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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 20, 2016)
20 Wednesday, January 20, 2016 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon Students help teacher earn master’s degree By Jim Anderson Correspondent After three years of studying — taking exhaus- tive exams, conducting field research on Peck’s pen- stamon in the Trout Creek Conservation Area, carry- ing out intensive scientific investigations in the Amazon and Costa Rica, hundreds of hours teaching ecologi- cal principles to her Sisters High School science students — Rima Givot now holds a Master of Arts Degree in Zoology from Miami University through Project Dragonfly’s Global Field Program (GFP). The GFP masters degree is designed for educators and other professionals from all disciplines and settings who are interested in working col- laboratively to bring about change in local and global contexts. Dragonfly and its U.S. and international partner institutions have engaged more than 1,850 people since it began in 2004 in first-hand education and conservation research in communities and zoos throughout the country and at critical field sites in Africa, Australia, Asia and the Americas. On any given school day, Givot can be found either in her classroom, or out in the Trout Creek Conservation Area with her students studying the ecosystems of a diversity of species found there. Whether it’s looking for Jerusalem crickets under a hollow log, nesting cavities for sapsuckers, or Sisters’ signature bird, the white- headed woodpecker, Givot uses everything at her finger- tips to teach and learn. Through her Conserva- tion Science & Community course project entitled “Dis- tribution of Peck’s Penste- mon (Penstemon peckii) Along Trout Creek in Trout Creek Conservation Area Ponderosa Pine Forest, Sis- ters, Oregon,” Givot stud- ied the population of Peck’s penstemon, a rare native wildflower along Trout and Whychus creeks. She pro- vided the results to the For- est Service in order to help them implement manage- ment plans and practices to protect this plant’s habitat. As another part of her master’s project — during the 2014 summer vacation from her high school teach- ing duties — Givot went off to Baja California to study field methods in desert and marine ecosystems. Also, in summer 2014, photo proviDeD rima Givot in her element, standing in the massive trunk of el ceibo in costa rica, one of 10 species of tropical trees in the family Malvaceae. Rima chose to continue her work through Ohio-based Miami University’s (MU) Global Field Program, studying the biotic, physi- cal, and cultural forces that affect tropical biodiversity at the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve and La Selva Biological Station, Costa Rica. The next year, she trav- eled to the Amazon in sum- mer 2015, also through the Global Field Program from Miami University’s Project Dragonfly, studying how communities are work- ing to save the rain forest’s delicate and irreplaceable ecosystem. Givot’s inquiries and her dedication to education of her students to investigate and preserve their local bio- logical diversity is one of the key reasons she undertook a master’s program. Her statement regard- ing her goals in earning a Master of Arts from Miami University is best understood in this statement she gave The Nugget back in 2014: “With my Master Plan, I hope to inspire my students, community members, and myself to conduct action projects based on data col- lected from ecology and/or environment inquiry studies that contribute to positive environmental change in my community. “I want to help commu- nity members — especially my students — connect with nature, the environment, and their community. As a high school teacher, part of my Master Plan will be con- ducted with my students, and part of it will be based on inquiry projects I do which lead to action projects in the community. “The inquiry projects my students conduct will be studies that relate to local ecology and/or environmen- tal issues. Some studies will be conducted in the local forest. Inquiry studies I do will increase my knowledge of the local wildlife and plant populations and the You didn’t count on this... ...but you can count on Fullhart Insurance! Competitive pricing & great service for over 20 years. INSURANCE OF SISTERS AUTO • HOME • HEALTH • LIFE • BUSINESS 541-549-3172 • 1-800-752-8540 • 704 W. Hood Ave. A member of Fullhart Insurance Agency, Inc. photo proviDeD rima Givot celebrates with her son George chladek and mom Winnie Givot. ecosystem in general. Based on what I find, I will con- duct action pieces to help educate and involve the par- ticipation of the community in conservation.” Money Saving coupons can be printed anytime at NuggetNews.com! The Nugget’s Sisters Saver Look for it the last week of every month in The Nugget. To advertise call 541-549-9941.
