By: Magnus Ames, Carleton College
Ever heard of Chilean Thanksgiving? Maybe? No…? Me either, but our lamb-themed asado (lamb roast) decked out with sweet bread, mashed potatoes, apple crisp, and much more almost fits the part.
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By: Magnus Ames, Carleton College
Ever heard of Chilean Thanksgiving? Maybe? No…? Me either, but our lamb-themed asado (lamb roast) decked out with sweet bread, mashed potatoes, apple crisp, and much more almost fits the part.
By: Sophie Pentz, Duke University
I was halfway through my lunch when a small red head emerged from a hole above me, head turning, one yellow eye glancing curiously down at us far below. Then suddenly, in a flurry of feathers, it’s off, soaring through the trees with its majestic wings outstretched. We’ve found a woodpecker! Instantly, everyone is on their feet, research gear is being pulled out, and I turn on my GPS ready to follow the bird through the
forest.
By: Sam Holmes, University of Vermont
At the beginning of October, we had the opportunity to participate in a replanting activity with a group called Escualos. They are a youth-led group out of Cochrane, working to protect the Cochrane River. This planting project aimed to transform the area around the water sports center into habitat that would have short and long-term impacts.
By: Nico Hochanadel, University of Vermont
Now that it’s 10:00 am, we can start walking. You are in charge of the compass and your job is to ensure that we continue to walk due north. A few minutes later we see our first guanaco! You mark the waypoint on the GPS and read out to me the distance and orientation of the guanaco while I record everything on the data sheet.
By: Colin Lane, University of Vermont
One of the first mornings, about twenty minutes before my alarm was set to go off, a group of elephants wandered down the trail they’d made. I laid silent and listened as they walked around the edge of camp, thankfully on the side opposite our tents. They wouldn’t have done anything to our tents of course, but I still would’ve been nervous having an elephant step a few meters from my head.
By: Noah Besemann, CSBSJU
Just two kilometers from the center of town, Camping Aquasol is the primary host of the Round River Conservation Studies Patagonia program. Located on the bank of the Rio (River) Cochrane, Aquasol also operates as a family ranch and homestead, with the sheep and chickens grazing through our campsite on rotation.
By: Sierra Rothman-Haji, Colby College
One of the most memorable moments was stumbling upon a male elephant carcass. The experience of getting to see elephant tusks up close, as well as touching the foot pads and skin, was once in a lifetime!
By: Margaret Lowell, Carleton College
In the Santiago airport, I was able to meet up with the group. As we all traded our names and long travel stories, I could tell everyone was exhausted but excited to be finally starting the trip we had all long awaited.
By: Sam Hoving, Carleton College
Less than a minute later, I heard a loud crinkle and vigorous scampering, as a vervet monkey climbed his way out of reach into a tree, my chips in tow.
By: Wyatt Skopov-Normane, University of Vermont
Despite the harsh nature of the environments we traversed – high winds, low moisture, frozen soils, among others – I was captivated by the diverse spread of plants and flowers. There were many plants that I learned to identify, but a few stand out as my favorite encounters.
By: Michael Minnick, University of Tennessee, Chattanooga
How do animals like grizzlies and moose disappear so easily into the landscape? It felt as though most of the animals were moving through the landscape like ghosts, leaving only hints of their existence for us to see. I think it was this thought that made me realize something: this land and its ecosystems have been here for so much longer than I could truly comprehend.
By: Lauren Schagel, Lake Superior State University.
I loosely held the base of their tail, supported them with my other hand under their belly, and got to tell them they will be alright. I got to see each salmon swim out to Kuthai Lake, continuing their long journey back home.
By: Karyssa Hiller, University of Vermont
Avoiding bears is truly an art. We constantly talked, whistled, or sang to avoid surprising a bear and startling it.
By: Ruby Borden, Carleton College
At the end of the day, we each took a piece of the glacier home with us, some of us as dust in our boots and others as pounds of rocks we carried in our packs…
By: Sophie Scothern, Montana State University & Tristan Jeo, University of Oregon
In Mongolia, you learn quickly that not every Furgon ride goes according to plan…
By: Fabian Espinoza & Greyson Fesko, SUNY College of Environmental Science & Forestry
Fabian and Greyson walk you through what their days on the Mongolia Summer 2025 program have been like!
By: Tim Hayden, University of Vermont
Join Tim for a look into surveying for viscacha (a type of small rodent).
Then I tilted my head down to see more clearly and saw that a Western Barn Owl was sitting in the car by my feet.