Michael Akresh, PhD, core faculty in New England’s Environmental Studies program, and Christian Carson, a current graduate student in the Environment Studies, and Conservation Biology program, were recently featured guests on St. Vincent TV. They have been working on a project in St. Vincent in collaboration with the Department of Forestry and Birds Caribbean, learning about bird habitats and training forestry personnel.
The project aims to create a conservation action plan for the Whistling Warbler, estimate its population size, and conserve its habitats on the island, especially after the volcano eruption. The Whistling Warbler is vital to the forest ecosystem. They help control insect populations and disperse seeds, contributing to the balance of the natural world. These birds have co-evolved with the island’s ecosystem for tens of thousands of years and are an integral part of it.
Akresh teaches the Environment Studies and Conservation Biology program and always seeks collaborations like this to enrich the classroom experience. From his teaching statement: “I believe we can all have an impact on conservation, management, and policy with dedicated work, and my ultimate teaching and mentoring goal is to convey to students that they too can elicit real change in the world around us.”
