The Loret Miller Ruppe Peace Corps Master's International Program in Forestry at Michigan Tech University

The Loret Miller Ruppe

Peace Corps Master's International Program in Forestry

at Michigan Tech University

The US Peace Corps and Michigan Tech University have teamed up to design a program for students with an undergraduate degree in any discipline who are interested in a career in forestry, environmental sciences and policy, and natural resource management.

"The Peace Corps is made stronger by the promise of Michigan Tech, Tech has the kind of skills that Peace Corps needs now."

--- Dr. John Hogan, Associate Director of Peace Corps

If you are interested in natural resources and two years of international service with Peace Corps, pick a topic below to find out more information.

*** National Geographic Adventure calls

Houghton Michigan one of Top Ten Towns for Summer Outdoor Sports and Recreation ***.

Table of Contents

* Loret Miller Ruppe

* What do Michigan Tech Peace Corps Volunteers do? Who are they?

* Program Overview

* Who should be interested in this program?

* How does one apply to the program?

* What are the benefits?

* What are the costs?

* Michigan Tech Master's International Graduate Course Work

* Seretse Khama

* A thank you from the Gambia.

* The Statistical Peace Corps Volunteer

* A 100+ page PDF document of articles about forestry, land tenure, and agriculture in the tropics.

* Other good links.

* Student projects with information on many topics, from tropical bees to wastewater treatment.

* Housing around Michigan Tech.

* How to Reach Us

New at Michigan Tech: Study Abroad in Applied Ecology in Xalapa, Mexico. Michigan Tech now offers a one-semester study abroad program in applied ecology. The program is open to students from other universities.

Loret Miller Ruppe

The Master's International Program in Forestry at Michigan Tech is named for Loret Miller Ruppe, Director of the Peace Corps from 1981 to 1989, resident of Houghton, Michigan, and recipient of an honorary doctorate degree from Michigan Technological University.

"The agency drifted through the 1970s, seeming the rusted relic of a lost decade. Then, just as the Reagan Administration was about to axe the Peace Corps, gung-ho director Loret Miller Ruppe saved it and at the same time restored volunteers' self-respect."

Smithsonian, September 1999 issue.

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What do Michigan Tech Peace Corps Volunteers do?

The link associated with each student's name will take you to a page on the student's Peace Corps assignment.

WARNING: Some pages have quite a few images and may take a while to download if you are using a slow modem.

The incoming class - Fall of 1996.

* Dan Bergert - Philosophy Major, Northland College, served two years in Ghana. Thesis - Management Strategies for Elaeis Guineensis (Oil Palm) in Response to Localized Markets in Southeastern Ghana, West Africa.

* Andrew Brower - English Major, Albion College, served two years in Honduras including time with Hurricane Mitch. Thesis - Honduras: An Ethnographic Study of El Armado National Wildlife Refuge and Guayape, Olancho. Currently: Director of Human Resources at Butterball Farms, Inc. in Grand Rapids. "it's because i speak spanish and i've always done better taking care of other people rather than myself. good or bad?!?"

* Jeff Ploetz - Biology Major, Michigan Tech University, served two years in Bulgaria. Thesis: Implementation and Effectiveness of a Traveling Nature Display for Environmental Education in Central Balkan National Park, Bulgaria. Currently: Natural Resources Management Specialist, DevTech Systems, Inc., Washington D.C.

Kerry Ploetz - Biology Major, Michigan Tech University, served two years in Bulgaria. Thesis: An Ethnobotanical Survey of Wild Herb Use in Bulgaria. Currently: Teaching 4th and 5th Grade at Burgundy Farm Country Day School.

* Katrina Schnobrich - Forestry Major, Michigan Tech University, Three years in Paraguay. Thesis: An Ethnographic Study of Tree-Planting Successes and Failures by Small Farmers in Paraguay. Currently Urban Forester with Davey Resource Group-Urban Forestry Solutions Division.




The incoming class - Fall of 1997.

* Josh Amend - American Studies Major, Carleton College; Summer of 1998 employed by Lake Superior Land. Thesis: Risk and Coffee Production in Mhaji, Tanzania. Working for North Wind Environmental in Wyoming.

