Applied Biodiversity Science Retreat Group
We recently attended an ABS retreat in the heart of Texas Hill Country. The picture above represents a larger, but not fully complete view of our ABS group. We camped at a beautiful private ranch owned by a Texas A&M alumnus who discovered a way to use his lands to combine his two passions: nature and adventure. As lovers of both of things, we could easily relate.
The retreat weekend demonstrated how truly collaborative and multidisciplinary our ABS program has grown to become. Among our group were geographers, ecologists, foresters, conservation biologists, economists and anthropologists.
While some of us awoke early to enjoy the sun’s first rays with coffee mugs in hand, others took advantage of the serenity to snooze a bit longer. During the daytime we engaged in several breakout sessions and brainstormed new ways to collaborate, how to best work as multidisciplinary teams and how to most effectively connect our research goals across academic silos.
ABS Bingo Night!
We had as our honored camping partner, John Karges, the Assosciate Director of Field Science with The Nature Conservancy. John spoke about the history of TNC’s West Texas program, impressed us with his vast knowledge of Texas natural history, and exhibited a knack for story-telling. In the evenings we bonded over “team-building pizzas” and ABS Bingo before falling asleep underneath the stars, listening to the sounds of howling coyotes and choruses of frogs.
Our Central America study group is a part of a much larger community of scholars working around the globe. The retreat united these scholars, albeit for three days, to develop stronger relationships and share ideas about our present and future research directions.
Mike, Margot & Kelsey: Goofy Central America Team
Central America: Applied Biodiversity Science 