A new environmental science minor arrives at Flagler during a season of political and economic change

“Can I swab a shrimp?”

A young woman in chest-high waders is ready to join the activities of her companions, who are gently swiping cotton along specimens: anchovies, tiny crabs, shrimp. On a strip of shore by the dam at Guana-Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve, Flagler College assistant professor Terri Seron’s biology students have gathered little squirming things from a net with latex-clad hands.

Someone asks Dr. Seron if she’s collected enough of whatever she was supposed to get; the samples don’t appear much different than they did before sliding across a crustacean’s back. “Don’t worry,” Seron says. “Those bacteria will be all over that swab.”

The students are getting their first taste of the local, hands-on research opportunities that inspired Seron and Barbara Blonder, assistant professor and coordinator of natural sciences at Flagler, to launch a new environmental science minor. It’s the first natural sciences minor Flagler College has ever offered, and it’s drawing the interest of students with majors in communication, education, business and more.

Awareness and Resources
With news about global warming and “green” living making headlines around the country, the environmental science minor also has good timing. Back in her office, Seron pulls out the September 2008 issue of “Nature” magazine. The cover doesn’t feature plants or animals or a DNA double helix; it shows close-ups of Barack Obama and John McCain. Science has become one of the hottest topics of public debate in the United States.

“Awareness,” Seron said. “People are really starting to be aware that our planet is in some trouble … You pick up any newspaper or magazine, and they’re talking about these issues: stem cell research, flu shots, antibiotic resistance.”

Seron’s background is in biology. She focuses on very specific issues in her research, spending her summers at coral reefs in Bermuda. In her postdoctoral work, she used molecular biology to determine the coral genes that respond to heat, chemicals and tissue injury — the stressors that are bleaching and decimating reefs.

In the classroom, she helps students understand the impact of what they’re studying: how science intersects with politics, ethics, business and health.

“The cells we’re talking about in class are not some abstract idea – you’re made up of these, and more than half are bacteria cells,” Seron said. She adds that her classes analyze everything from atoms to the human brain, “learning about themselves in ways they probably haven’t thought about.

“Why do we have all the problems we have when doctors have laid out the entire human genome?” she said. “Should we ever rule out things to study? What about ‘designer’ babies? We can do that today, but should we?”

Blonder’s experience is a bit broader, more systemic. She’s focused on ecology and conservation; she worked for The Nature Conservancy for nine years, and another 10-plus years doing research on “everything from spiny lobsters to gopher tortoises to fire ecology.”

The professional connections she made during those years – along with Seron’s – will yield a variety of unique opportunities for Flagler environmental science minors. When they graduate, Blonder said, they’ll have the competitive edge of “practical field and research experience” and the relationships built from it.

“They are going to practice science, and these partnerships are really important,” Blonder said. Possible research locations include the marshy Guana Reserve, the Atlantic Ocean, the St. Johns River, the Ocala National Forest and a variety of state parks. “The college is now poised to take advantage of our unique bio-geographic setting,” Blonder said.

Making a Living in the ‘Green’ Movement
In addition to conducting hands-on research, Flagler environmental science minors are preparing for careers in a variety of fields.

Denise Liberi is a graphic design major who recently added the environmental science minor. She creates advertising and digital 3-D architectural models for the Green Home Store, a St. Augustine business that designs and builds sustainable, energy-efficient homes. She hopes to leverage her experience at thecompany – along with her new minor – into a career as an architect.

“The classes are not only ones that interest me, but they will also help me in my future career goals,” Liberi said. “We have a long way to go and a lot of work to do, but I’ve been inspired by the rapidly expanding ‘green’ movement. There are people all over the world who are working to educate and change our environmentally detrimental lifestyles.”

Education majors can benefit from environmental science studies and go on to remedy the “absolute dearth of science teachers,” Blonder said. Business majors, she added, will gain knowledge that’s “very marketable for today’s economy.” One of the real-world projects Blonder requires students to complete is a cost-benefit analysis for reducing the environmental impact of a department on campus.

Flagler communication majors have taken a special interest in environmental science, as well. Students Aslyn Baringer and Nathan Edwards will graduate too soon to add and fulfill all the requirements of the new minor, but they recently decided to focus production of FCTV Journal, a Flagler-produced community news program, on local environmental issues. They’ve produced shows on topics like beach erosion, reusable shopping bags and alternative transportation.

“Really, every major needs to know this kind of stuff,” Baringer said. She believes environmental education will continue to grow as people see a need for it. The “green” movement could be mistaken for a passing trend among her generation, she said, but she thinks it has sticking power. She and Edwards have seen a rise in concern for environmental issues coming from their parents’ generation, as well.

“It’s come into sight and into view because it’s necessary,” Baringer said. “It’s not just because you can get a shirt that says ‘Go Green.’ ”

“I think it’s definitely a fad, but through this fad people are being educated,” Edwards said, adding that the price of oil will continue to encourage sustainability in the long run: “You have a lot of people who are being forced to change because of their wallets.”

In the Future
About a month after these interviews, Barack Obama was elected president. Gas prices in St. Augustine fell to $1.64, and similar averages were seen throughout the country. The economic crisis demolished many people’s savings and retirement, and unemployment was rising steadily.

Changes came, and the reactions to them ranged from elation to utter fear. Some people have speculated that environmental issues will draw less attention until the cost of oil rises again, but Blonder said she remains optimistic about the future of the “green” movement.

“I lived through the first gas crisis in the ‘70s, and 20 years later, everyone’s driving SUVs,” Blonder said. “But this feels different to me. If we continue to have beach erosion like we’ve had and hurricanes like we’ve had … it’s been directly correlated with a change in the temperature.

“I don’t think this is a short-term trend. All these things seem to be converging at once … If we can equip our students with the skill sets to go out into the market in a time when environmental careers and technology are really starting to gain momentum, they’re going to be on the ground floor of this at a time when other job markets are shrinking.”

Innovation is the key to creating worldwide awareness and improving environmental conditions, Blonder said. There are tough global issues to address, like how to reduce the pollution and waste being produced by burgeoning economies in India and China – countries that, given their recent growth rates, will soon exceed the United States’ contributions to green house gasses.

Those kinds of problems are exactly what Flagler environmental science minors are hoping to learn about and, eventually, have a part in solving.

“Do we stop them [India and China] from their economic development, when they’re simply doing what we did 50 years ago?” Blonder said. “We can develop and export technology like nobody else, cleaner and greener technology … that’s more efficient, and that’s what it comes down to.

“We need to give them alternatives they’re not going to be able to ignore … I think there’s a real turnaround from science phobia to seeing science and technology as a solution, and I think our students are going to be uniquely positioned to take advantage of these opportunities.”

On the Ground
At the Guana Reserve, Seron’s students are releasing their shrimp and other living samples back into the water. They’re packing up equipment and heading to the other side of the dam to do more tests: salinity, wind velocity, temperature, acidity, water clarity.

The last student to leave is walking away when something catches her eye. She freezes, turns around and heads back to the site. She stoops to pick up a small slip of paper from the sand, and places it carefully in the trash. Seron looks back and sees this.

“Thank you,” she says, and then more firmly: “Thank you.”

Web Exclusive Story: Flagler goes a little greener
Find out what Flagler is doing to reduce its carbon footprint.
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