Why I'm Here

Hello! My name is Amy Falcão, a third-year senior in the College of Arts and Sciences. I'm an Environmental Science major with a concentration in Conservation Biology and Biodiversity and a minor in Zoology. With that information, it might be fairly easy to assume what my motivations are when taking a class such as Ecosystem Ecology. My goal with my education is to learn how to contribute to the conservation and preservation of all kinds of life on Earth. One of the biggest parts of these potential conservancy efforts is the availability of habitats and ecosystems. Whether trying to conserve flora or fauna, it is critical to have a functional ecosystem that is capable of supporting biodiversity, otherwise the efforts put into saving a species of any kind would be futile. I am currently enrolled in another course with similar objectives as this class, Recovery and Restoration of Altered Ecosystems (ENSC 201). However that course looks at ecosystems in a post-trauma way, and in order to fix a system which has experienced alterations you must first understand the numerous complexities that exist within the ecosystem to get it back to it's most functional and natural state. That is what I am hoping to get out of this class, a better understanding of all of this. Even more important than the simple understanding, is the practical applications of that knowledge. 
Most importantly for me, is the hope for our Earth's future that I sometimes gain in classes such as this. I know that sounds odd, considering most of the classes I have taken at UVM in the ENSC program are very pessimistic. For instance, the video shown in class on the first day was heart-breaking. To someone not as involved in the environmental movement, it seems almost like a death sentence. Which it very well could be. However, taking classes such as this gives me hope that there are solutions out there. Even better than that, I get the knowledge and practice necessary to be a part of these solutions. It is really more than just a major I had to pick when I got to college so I could get a job and live the normal American life. I am truly passionate about these issues, and all of the information I have collected in the past two and half years, and will continue to collect in this class and others, are all vitally important in me being the change I want to see in the world. To fix the problem you must understand it. In the case of the environment, that understanding goes much deeper than most and the complexity is immense. But it is classes like this that I hope to open the door to those complexities that are near unfathomable to many.