* Willy Heist - Exercise/Health Science Major, Psychology Minor, Alma College; Summer of 1998 employed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Baraga. Ghana. Spending the summer of 2001 learning about organic agriculture at the Blue Heron Farm in North Carolina. Thesis: Community Tree Nurseries in Ghana, West Africa: A Case Study of the Collaborative Community Forestry Initiative (CCFI).

* Alec Jarvis - Botany Major (and snowboard wizard), Miami University (Ohio); Summer of 1998 employed by Dr. Jiquan Chen at the Wind River Canopy Crane. Paraguay. Fall of 2001 working in El Salvador with the Crisis Corps, a part of Peace Corps. Thesis: Paraguayan Tung (Aleurites fordii Hemsl.): An Important Small Farmer Crop Diversification Strategy.

* Lynne Kraskouskas - Geology Major, Bryn Mawr College; Gabon.

* Kristen Rahn - Visual Arts Major, Albion College; Paraguay. Kristen won the "Art Express Award" at the Copper Country Gallery Exhibition, Michigan Tech's community-wide art show. Hancock, Michigan (right across the bridge from Houghton) is one of the top 100 small arts communities in the United States. With help from the University Programs Office, Peace Corps Washington, Kristen was able to travel to Japan as part of an environmental tour. Thesis: Cultural Assessment of Reforestation Practices in Rural Eastern Paraguay.

Back Row: Josh, Alec. Front Row: Lynne, Bill, Kristen.




The incoming class - Fall of 1998.

* Matt Cohen, Wildlife Biology major, University of California-Davis. Bolivia. Summer of 1999 working for Glenn Lukos Associates in wetlands analysis and deliniation. Glenn Lukos is an RPCV from the Dominican Republic in the late 60s. Thesis: Utilizing Microcatchment Systems to Increase Tree Establishment Rates in the Bolivian High Plains. Entering Law School at UC-Davis.

* Susan Fox, Biology major, University of Texas. Bolivia. Thesis: Analysis of Ecotourism: The Municipal Reserve "Curichi Cuajo", Buena Vista, Bolivia.

* Mike Jones, Biology major, Albion College. In Honduras, extended to stay a third year.

* Margaret Shao, Biology major, San Francisco State University. Ghana. Thesis: Parkia biglobosa: Changes in Resource Allocation in Kandiga, Ghana.

The Incoming Class - Fall of 1999

* Frank Aragona, University Studies major. The University of New Mexico. In Bolivia. (Silviculture and Biometrics Expert)

* Michael Downs, Geography major. The University of Kentucky. In Morocco.

* Andrea Durham, Liberal Studies major. The University of California - Riverside. Summer of 2000 working as a Recreation Technician for the US Forest Service on the Kenton Ranger District, Ottawa National Forest (The District Ranger is an RPCV - Honduras). Andrea fought fires out west during the summer of 2000. In Ecuador.

* Matt Judd, Mathematics major (Computer Science Concentration), St. Olaf College. Summer of 2000 working as a Forest Technician on the Lubrecht Research Forest, Montana. In The Gambia.

* Sara Keinath, Biology major, Alma College. Recipient of NSF GK-12 fellowship for work with environmental education. Sara fought fires out west during the summer of 2000. In Nepal. Mrs. Larson's Second Grade Class at E.B. Holman School helped Sara decide what to bring to Nepal.

* Kristina Owens, Spanish major, SUNY - Geneseo. In Bolivia.

* Wendy Owens, Environmental and Forest Biology major, SUNY/CESF - Syracuse. In Paraguay.

* And also Nate Reents (friend of all of the above, in the MTU Civil and Environmental Engineering Master's International Program) and currently in Peace Corps/Honduras.

The Incoming Class - Fall of 2000.

* Kara Filius. Central Michigan University. Music Theory and Composition Major. Summer of 2001, Biological Sciences Technician with the Forest Service GIS work digitizing GLO data for Michigan. The Ukraine.

* Jennifer Papillo. The University of Delaware. Geography Major. Summer 2001: Fine Root Ecologist in the Atlantic Mine Primitive Area. Paraguay.

Russell, Marge, Greer, Blair, Adrienne, Kate, and Daniella, December 2001 in Calumet.

Russell, Dave Stimac (Vice-Mayor of Alberta and Assistant Dam Manager of Ford Lake Dam), Adrienne, Greer, and Kate on Halloween.

The Incoming Class - Fall of 2001.

