Getting Ready to Depart- Posted by Asianna Sample

My name is Asianna Sample and I’m an 11th grader at Forest Hills High School in Queens, NY. In a couple of days, I’ll be on my way to attend the expedition in Arizona and check out the awesome life of owls. I decided to apply for this trip to pursue my interest in the biology field, and to get some experience in hands-on field work. This trip will be a new and fun opportunity for me to better understand and experience nature. Although I do have a Biology Research class on my schedule, this trip will be new in that it involves outdoor field work as opposed to lab-based work. It will be a ton of fun to get out of the everyday lab routine, and experience the “bio” in biology research.

One thing I'm really excited about is to see the stars outside of New York City; the night sky is a big plus for me. As we get closer to departure, I’m more and more excited to have the opportunity to go on this trip and do something that I can brag about (lol). It’s not everyday that  someone asks “Hey, do you want to travel to another state, live the life of a research scientist, and stay up all night looking at owls?”

I’ve been spending a lot of time packing, and the hardest thing is finding the right clothes, especially because of the unpredictable weather. But the packing is still really fun, and I’ve bought some new special items for the trip, including hiking boots, a reusable water bottle for the hot and dry weather, a headlamp for doing field work at night, and my camera (hopefully I’ll be able to spot some nice scenery as well as photos of the stars). I can’t wait!

Why Earthwatch? - Posted by Camila Lock

The Earthwatch Institute provides volunteers with an authentic experience alongside practicing scientists doing real research. I've always been intrigued by the various science research expeditions offered by Earthwatch, so when I heard about their Project Kindle Teacher Fellowship program, I jumped at the opportunity to apply.

Following my acceptance into the program, in the summer of 2017, I traveled with seven other New York City teachers on my first Earthwatch expedition to the Central Caribbean Marine Institute on the Cayman Islands. We spent our days snorkeling and learning about current research monitoring the health of endangered coral reefs. We met local conservation scientists and learned about their work, participated in a beach clean up, and even got to go on a "turtle walk" to monitor locations of nesting sites for endangered sea turtles. That's me, holding a baby sea turtle egg! I loved being out in the field, and was inspired to bring my students on an expedition of their own.

After months of planning, recruiting, and fundraising, we are finally on our way! On April 3, I will travel down to the Southwest Research Station (about three hours outside of Tuscon, Arizona) with nine of my students and two amazing teacher colleagues. We will spend a week studying tiny forest owls in the Chiricahua Mountains, monitoring their populations and learning about the effects of climate change on their species.

Follow this blog to hear about our experience!