022-srirs-field-studies.htm

Student posters summarizing research completed during the Maui trip: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BGzrSxbOKD-taem9Bn2K5VJ6dFOB8C3J/view
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1mfsaRY6jU9uu_iMd_i8DPnrMcrKHeLiBKyJwDckqBV4/edit#slide=id.p