* Adrienne Blauser. Hobart and William Smith College. French, Anthropology/Sociology major. Summer 2002, Fire Management Associate, BLM, Idaho.

* Marge Ely. State University of New York at Albany. Mathematics major, Business and Women's Studies minors. Headed for Nepal on Sept 14, 2002.

* Greer Gurganus. Eastern Michigan University. Earth Science major. In Togo.

* Kate Lincoln Povel. The University of Nebraska. Horticulture major. In Panama.

* Russell Slatton Povel. California State University at Chico. Geography major with focus in planning. Environmental Studies minor. Certificate in Geographic Information System Technology. In Panama.

* Daniella Zanin. University of Illinois - Chicago. Anthropology major and Women's Studies minor. In Panama.

The Incoming Class - Fall 2002

* Jason Anderson. LeTourneau University. Biology major.

* David Critton. BS Mechanical Engineering, University of Tulsa; MS Applied Behavioral Studies, Oklahoma State University. RPCV Botswana, RPCV Solomon Islands.

* Will Hart. University of Puget Sound. Major: Spanish. Minors: Environmental Studies, Latin American Studies.

* Panchita Paulete. Elon University. English Major. Communications Minor.

* Olaf Zerbock. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Major: Biology. Minor: Chemistry.

Other MTU Forestry / Applied Ecology (and other majors) Peace Corps Volunteers

Amy Collick was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Madagascar.

MTU almnus Dave Canavera and his wife Nancy served in Brazil.

Michigan Tech graduate Dan Malueg rode an elephant while he was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Nepal.

Mike Tighe - Paraguay

Michelle Laskowski - El Salvador

Eric Wergeland - China

Annette Gullickson - Cameroon

Jonathon D. Colman - Burkina Faso

Program Coordinator: Blair Orr

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Program Overview

The Master's International Program is a unique partnership between Michigan Tech and the Peace Corps which affords students the opportunity to incorporate Peace Corps service into a graduate program in forestry. The program involves nine months of intensive forestry education at Michigan Tech, three months of Peace Corps training, and two years of field work with Peace Corps. The first 12 weeks of fall semester (commonly known as Fall Camp) are located at the Ford Center and Research Forest in Alberta, Michigan and focus on fundamental field skills in forestry, overseas research and tropical forestry. The end of fall semester and spring semester are spent at the Michigan Tech campus in Houghton, Michigan. Students then take part in three months of Peace Corps technical, cross-cultural and language training in the country where they will work, followed by two years of Peace Corps service working to improve the environment with people who use and depend upon a healthy ecosystem for their livelihoods and that of their children. Students will return to Michigan Tech to complete their degree, typically in one additional academic term.

Forestry and the environment are the fastest growing fields in Peace Corps and Peace Corps fields more people in environmental work than any other group in the world. Seventeen percent of all volunteers are in environmental fields, and over half of these are in forestry. Peace Corps would place more forestry and environmental volunteers if enough skilled people were available.

The Michigan Tech/Peace Corps Master's International program not only develops the skills and knowledge to help meet these needs, but it gives participating students the confidence and credibility they need to make a difference on a grass-roots, people-to-people level. In addition, students gain two years of professional overseas field experience. Students gain through experiential learning.




"A child is like an axe; even if it hurts you, you still carry it on your shoulder."

-- African (Bemba) Proverb provided by Jenny Gronefeld.

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Who should be interested in this program?

The Master's International Program at Michigan Tech is designed for students who hold an undergraduate degree and demonstrate an interest in the environment, international development, and community service. The program will consider applicants with any undergraduate major. The only class prerequisite is one semester or one quarter of college-level chemistry. Students may be accepted contingent upon completion of a chemistry course. One course in introductory statistics is recommended, but not required. A language, especially French, followed by Spanish or Russian, will be considered desirable from the applicant's perspective. If you have one year of college-level or two years of high school-level language it will open up a wider set of possible placements within Peace Corps. If you haven't had a language and are still in an undergraduate program you should consider taking a year of French, Spanish, Russian, or Arabic.

If you have not completed a college-level chemistry course you will find they are offered by local colleges, universities, and community colleges. They can also be taken through independent learning or distance education programs such as the Independent Learning Program of the University of Wisconsin - Madison Extension. Be certain that you are enrolling in a college level course. Some colleges, universities, and community colleges offer pre-college level programs that will not meet the entry level requirements for the Peace Corps - Michigan Tech Master's International Program in Forestry.

