UNH Today

Daisy Burns has developed a love for learning outside the classroom. 

作为一名在联合国大学主修公共政策和可持续发展的经济学学生 Peter T. Paul College of Business and Economics and a sustainability dual major, Burns has taken advantage of many field experiences provided through The Changemaker Collaborative. 

Recently, Burns '24 took her field experience to new heights, 2023年上半年，他将沉浸在坦桑尼亚的荒野和哥斯达黎加的热带雨林中.  

她的旅程始于在坦桑尼亚实地研究学院的一个学期. Upon its conclusion, she extended her stay in Tanzania, courtesy of a $10,000 UNH International Changemaker Grant. This allowed her to collaborate with the Outreach Program, a nonprofit corporation, to provide safe water, food, medical care and education in Nkungi, Tanzania. Following that experience, 伯恩斯重新回到了实地研究学院，在哥斯达黎加学习了一个月. 

“整个经历提醒我们，在全球范围内，还有很多东西需要学习,” Burns says. “I’ve learned a lot about sustainability and conservation from my courses, 但是很难从这么远的地方对事物有一个宏观的理解. But, when you visit another country and learn about a specific community, you start seeing things differently.” 

In Tanzania, 伯恩斯有机会学习野生动物管理，并参加了野生动物生态学的课程, directed research, environmental policy and Swahili language and culture. 她说，这与她对可持续发展/环境保护的兴趣非常吻合.  

坦桑尼亚有各种各样的野生动物，包括狮子、大象、豹子、水牛和犀牛. 伯恩斯有机会观察到这些动物在自然栖息地的放牧习惯. 

“It was such a surreal and incredible experience, 尤其是与野生动物管理和生态学教授合作，因为他们能够给我们提供更多的背景信息,” says Burns.  

伯恩斯和她的同学还越过边境到肯尼亚旅行了两个星期, 他们在那里了解到肯尼亚和坦桑尼亚在保护政策上的差异. 

The final part of the semester involved a large research project. Collaborating with fellow students from Harvard, Virginia Tech and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, 伯恩斯调查了气候变化对埃亚西湖盆地两个土著部落的影响. 

他们的工作包括与Hadzabe和Datoga部落成员进行了70多次访谈和四个社区焦点小组，以收集他们对气候变化及其适应的看法的数据. The team produced a final research paper with multiple recommendations on how to start addressing climate change. 

“It was a great group. 这项研究是我们都非常热衷的事情，它让我们一起工作变得非常容易,” she says. “我认为这项研究最让人震惊的是，我们去别人家里进行调查是多么正常，他们对我们是多么欢迎, complete strangers.” 

Burns’ summer experience in Costa Rica focused on environmental justice, water access and management and tourism’s impact on biodiversity. 

“We talked a lot about biodiversity. Costa Rica has a significant percentage of the world’s biodiversity, so conservation is especially important there,” Burns says. “We had the opportunity to learn about the country’s many unique ecosystems. Specifically, 我们了解了气候变化对这些生态系统的不同影响，以及这对该国乃至世界生物多样性的威胁.” 

Burns' interest in sustainability and conservation has grown over the years, 正是这种热情吸引了她来到UNH和保罗学院. Burns was a Changemaker Fellow in her freshmen year and entered the Social Venture Innovation Challenge with her nutrient reclamation start-up. 

伯恩斯说，经济学专业帮助她了解了在坦桑尼亚和哥斯达黎加讨论的许多自然保护和气候变化问题的全球背景. In addition, 经济学还为她提供了一个更广阔的社会和环境问题的图景，以及解决这些问题的不同方式.

While Burns is still contemplating her career options, 她最近的经历使她倾向于从事与环境保护有关的职业, sustainable development and plenty of field experience.  

 “I think UNH has definitely solidified what it means to have a career in sustainability; that sustainability is intertwined with any industry and should be factored in at all levels of decision making,” she says.