Lindquist, Kristen

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University of New HampshireUniversity of New Hampshire Scholars' RepositoryUNH International Educator Newsletter Global Education CenterFall 2009Fall 2009, Through UNH EcoQuest programstudent discovers practical applications and "newlevel of being"Kristen LindquistUniversity of New Hampshire - Main CampusFollow this and additional works at: https://scholars.unh.edu/international_newsThis News Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Global Education Center at University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. Ithas been accepted for inclusion in UNH International Educator Newsletter by an authorized administrator of University of New Hampshire Scholars'Repository. For more information, please contact nicole.hentz@unh.edu.Recommended CitationLindquist, Kristen, "Fall 2009, Through UNH EcoQuest program student discovers practical applications and "new level of being""(2009). International Educator: the Newsletter of the UNH Global Engagement Editorial Board. 77.https://scholars.unh.edu/international_news/77UNH Center for International Education Newsletterhttp://unh.edu/cie/newsletter/2009/fall/ecoquest.html[7/11/2016 3:28:31 PM] SearchCenter for International Education Fall 2009Lindquist enjoyed field studies from the mountainsto the seaIn this IssueFeatured StoriesAdditional ArticlesFaculty Travel ReportsDownload thisnewsletter as a .pdfCenter for InternationalEducation HomeTHROUGH UNH ECOQUEST PROGRAM STUDENT DISCOVERSPRACTICAL APPLICATIONS AND "A NEW LEVEL OF BEING"by Kirsten Lindquist ’10English and environmental conservation studies major Kirsten Lindquist spent fall semester 2008 onthe UNH EcoQuest program in New Zealand.I was terrified. My heart beat madly and mybrain struggled against panic mode. I’mscared of deep, dark water—and there I wasin my snorkel gear, poised to slip into thewatery abyss from the back of a deep sea charter boat. And yet, I wasdetermined to follow my curiosity, piqued by our recent classes onmarine ecosystems in New Zealand. I gripped my friend’s handnervously as we simultaneously slid in the cool, briny water off the PoorKnights Islands. And was I glad I went under; it was beautiful,fascinating and exquisite in an alien way down there in Nursery Cove. Itruly felt as if I had just discovered a new world. It was by holding seasalps -- flickering a myriad of neon colors, seeing the spines of alionfish up close, and swimming with the blue mao mao, that I trulyunderstood the importance of the marine protection area policy we’dbeen studying in the classroom.That moment of connection is much of what I feel EcoQuest is about. There, learning is not just about what you absorb in theclassroom. It’s about experiencing hands on the real-world implications of concepts learned in lecture, and seeing how thatknowledge can be applied to make a positive difference. My directed research project—monitoring the Hochstetter’s frog indifferent pest control zones within the Hunua Ranges—was not only an amazing adventure of shimmying up waterfalls and hikingup rivers in search of a cute and elusive amphibian. It was the first time a school project actually had implications beyond a grade;the population data collected by our team are now available to the New Zealand Department of Conservation to help them infuture pest management decisions. I was ecstatic that what I did at school was making a difference!At Ecoquest I also discovered learning as a new way of life and a wayof interacting with and appreciating others. There is a classroom oncampus; a room that also functions as a living room, dining room andstudy room. But our lessons were not firmly tied to class, or even fieldtrips. Class may have ended before dinner, but I would find myself in animpromptu constellation tutorial come nightfall. And I was surprised toUNH Center for International Education Newsletterhttp://unh.edu/cie/newsletter/2009/fall/ecoquest.html[7/11/2016 3:28:31 PM]EcoQuest students engaged in rocky shore ecologyat Kaikourafind that walking on the beach and watching the colors of the Firth ofThames shift with the tide and the day was inspirational and crucial tomy learning experience. No class at UNH had ever promoted such spacefor reflection and immersion in the landscape. This, for me, was a newlevel of being.As I write this, the newest EcoQuest team is getting ready for theirflight to Auckland. I still reel at how much has changed in my life sinceI made that same trip a year ago. Of course, I am also envious. Mymemories of EcoQuest and New Zealand still remain distinct and vividafter these complicated months of readjustment to school, to home. Thatis what happens, I think, when you live and learn fully; what happens when you allow a place and its people to make an imprint inyour mind and heart. It is what happened to me at EcoQuest. And this vibrant state of being is its greatest gift I keep with me, onethat is ever growing in how I think, how I see and how I exist.  Copyright © 2015, Center for International Education  •  The University of New Hampshire223 Hood House  •  89 Main Street  •  Durham, NH 03824tel: 603-862-2398  •  fax: 603-862-0169study.abroad@unh.edu  •  international.affairs@unh.edu

Fall 2009, Through UNH EcoQuest program student discovers practical applications and  new level of being

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Fall 2009, Through UNH EcoQuest program student discovers practical applications and new level of being

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