We strongly recommend a college-level statistics class. If you have not had a statistics course you will be required to complete a statistics class during your first year at Michigan Tech.

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How does one apply to the program?

Students must apply to both the Peace Corps and Michigan Tech. Since Peace Corps requires US citizenship, you must be a US citizen to enter this program.

Peace Corps: Students must apply and be accepted to the Peace Corps. Students should indicate their interest in the Master's International Program on the Peace Corps application. Once the application is received, the student will be assigned a recruiter who will guide him/her through the Peace Corps application process. Further information is available by call 1-800-424-8580, option "1" after you connect, or by accessing the Peace Corps web site.

Specific information about Peace Corps application procedures.

Michigan Tech: Students apply through the standard application process to Michigan Technological University and must meet academic standards for entry into the Graduate School.

Entrance Requirements:

* Applicants must complete a bachelors degree and a college-level chemistry course prior to entering the program in the Fall. If you have not completed a college-level chemistry course you will find they are offered by local colleges, universities, and community colleges. They can also be taken through independent learning or distance education programs such as the Michigan Virtual University or the Independent Learning Program of the University of Wisconsin - Madison Extension. Be certain that you are enrolling in a college level course. Some colleges, universities, and community colleges offer pre-college level programs that will not meet the entry level requirements for the Peace Corps - Michigan Tech Master's International Program in Forestry.

* The School of Forestry and Wood Products generally requires a 3.0 GPA and a 1500 composite GRE score. Students who take the new GRE test should obtain a composite verbal and math score of 1000 and 3.5 on the analytical written test. For the MI program these standards are recommended but not required.. We will consider students who are strong in other areas, but have a lower GPA.

* You must think that living, working, and learning in a different culture will be exciting.

* You must have the flexibility to adapt to the unexpected. Peace Corps Volunteers learn to laugh about the delays and obstacles that are "part of the job."

* We recommend that applicants have completed a college-level statistics class. Students who have not completed a statistics class may be admitted, but they will be required to take a one-semester statistics class while at Michigan Tech. Students may also complete the statistics class through their local colleges, universities, and community colleges prior to arrival on campus or through distance education courses such as Math 250 at Ohio University or Stat3350C-W01 through the USDA grad school.

The Michigan Tech program is designed for students with an undergraduate degree in any field. The core program is designed for students with no previous course work in forestry. We can design specific programs for students who have some academic background in forestry, natural resources, or environmental studies or who have a Bachelor of Science in Forestry or a related field.

Send the following materials

* Application Form

* Original Transcripts of all college work

* GRE Scores - When you fill out the GRE application the Institution Number for Michigan Technological University is 1464 and the Department Code is 0108.

* $30.00 non-refundable application fee

to:

Dean of the Graduate School Michigan Technological University 1400 Townsend Drive Houghton, MI 49931

Send the following materials

* Personal Resume

* 1-2 page description of your background and interest in the MI program (A letter of intent)

* Three letters of recommendation

to:

Chairperson, Graduate Studies Committee School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science Michigan Technological University 1400 Townsend Drive Houghton, MI 49931




Michigan Tech application forms are also available through this site.

Michigan Tech applications for the 2003-2004 program, to begin in August of 2003, are currently being accepted on a first-come first-served basis for qualified applicants. We also the recommend, but do not require, financial aid applications be filed at the same time. Michigan Tech now works directly on financial aid and the FAFSA form should be sent using the MTU financial aid code (002292).

General information about Federal financial aid.




Good Idea: Students should maintain contact with Blair Orr, the Coordinator in the School of Forestry and Wood Products, and their Peace Corps recruiter while they are applying to the program.




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What are the benefits?

Students participating in the Master's International Program at Michigan Tech receive a Master of Science in Forestry as well as all of the benefits associated with Peace Corps service. Peace Corps benefits include transportation to and from the country, a monthly living allowance, a $6,000 readjustment allowance disbursed when the student completes two years of Peace Corps service, medical care and coverage while a Peace Corps volunteer, and noncompetitive eligibility for federal jobs. In addition, tuition costs at Michigan Tech are waived for academic credit earned while in the Peace Corps.

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What is the cost?

