Intensive UB Course in Unique Environments Has Students Exploring Adirondacks, Everglades

By Mara McGinnis

Release Date: June 7, 1999 This content is archived.

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BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Hiking, horseback riding and mountain climbing may sound more like a vacation than summer school, but from Aug. 1-6, Sanford Geffner will lead about 15 University at Buffalo students out of the classroom and into the mountain wilderness of the Adirondacks for a week-long, intensive, field ecology adventure.

His winter course -- an exploration of the Florida Everglades in December -- takes UB students trudging through waist-deep cypress swamps, canoeing through mangroves and snorkeling around coral reefs.

Both trips are "The Ecology of Unique Environments" undergraduate courses developed six years ago by Geffner, an avid naturalist and instructor for nearly 20 years in the UB Environmental Studies Program. Geffner gives students the opportunity to take an up-close look at nature in this and other courses, including "Ethics of Survival," "Field Ecology" and "Ethnobotanical Surveys."

On a typical trip to the Everglades, the group identifies some 240 plant and animal species, according to Geffner. "When students complete this course, they know the Everglades better than the park rangers. In fact, the rangers often request to join us on our field excursions in order to enhance their own appreciation of the park."

Surrounded by alligators and poisonous snakes, students are trained to proceed with extreme caution and are accompanied by a certified emergency medical technician.

Geffner explains that what makes the environments of the Adirondacks and Everglades "unique" is how history and politics have impacted the threatened ecology of these regions. His approach is to expose students to the ecology of the environment and teach them how that integrates with the history and political situation surrounding the area and its eco-systems.

"I do my best to give them a better sense for field studies and, ultimately, their role within the environment," says Geffner, who points out that his courses also help provide students with more viable career options. "There is a great need to enhance awareness of the way the world works. My goal is to make all of these students naturalists, regardless of which aspect of the environment they pursue."

Each week-long excursion earns students three academic credits. They must keep detailed field journals identifying approximately 100 plant and animal species seen during the week.

Geffner admits that part of his interest in studying the Adirondacks and the Everglades comes from a personal fascination with these areas.

"The uniqueness of the Adirondacks revolves around the fact that you have the largest state park in the country -- 6 million acres -- and it is both private and public lands, which makes for interesting dynamics.

"The Everglades region," he continues, "is sub-tropical, so it is completely alien to what we are familiar with. Students are awestruck and amazed."

Geffner also notes that part of the intrigue of the Everglades is that all of the eco-systems have been disrupted due to farming and urbanization. In the past 10 years, there has been a concerted effort to begin rebuilding the area.

This past winter, Geffner and students were lucky enough to spot the extremely rare and secretive American crocodile, which the instructor has been seeking for six years. Other highly endangered species they have identified on their Everglades ventures are the Everglades kite, bald eagle, woodstork and manatee. Geffner also hopes to spot the endangered South Florida panther.

Another of Geffner's courses, "Ethics of Survival," explores the impact of religion and modern science on perceptions of nature, as well as survival skills that are developed during a "survival expedition" to Letchworth State Park in Western New York. On this weekend trip, students use their creativity to build a functional lodge and make their own meals using such foods as wild mushrooms, leeks and nuts that they collect.

"The students soon learn that the more you know, the less you have to do to survive, and the more you can simply enjoy and learn," says the instructor.

According to Geffner, UB's Environmental Studies Program -- an interdisciplinary social-sciences program in the College of Arts and Sciences -- has grown dramatically as a result of shifting priorities in society and heightened environmental awareness among today's college students. In response to environmental crises, he adds, students have become increasingly concerned with preserving and appreciating the environment.

Geffner's focus on environmental work evolved through a series of internships with the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

"There are many ways to effect changes," he says. "My way is through education."