Zambia
Faculty-Led Study Abroad
Every 2-4 years (next offering is summer 2019) Northern Michigan University students have the opportunity to travel to Zambia as part of a Faculty-Led Study Abroad course. This course will take students on an extensive expedition into a relatively safe, under-studied and under-developed sub-Saharan country. This class has been offered four times previously (2007, 2011, 2014, 2017). Over 50 students have now participated in this experience.
Contact me, alindsay@nmu.edu, for more information on future opportunities.
Admission & Enrollment
In the fall semester before the class heads to Zambia, students apply and are admitted to the class on a competitive basis. Once admitted, the new "Zambassadors" must enroll in a Winter course where they learn about the ecology, culture, and history of Zambia while also planning their research projects. APPLICATIONS ARE NOW OPEN, and are due by 21 September 2018 for full consideration. Apply by filling out this online form.
London
En route to Zambia, we spend 3-4 days in London. In part, this serves as a helpful layover for adjusting to most of the time change, but we also take the opportunity to visit sites that are of meaningful biologically (British Museum of Natural History) and historically (Royal Geographic Society)...and both (Darwin's home at Downe House!).
Zambia!
Once in Zambia, we travel around the country by a bus or overland truck, camp in some remote (but safe) areas, and experience the African landscape. We will see elephants, hippos, crocodiles, cape buffalo, lions, rhinos, leopards, giraffe, numerous other ungulate species, and dozens of incredible species of birds. The floras of the mopane forests, miombo woodlands, and the wet dambos are equally interesting, and we get lots of excellent instruction from highly trained guides and scouts.
On the ground
The experience is unlike anything any of our students have had before, and that includes the social experience too - for three weeks, we spend 24 hours a day with one another, working individually, but also as a group. Being able to work well with peers and others is essential for this class.
Field Projects
Students also try to focus on specific things that interest them in the field, and then they do their best to document what they see. Some are passionate about plants, others about birds, others about mammals. As we encounter these things, students record their observations and share them with the rest of the group. They also prepare to share those observations with the NMU community when they return.
Culture
While in Zambia, we visit a rural village (Nyanje village, near the Mozambique border) that is home to a family and community with whom we have built ties over the years. We camp in the village, alongside the Banda family's home and outbuildings. Our reception is always incredibly warm and welcoming.
Local Expertise
While near the game parks, we also visit with Non-Governmental Organizations that are dedicated to conservation and research activities in Zambia. The great professionals at the Zambian Carnivore Programme talk with our students. In 2017 we also have plans to visit the folks at Conservation South Luangwa, who do remarkable things for conserving wildlife in the South Luangwa area. All of our guides and scouts have extensive training and certification.
Zamposium
Upon returning to NMU, the Zambassadors plan and host a "Zamposium" where they present their experiences to the broader NMU community. They also share photos, stories, artifacts and music that they brought back from Zambia.
If you are so inclined, you can also watch a video of a couple typical lion encounters from the 2007 trip. Soundtrack by the ever-popular Zambian pop singer, Danny, singing "Kaya."
For more photos...
...and narrative about the trip, lease follow this link to a slide show with some brief (and informal!) captions.