Michigan Tech grants Peace Corps tuition status to students in the Peace Corps Masters International Program who have been "nominated" by Peace Corps. Nomination means that your application to Peace Corps has been approved by the regional recruiting office and forwarded to the Washington office for medical, legal, and other clearances. Once you are nominated you will be eligible for the Peace Corps tuition rate. The Peace Corps tuition rate is equivalent to the resident tuition rate. For 2002-2003 resident tuition is $6,372 per academic year. In contrast, non-resident tuition is $11,952 per academic year. You can expect a modest increase in resident tuition for the 2003-2004 academic year.

Tuition and fees are not charged for credits earned during Peace Corps service overseas. The University's Alexander Leggat Fund supports tuition for students overseas.

The estimated living expenses and other fees in the Houghton area is $2800/semester. Students can apply for financial aid through Michigan Tech by first filing a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form. The code for Michigan Tech on a FAFSA form is 002292. A $500 work study award is offered to all Master's International students at Michigan Tech during their first year in the program.

The Loret Miller Ruppe Scholarship is available only to students in this program. The Scholarship is awarded to students in the semester following their two years in Peace Corps.

The Lillian Baklarz International Forestry Development Fund supports the special project Peace Corps work students may develop in the field.

General information about Federal financial aid.

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Michigan Tech Master's International Graduate Course Work

The International Forestry Curriculum is a blend of traditional forestry courses, several ecology courses, and several courses and seminars specifically created for this program. All are applicable to your work as a Peace Corps Volunteer.

The sequence of courses is also designed to leave the student the option of developing a Master's Degree program as a thesis degree, a project degree, or a course-work only degree.

Graduate committees routinely substitute other appropriate courses for students who have completed any of the required courses during their undergraduate program.

Courses for Students Entering in Fall 2002.

Fall Semester

* FW5700 Graduate Field Forestry - 7 cr. (includes Silviculture, Insects and Diseases of Forest Ecosystems, Multi-Resource Assessment, Global Positioning Systems, Timber Harvesting, and Wildlife Habitat)

* FW5760 Graduate Tropical Forestry - 2 cr.

* FW5750 Tropical Soil and Watershed Management - 1 cr.

* FW5740 Overseas Research - 1 cr.

Spring Semester

* FW5710 Trees in Agricultural Systems - 3 cr.

* FW3540 Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Systems in Natural Resource Management - 4 cr. (Students are not required to take FW3540 during this semester but must take either FW3540 or FW 5550 - Geographic Information Systems for Resource Management when they return from Peace Corps service.)

* CE5993 Civil & Environmental Engineering in the Developing World - 2 cr.

* MA2720 or equivalent. Principles of Statistics 4 cr. Required of students who do not have an undergraduate statistics course.

* 3 credits of electives.

Peace Corps Service

* FW5730 International Forestry Practicum 1 cr. per academic semester including the summer.

Upon Return from Peace Corps Service

* FW5999 Graduate Research in Forestry. variable credits.

* FW5720 Seminar in International Forestry 1 cr.

* FW5800 Graduate Seminar in Forestry 1 cr.

30 credits required to graduate. No more than 12 credits in 3000 and 4000 level courses.

This set of courses was designed cooperatively with the US Peace Corps. It will provide a set of skills for both forestry and environmental education placement in Peace Corps and work in forestry and environmental sciences in the United States.

The School of Forestry and Wood Products at Michigan Tech is one of 48 accredited forestry programs in the United States.

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Seretse Khama

Seretse Khama was the first president of Botswana. Peace Corps Volunteers were invited to Botswana just prior to the country's independence. At the time Botswana was surrounded (except for one ferry to Zambia) by South Africa, Rhodesia, and Southwest Africa - all segregated states. The Peace Corps Volunteers were welcomed as they helped break down the walls of segregation within Botswana.

"[The volunteers] could be seen with Batswana friends at the film shows in the Town Hall, which Seretse and his family often attended"

--- source: Seretse Khama: 1921-1980. by Parsons, Henderson, and Tlou.

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The Statistical Peace Corps Volunteer (Extracted from The Peace Corps Bulletin - 1998 and 2000)

Currently, 6,800 Peace Corps Volunteers serve in 77 different countries.

7% of all volunteers are married, 93% are not. (1998, 8% were married.)

