Environmental Conservation at Bangor University: Global Opportunities and Hands-on Experience

Introduction: Global Study and Fieldwork

Hi guys! This is Suf, and I'm Belinda. We're both fourth-year Environmental Conservation students here at Bangor University. This video is about the travel opportunities we've had since being here. I went on a study abroad year at the University of Alberta in Canada, and mine was at the University of Bergen in Norway. We're now back for our final year, having just been on an amazing Tropical Conservation Field Course in Uganda.

The Uganda Field Course: Tropical Conservation and Primatology

The Uganda Field Course is a two-week trip run just before the start of Semester 1 for students in the School of Biological Sciences and Natural Sciences. It's a Tropical Conservation and Primatology trip. For the first roughly ten days of the trip, you're based at Kibale National Park and Makerere University Biological Field Station, as the trip is done in association with this university.

What You'll Learn: Practical Skills and Cultural Immersion

The most important thing to take away from the field trip is the knowledge outside the classroom, which was certainly followed through while we were out there. We did a lot of field survey techniques, behavioural studies, camera trapping, and distance sampling, which was really fun. There were Red Colobus monkeys, chimpanzees, baboons, and elephants. Not only were we seeing their behaviour, but also learning about what their behaviour meant. We also did a lot of work outside the field with the local community, learning about Ugandan culture and what life is like for them in such a beautiful part of the world. Also, one of the best parts of documenting this trip was the field notebook that we all had to keep. It was part of an assessed piece of work for the module. We kept birds, plants, and species lists, noting everything we did each day. This was a big highlight for me regarding documenting the trip.

Cultural Experience: Local Attire

As you can see, we've had a bit of an outfit change. This is local Ugandan attire, which is made of a kind of Ugandan fabric and tailored to you. We had it made by a local lady in Kibale National Park.

Further Opportunities and Information

Thank you very much for watching, guys. That's the end of the video - I hope you enjoyed it. I think that's everything we wanted to cover. We don't just offer the Ugandan Field Course at the university; other field courses are available. Please check the website; the link is below. Please like, comment, subscribe, share, and do whatever you need to do to get this video out there, and we will see you next time. Thank you, bye!