Dorothy Lsoto, graduate student in Biological Systems Engineering, traveled to the Kumi district, Uganda this past summer to conduct research with dairy farmers who had biogas chillers and those without. For those with biogas chillers, she was investigating how effective they have been in reducing milk loses, and what challenges have been encountered. Research with farmers without chillers focused on how they currently preserve their milk, and barriers to acquiring a biogas chiller.
Chris Wirz, PhD candidate in Life Sciences Communication, traveled to Iquitos, Peru to investigate stakeholder perceptions of risk related to flooding. He and his team were interested in how decision-makers from local-to-national levels, as well as communities, understand risks of flooding and climate change. Some of his core findings include a disconnect between national and local levels in terms of understanding of risk, leading to a mismatch in effective response. In short, nationally floods are considered a problem, whereas at local levels they are considered normal and not the key problem communities face.
Zuzana Burivalova, Assistant Professor in Forest and Wildlife Ecology, and affiliate in Nelson Institute of Environmental Studies and in African Studies, traveled to Gabon this past fall to visit potential field sites in forestry concessions and national parks, meet potential local collaborators at the Omar Bongo University, meet government officials and NGO partners to begin a long-term collaborative research project focused on bioacoustics of sound in tropical forests.