35% serve in Africa, 35% in Inter-America and the Pacific, and 30% in Europe, the Mediterranean and Asia.

38% of the volunteers work in education, 18% in the environment, including forestry, 19% in health, 12% in business, 8% in agriculture, and 4% in other areas. Natural resources and the environment is the fastest growing field.

7% of the volunteers are 50 years old or older. The average age is 29.

62% are female and 38% are male.

14% are minorities.

More volunteers have served in the Philippines than any other country: 8,700 volunteers.

The first Peace Corps Volunteers left for Ghana in August of 1961. Since then more than 160,000 Americans have served in 132 countries.




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Other Good Links

Michigan Tech

* General Information about Michigan Tech

* The School of Forestry and Wood Products at Michigan Tech

* Michigan Tech also has a Peace Corps Masters' International in Civil and Environmental Engineering.

* Michigan Tech has an active International Programs Office.

* Read Keweenaw Now, the finest and most accurate reporting in Houghton and Keweenaw Counties.

Peace Corps

* General Information about Peace Corps.

* General Information about the Peace Corps Master's International Program.

Peace Corps and Traveling Home. We're not endorsing anybody, just providing information. If you have any suggestions to add to this list let me know (bdorr@mtu.edu).

* Airtreks.com specializes in one-way international flights. Give them advance notice if you want them to work up an exotic ticket for you.

* More help with travel: Travel Is Fun is owned by Jeff Jenks, an RPCV, the Philippines '62-'64.

* Health Insurance: International Medical Group.

* Health Insurance: Wallach and Company.

* Health Insurance: Global Underwriters Agency Inc.

* * About - Travel is a general travel information site.

Informal Peace Corps - I haven't built up all of the possible Peace Corps links, but here are a few of the best. They will link you to lots of Peace Corps information.

* . Peace Corps Crossroads is a site with interesting and unofficial information about Peace Corps. In fact, there is more information here than you could possibly imagine.

* * PeaceCorpsOnline.org has news, information, and specific country by country PC links and contacts.

* The National Peace Corps Association, lots of information about and connections to Returned Peace Corps Volunteers.

* Chicago Area Peace Corps Assocation. Many links put together by Chicago's large Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Group.

* The Lesbian, Gay, & Bisexual Returned Peace Corps Volunteers has a web page with advice and information.

* Yahoo. has a specific page related to Peace Corps web sites.

* Friends of Guinea Page, maintained by Stephanie Chasteen. Click on Stephanie's page for lots of interesting Peace Corps pictures and information.

* Yahoo has a club for PCVs, RPCVs, and people considering joining the Peace Corps.

The Environment, Forestry, and Agriculture

* Agriculture and Research Organizations on the Web. A Web directory compiled by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). It includes forestry research organizations. You can also visit their home page.

* The Committee for the National Institute for the Environment has a series of environmental policy papers developed for Congress. Most focus on the US, but some have a global perspective.

* * Planeta.com has a wide range of information, everything from helping you be a responsible tourist to links on forestry, tourism, mountains ...

* * Gene Conserve * is an electronic journal devoted to conservation of crop genetic resources with emphasis on cassava.

* The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification. .

* The Central African Regional Program for the Environment (CARPE) is partially supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the US Peace Corps. The CARPE site has many good links.

* Rice University has a page on Conservation Biology with links to other sites.

* Eldis has many links on environment and development.

* The Overseas Development Institute's Forest Policy and Environment Group Publications page has lots of good information

* Current Deforestation Statistics for the Amazon Basin in Brazil.

* The Forest, Trees and People Newsletter.

* The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has forestry and environmental statistics, their journal "Unasylva" and a variety of other information on line.

* Winrock International has forestry and agriculture information. Winrock's FACT Net has some good links and information on useful publications.

* CAMASE has a listing of agro-ecological models.

* The Resources Himalaya website. Information on resource conservation in the Himalayas and also land use and elevation maps.

* The World Conservation Monitoring Centre has information on forest resources, biodiversity, marine resources, international conventions and much more.

* Vetas, Argentine Forestry and Wood Science magazine (in Spanish).

* You can access the Indigenous Knowledge and Development Monitor, a list of scholars working on Africa, and other resources through the Nuffic page.

* The Famine Early Warning System has good information about Subsharan Africa.

