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Environmental Humanities in the Cape Fear River Watershed
The Cape Fear Watershed Project CFWP) uses the humanities to connect natural- and social-science studies of a major bioregion of NC.
Locations of photo reflections made by students in the Summer 2024 GES670: Cape Fear River Watershed class.
Watersheds for Place-Based, Experiential Education
Funded by the “Humanities Initiatives” of the National Endowment for the Humanities (2022-24)
The Cape Fear Watershed Project (CFWP) uses the humanities to connect natural- and social-science studies of a major bioregion of North Carolina. Our environmental humanities initiative emphasizes collaborative, place-based interdisciplinary teaching with benefits for graduate and undergraduate students together with our watershed communities.
Watersheds provide a natural organizing principle to study people and places: they integrate space, time, biophysical systems, and humans, while also encompassing the complex interactions of biophysical and social systems. The Cape Fear River is one example of how people interact with place: its watershed (the only major one entirely within North Carolina) offers opportunities to explore topics concerning human interactions with the environment and social manifestations related to place. The CFWP uses the watershed to reflect on social connections and human relationships in and with nature, all with the aim of creating a shared sense of community that leads to greater responsibility for the human and non-human life in our region.
In May 2024, Dr. Sarah Praskievicz (Associate Professor in the Department of Geography, Environment, and Sustainability at UNCG) and Nathan Rector (Ph.D. Candidate in Geography at UNCG and Director of Duke University's Outdoor Adventures program) taught GES670: Environment and Experience as a one-week field-based exploration of the Cape Fear River watershed. Eight students in UNCG's Master of Science in Sustainability and the Environment (MSSE) program took part in this experiential education opportunity. They journeyed from the watershed's headwaters in Greensboro all the way down to Wilmington and Carolina Beach. Along the way, they paddled sections of the Cape Fear River and its tributaries, hiked through varied ecosystems, and met with representatives of environmental nonprofits and other professionals working to conserve and restore the watershed. The students made daily photo reflections of the places they encountered on their journey. A selection of their photo reflections can be seen in this Cape Fear Watershed Project StoryMap.