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Human-Wildlife Coexistence Field Course

Module description

The Human-Wildlife Coexistence Field Course typically runs in Kenya, and will focus on a range of topics, including some of the biggest environmental and social issues facing the world today. The module will be introduced through introductory lectures in term 1 of the final year, covering both practical details about the field course (health and safety and risk assessments, travel plans) and background to the issues that you will learn about on the field course. During the field course you will experience first-hand a range of natural and social environments and carry out guided field exercises to investigate these environments.

You will gain first-hand experience of the conservation methods by contributing to discussion groups, receiving seminars from locally-based researchers and conservation practitioners working in this field, taking part in biodiversity surveys, and hearing from local communities and other stakeholders. During the course you will take part in practical activities and design a research project, allowing you to acquire some of the essential field skills and experience required to work in biological and human sciences.

To address the climate emergency and potential impact of this module, we are working with our partner organisations to reduce the carbon footprint and increase the sustainability of this course wherever possible. Due to the fact that this is a field-based module in challenging conditions, it may present a challenge for students with impaired physical abilities or medical conditions. Such students wishing to choose this module should seek advice from the module convener and the welfare team.  When participating in field courses, you will be required to cover any visa costs and, if necessary, purchase anti-malarial medication and relevant immunisations. You will also need to provide your own specialist personal equipment appropriate to the field course destination, e.g. walking boots, rucksack, mosquito net, sleeping bag, binoculars.  Details of specialist equipment, vaccinations and visas that you must supply at your own expense are provided on the Exeter Learning Environment (ELE) pages for the course.

Module aims - intentions of the module

The aim of this module is to provide you with a hands-on, in-depth exploration of how we can investigate a range of issues in the fields of Conservation, Human-Wildlife Coexistence and Human Sciences. The intention of this module is to provide direct experience of the issues you have been tackling in your degree, including evolution, behaviour, social organisation, ecology, conservation, and human-wildlife coexistence. Taking the knowledge from contemporary social and natural sciences that you have been learning about in class, the module positions you in the ‘real-world’ to learn more about how the processes you have been studying play out, and the scale of the challenges we face.

This module will develop your understanding and scientific knowledge of animal and human behaviour, tropical ecology, human-wildlife coexistence and conservation, in a region of high biodiversity and endemism, which is also under extreme pressure from a large and growing human population. Some of the principal topics we will discuss include: human-wildlife conflict and coexistence outside of protected areas; exposure to, and discussion of, the pros and cons of ecotourism; and methods for surveying and quantifying biodiversity in tropical habitats. You will also learn about the social context in which conservation schemes take place, and how understanding this context can create a win-win situations for people and wildlife.

As well as providing context and real-life experiences to complement the rest of your degree programme, this field trip will help you develop skills in data analysis and communication, teamwork, project planning and management which will be directly relevant to your future career. Through engaging directly with a range of sectors including tourism, conservation, economics and politics you will be exposed to a number of different career options related to your experiences such as working with NGOs, teaching, applied research, and voluntary service. The module specifically addresses the growing demand from different sectors to foster awareness and training in the way people interact with natural and social world.

This module will help you to develop and extend your awareness of the importance of taught and learnt skills in strengthening employability potential, especially through the application of critical analytical skills to a range of contemporary challenges facing societies today. More specifically, the factsheets, project design, scientific posters, and essays all involve independently researching particular topics in order to summarise and synthesise information. Being able to orally present and write information in a succinct and comprehensible manner is a key part of a number of careers.

The teaching contributions on this module involve elements of research undertaken by module staff including work on human evolution and diversity and community-based conservation (Currie), and conservation ecology, biogeography, animal behaviour and population ecology (Chapman and Thornton). You will gain practical experience in research methods through taking part in focus groups, behavioural observations, and wildlife monitoring.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. Apply, with limited guidance, selected theories, methodologies and techniques used in fieldwork in conservation ecology and human sciences
• 2. Demonstrate advanced level knowledge and understanding of specific social and natural processes and conceptual approaches
• 3. Describe, analyse and explain the results of lectures and seminars, and library research, practical fieldwork, and relate results to existing bodies of knowledge
• 4. Draw consistent arguments and conclusions based on the results of knowledge gained on the module
• 5. Identify shortcomings in theories and fieldwork methodologies and suggest possible solutions
• 6. Create a factsheet on a chosen topic, through careful planning, design, research, and execution with limited guidance
• 7. Collect, interpret, evaluate and combine different types of evidence and information from across different disciplines

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 8. Describe in detail and analyse essential facts and theory across conservation ecology and human science disciplines
• 9. Analyse and evaluate independently a range of research-informed literature and synthesise research-informed examples from the literature into written work
• 10. Identify and implement, with limited guidance, appropriate methodologies and theories for addressing problems in the fields of conservation ecology and human sciences
• 11. With minimal guidance, deploy established techniques of analysis, practical investigation, and enquiry within the fields of conservation ecology and human sciences

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 12. Devise and sustain, with little guidance, a logical and reasoned argument with sound, convincing conclusions
• 13. Communicate effectively arguments, evidence and conclusions using a variety of formats in a manner appropriate to the intended audience
• 14. Analyse and evaluate appropriate data and complete a range of research-like tasks with very limited guidance
• 15. Evaluate own strengths and weaknesses in relation to graduate-level professional and practical skills, and act autonomously to develop new areas of skills as necessary
• 16. Reflect effectively and independently on learning experiences and evaluate personal achievements
• 17. Work in a small team and deal proficiently with the issues that teamwork requires (ie communication, motivation, decision-making, awareness, responsibility, and management skills, including setting and working to deadlines)

Syllabus plan

Final year: Term 1: Four Introductory sessions on:
1. Introduction to the field trip and its aims; itinerary & planning; health and safety, introduction to key concepts (Currie).
2. Conservation and social context in Kenya (Currie).
3. Biogeography of East Africa (Chapman).
4. Avian and mammalian diversity of Kenya (Chapman).
Details of specific locations, activities, and content of the field trip, along with reading lists appropriate to each field trip, will be issued prior to the trips.

Field trip: January (approximately first two weeks of term)

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Re-assessment notes

Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. The research project poster is not deferrable because of its practical nature. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.

Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e., a final overall module mark of less than 40%) you will be required to resubmit the essay. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of referral will count for 100% of the final mark and will be capped at 40%.

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

• Wangari Maathi (2009). The Challenge for Africa. Anchor Books 2010
• Richard Leakey, Virginia Morell (2014[2001]) Wildlife Wars: My Fight to Save Africa's Natural Treasures. St. Martin's Press.
• Monique Borgerhoff Mulder & Peter Coppolillo (2005). Conservation: Linking Ecology, Economics, and Culture. Princeton University Press.

Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources

ELE page, which includes links to e-resources (key journals, e-books and online materials), as well as relevant journal articles and practical information in support of the fieldtrip.

Key words search

Human sciences, Kenya, fieldwork, research, governance, environmental impact, development, cultural diversity