* Jorge Marcone has some interesting links to information about Amazonia.

* The Canadian International Development Agency Forestry Advisors Network has a page with information on their work as well as some pages with good basic information on international forestry.

* The Iwokrama International Centre for Rain Forest Conservation and Development in Guyana has a nice page. There is a short section on rain forest ecology geared for general interest and children at the bottom of the page.

* The Agroforester publishes an online newsletter about agroforestry. Back copies are on its web page.

* The Bibliography on the Conservation of Biological Diversity is found at the bottom of Steve Polasky's page and is organized by subtopic.

* The International Society of Tropical Foresters is just what it claims, an organization representing tropical foresters from around the world.

* The Food and Agriculture Organization has a page on the Dimensions of Sustainable Development.

* *AMARANTH TO ZAI HOLES: Ideas for Growing Food Under Difficult Conditions* is a great internet book on tropical agriculture put out by ECHO.

* The Mountain Forum looks at environmental and social aspects of mountains.

* The 2000/01 World Development Report prepared by the World Bank is now available.

* The International Programs Office of the USDA Forest Service has a news page.

* The Directorate of Environmental Affairs from Namibia.

* A bibliographic and image database on non-timber forest products. The heading says "USA" but the bibliographic database is international.

* A paper on Participatory Management of Natural Resources.

* A bibliography on the Environmental History of Latin America.

* The Association for Tropical Biology - including a link to the Tropinet Newsletter.

* The Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural Areas home page.

* NatureServe, a new "online encylopedia of life" developed by the Association for Biodiversity Information (ABI).

* *AGRIPPA - FAO peer-reviewed electronic journal on agriculture*

* The Changemakers web site has information on social change around the world.

* * Engineers without Borders - USA.

* A database on fish from all over the place.

* The Journal of the Professional Association for Cactus Development.

* A web page on Rivers and Riparian Zones of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.

* The FAO timber harvesting publications web page.

Travel, Living, and Working Abroad

* US State Department's Country Studies for 85 countries.

* State Department Travel Information by country.

* Traveldocs has a large collection of international travel information.

* Planeta.com has information and sells great guide books on ecotourism. Focus on Central and South America.

* Universal Currency Converter - Exchange Rates - Part I.

* Pacific Exchange Rate Service - Exchange Rates - Part II.

* International Travel Health - The US Center for Disease Control - comprehensive.

* International Travel Health - An Australian View, check their links

* The Journal of African Travel-Writing - Number 2 has stories by returned Peace Corps volunteers.

* A Salary Calculator to help you figure out comparable cost of living for various cities in the US and abroad. It is slanted towards the US, but does include Maseru, Lesotho.

* The State Department provides quarterly cost of living indices for countries around the world.

* IRG has information on getting ready to live abroad, living abroad, and returning. The focus of their work is more on professionals than volunteers, but there is still some good information here.

* TCK World if so for Third Culture Kids, children who have lived overseas.

* And, if you make it to Tanzania, visit the Sukuma Museum.

New Zealand students at Michigan Tech.

* Nigel Pink , from New Zealand, visited the Keweenaw Peninsula in the summer of 1998. This is his brief review of the summer.

* Marcus Musson, also from New Zealand, was a visiting research scholar in the summer of 1999..




Unofficial Peace Corps Email List

You can join an unofficial Peace Corps email list and discuss Peace Corps with returned Peace Corps Volunteers and PCVs-to-be. The list has about 300 members and generates 3 to 10 messages per day. To subscribe send to:

listserv@cmuvm.csv.cmich.edu

Do not list a subject or signature and send the following as the message:

SUB PCORPS-L yourfirstname yourlastname




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How to Reach Us

This page is maintained by Blair Orr, the Coordinator of this program in the Michigan Tech School of Forestry and Wood Products. Page content, including linked pages, includes comments from Peace Corps Volunteers. The opinions on this page and the linked pages do not neccessarily reflect official opinion of the US Peace Corps or Michigan Technological University.

I can be reached at bdorr@mtu.edu

Blair Orr School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science Michigan Technological University 1400 Townsend Drive Houghton MI 49931 USA

phone: (906) 487-2291 or 1-800-966-3764.

fax: (906) 487-2915

Michigan Technological University is an equal opportunity educational institution/equal opportunity employer.

Most recent update: 10 December 2002.

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