{"id":23350,"date":"2026-05-20T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/?p=23350"},"modified":"2026-05-18T17:09:25","modified_gmt":"2026-05-18T21:09:25","slug":"testing-their-limits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/2026\/05\/20\/testing-their-limits\/","title":{"rendered":"Testing Their Limits"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Students leapt out of their textbooks and across the hemisphere this past winter. After a semester studying ecological theory and research methods, students in professors Catherine Cardel\u00fas and Eddie Watkins\u2019 Tropical Ecology extended-study course took a three-week excursion across Peru, conducting research from the Amazon rainforest to the Andes Mountains. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Students tackled rigorous preparations before embarking: designing research projects, getting comfortable with advanced statistics and biology, and gaining sociocultural insight into the regions they would explore. The greatest challenges, however, came in the field: braving harsh and unpredictable weather, gathering data in taxing conditions, and developing presentations and papers on their findings under the canopies and atop mountains. <\/p>\n\n\n

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The course\u2019s central mission is immersion: Students physically interact with the ecosystems they studied in the fall semester, getting their hands dirty as they learn beyond theory. Advanced scientific coursework and background provided a solid foundation, but nothing could fully prepare them for the realities of fieldwork \u2014 anything goes in the jungle and on the mountain. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cardel\u00fas, a field biologist, teaches the course from a theoretical standpoint, while engaging students in interactive field research, sparking their passion for physical environmental learning. \u201cStudents learn to think critically about theory from the literature, and then they test those theories in the ecosystems themselves,\u201d she explains. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Across three distinct elevational gradients, students learned to watch birds, collect and analyze soil samples, and measure trees, facing unforeseen challenges at each site. There was thin air and freezing temperatures at higher elevations, while lower elevations welcomed the researchers with relentless rain, stiff humidity, and limited amenities. While adapting to these conditions, students balanced active research, precision in new data analysis, and creating group and individual presentations, while moving between lab sites and elevations with all their gear. The real test of the grueling trip \u2014 or \u201ccrucible,\u201d as Cardel\u00fas endearingly calls the exploration \u2014 was measured in their mental strength and scientific growth. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMany students don\u2019t realize how well prepared they are or how capable they are of success. Watching [students] discover more about themselves is the absolute most exciting part,\u201d Cardel\u00fas says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Peruvian excursion began in Cusco, with a highlight being a two-day boat trip from Manu to Tambo Blanquillo and the Los Amigos Biological Station. This experience allowed students to absorb the glory of the forests while also confronting the impacts gold mining has \u2014 an ongoing ecological issue they studied throughout the semester. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe time we spent in nature gives us more reason to go out and protect it,\u201d reflects Daytona Doherty \u201926. \u201cWe do not protect what we do not know. You can\u2019t experience this just by reading a book; you need to go out and be a part of it.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The trip inspired Doherty, a biology and psychology double major, to consider new protection strategies for these diverse ecosystems through the lens of conversational psychology \u2014 studying the reciprocal relationship between humans and nature to promote sustainable and productive climate action. Students connected their classroom work and realworld experiences to explore the impacts of climate change on biodiversity, cultures, and local communities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amid grueling hikes, 4 a.m. wake-up calls, and mosquito-ridden nights, the cohort became a family. Students supported each other through humor, capturing memories and challenges on their blog, and soaking up unique aspects of the terrain together. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFieldwork in the rainforest was challenging both mentally and physically, from smelly clothes to fear of being stung by a bullet ant,\u201d reflects Lottie Allen-Emerson \u201928. \u201cBut it brought me closer to my peers in a way I never would have without this shared experience. You learn a lot about a person when you\u2019re pooping in the rainforest while hunting for dung beetles, or birding at 5 a.m., looking out across the cloud forest, but also in the simpler moments, like sharing meals, enjoying a view, or playing cards between project meetings.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cardel\u00fas emphasizes student independence and curiosity as a key component of the trip. \u201cI love watching students surprise themselves at their own capacity \u2014 taking risks and embracing the discomfort,\u201d she says. \u201cThey start out relying on [professors], but by the last site, they don\u2019t need me anymore, and they can\u2019t believe it. That is my whole goal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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