Grand Teton Independent Study 3 credits

Lance Parker

Summer 2015

3xx SS/NS Independent Study

Advisor: Dick Smyth

A Particular Taste for the Tetons:

Ecology and human use history of northwestern Wyoming

A narrative description of the project, including: study plan, detailed weekly schedule, learning objectives, and supporting activities

           

            Schedule:

Tentatively: June 26^th – July 16^th (~3 weeks)

In and around Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks (i.e. northwestern Wyoming)

A study of the ecology and human use history of northwestern Wyoming:     

These last 3 credits will round out my Senior Capstone experience with more depth and breadth, digging into the social sciences of history and current land use, and the natural sciences of how one can learn about a place, and what is there.

Shortly after my 100 mile race in the Big Horn Mountains of north-central Wyoming (June 19^th and 20^th), I will continue across the state into northwestern Wyoming, the Tetons, and Yellowstone. This will be my place of grounding after a long stretch of moving from place to place. I will take the two and a half to three weeks following arriving in the Tetons, to study the area. With the help and guidance of locals, and accessible knowledge from libraries, the Teton Science School, and the National Park Service, I will delve deeply into what it is that is drawing me to this place: A beautiful landscape.

Week 1: First thing’s first, acquire resources. Purchase / rent from local library, guide books to learning the place (Yellowstone/ Tetons Field guides to plants, animals and rock) (Tetons Climbing Guidebook). Conversations with the Teton Science School may lead to the exact resources I should be using. Make connections with those that I can make connections with: Sterling Alum, TSS faculty/ employees (i.e. people as resources).

Find the local gathering areas and begin letting people know what I am doing.

Ramble. Ramble. Ramble. Hike, bike, run, and climb, to new places every day. Bring field guides and turn into a curious wanderer. Identify trees, flowers, and other plant species, make not of any likeness to eastern species (eastern / western analogues). Field Journal everyday making note of new species found, animal sightings, weather, and any other notable experiences. Begin a journal for human use practices. How many people are hiking, how many people are climbing? Running? Swimming, paddling, etc…?

Week 2: Continue these practices. Begin formalizing the experience. Connect with the Teton Science School, or those who are willing to help (National Park Service). Shadow some TSS programs. Meet Vincent W. (Sterling Alum ’11). Interview groups that are climbing the Grand Teton, following some contextualization of the place with historical documentaries, shadowing, etc… create dialogue with those that are perpetuating the climbing culture of the Tetons. Find a relevant book to read through the remainder of my time in the Tetons. Finish it with a comparison paper between the author’s experiences and mine.

Week 3: Through field journals, exploring, formal learning from locals and local organizations, research, and interviews with people who are experiencing the land, I will tie my experience in the place up with some reflecting. Through the practice of running and meditation, I will find a place of particular beauty (a place that encapsulates the greater area), and rest there. Reflecting on what makes this area unique and reflect on my learning objectives for my time here. At the end of my time in the Tetons, I will write a final reflective paper on my experiences exploring this particular set of essential questions and my progress through these objectives.

Learning objectives:

-To discover varieties of flora and fauna of the area.

-To explore the working ecosystem of the area.

-To delve deeply into what the people of the area are doing to interact with the natural world and landscapes.

-To question and search for answers to the area’s geology.

-To learn of the rich human history of the area.

-To learn about the story of the National Parks designations of northwestern Wyoming.

-To learn of the water shed(s)

            Guiding Questions:

-What makes this place national park worthy?

-What are the plant species of the area, what are the animal species of the area, how do they interact?

-What, geologically, has happened to this place?

-What are people doing here?

-What about this place is calling to me?

-What is the water doing in this place? Where is it going (continental divide)?

Resources to be used

I am in contact with the Teton Science School (TSS) with the intention to familiarize myself with people of the area and

-Interviews of climbers, hikers, and tourists

-Interviews of TSS students or employees

-Field work with field guides to: species identification (plants and animals), geology, climbing guides.

-Local libraries

-Coffee shops, gear stores, and the locals that inhabit them

-The National Park Service, their guides, brochures, and in house information.

-Spending three weeks there, I will get ample time to explore multiple areas and gain a sense of how some of the larger systems are working together.

Specific products of the study

           

-       2-3 weeks of field journaling (notes on species observed, land features, places visited, people met, etc… Journal that evolves around essential questions and learning objectives.

-       Species lists. A full list of all of the species identified over the 2-3 weeks of the course: one for animals, one for plants.

-       Documented interviews. (who, what, where, why, how?)

-       Final synthesis paper that draws from learning objectives and essential questions.

-       Comparison paper: reflective analysis of relevant book.

-       Reflections specifically on my experience with the TSS or National Park Service

-    Map depicting places visited.

Method of evaluation and assessment

Criteria for each piece, is based on full credit. After not meeting this criteria, a lower grade will be assigned accompanied with a narrative from the advisor addressing what was not met and what the resulting grade is.

            30% Field Journals

            Regularity in journals; 15+ formalized field journal entries that summarize an entire day. Includes drawings, species observed, weather, cloud cover, places visited, etc… Entries should be neat, if not beautifully done. The 15 pieces should flow together in a way that is beautiful to look at, tells a reader of what I have done and also tells the reader of what the place is like.

30% Culmination of Field journals & Final Synthesis

            A polished document, whether hand written or not, should include the following: An introduction of the place (Tetons / Yellowstone / both), biome, water, humidity, landscape, animals, and plants. Full species lists, one of animals, one of plants (to whatever capacity I can, these will be separated out by family, genus and species to organize them). The finishing of this document will be a formalized synthesis on the essential questions and learning objectives for the course. This paper will effectively tie together, the journal entries with my whole completed experience in attempt to conclude the experience.

           

10% Interview documentation

Gain knowledge from others. While on jaunts, or in coffee shops, I should be making any attempt possible to be learning from those people who are in the area. Ask about what they are doing and why they are there. Take notes on any and all interactions with people who know about the area. Many of these notes will first appear in a 3x5 pocket notebook and will be translated into a neater document nearing the end of the trip. Each piece should have a short reflection on the importance of the interaction.

10% Reflective analysis on chosen relevant book

In attempt to contextualize my experience, I will upon arriving in the Tetons area, purchase or rent a book that is relevant to the experience that I am going to have. Whether it be a climber’s story, a naturalist’s story or an academic book suggested to me by the Teton Science School, it should in same way, shape, or form have impact on my experience in the area. The write up on this book should include a synapsis of what the book was about, and relate the book directly to my experience.

                        

            20% Handmade map of the area with places visited, marked.

I will create a map (as large as necessary) in order utilize a different learning style in order to add more depth to my experience. This map will also be a way for me to translate to others what I have done and where I have gone. It will be 2 dimensional in order to send it to my advisor. It will include all major regions and areas that I have visited and learned about. It should act as a guide for someone to do what I have done. It will also be a reference for my final people, in order for the reader to gain a better understanding of my time in the Tetons.

           

Plan for keeping the advisor informed of progress

Phone, Email, snail mail

Description of how the Independent Study fits into an overall degree plan

As I am planning for my summer, there is one piece of study that will complete the season as an interdisciplinary semester. This gap is being filled by this study: a social science and natural science piece that ties loose ends together and gives me the opportunity to delve very deeply into one designated area. The fact of the matter though, is that there is this beautiful place that I will be going through and I want to stop there to learn about this place. As an outdoor educator and student in such learning, I understand and recognize the value of empowering students. To be able to embrace the desire to learn of a place, by going there, moving through it and learning about it, I am empowering myself, both as a student and as an educator.