APPLETON, WIS. — Micha Jackson is convinced she was born a conservationist.
Among her earliest memories are moments of complete fascination with anything that crawled, wiggled, ran, floated or swam. As a 10-year old, she heard frogs all over the world were dying, so she set out to catch tadpoles, protect them through their growth period and then release them back into ponds as frogs to help the situation.
That early sense of wonder for creatures great and small has since developed into a passion for the natural world and a desire to help preserve its beauty and diversity in the face of increasing human encroachment
Jackson will soon have an opportunity to practice her passion when she begins a year-long investigation of coastal marine resources thanks to the Providence, R.I.-based Thomas J. Watson Foundation. Jackson was named one of 50 national recipients of a $25,000 fellowship, which support a year of independent travel and exploration outside the United States on a topic of the student’s choosing.
Beginning in August, Jackson, 20, will embark on an examination of culturally different approaches to conservationism that will take her to Oman, Australia and the island country of Palau in the western Pacific Ocean.
“Coastal countries have always had a unique relationship with the seas and its inhabitants,” said Jackson, an economics, environmental studies and government major from Brighton, Ontario. “Australia, Oman and Palau are all home to a marine ecosystem teeming with life. These countries have vastly different histories and cultures and each is at a very different stage of its development and integration with the modern global economy.”
During her travels, Jackson hopes to explore the governmental interactions with local coastal cultures as well as the role social and religious traditions play in how these three distinct countries developed their approaches to conservationism.
“I want to find out the extent to which the various governments are willing or able to enforce its policies and what role local coastal residents play in conservation decisions and enforcement,” Jackson said. “I also want to learn about the ancient myths and legends that pertain to marine resources and mammals, particularly the dugong, and see what role those play in modern culture and conservation.”
Jackson will open her trip with three months in Oman, where she plans to collaborate with Dr. Aaron Henderson, a professor of ecology at Sultan Qaboos University. The following six months will be spent in northeast Australia, home of the Great Barrier Reef as well as a large population of Aborigines. She’ll conclude her investigation in Palau, where traditional approaches to fisheries management practiced by village chiefs are still prevalent.
“I tried to pick three countries that were all very different,” said Jackson, who mentially started formulating this project in 2005 after spending part of that summer on the islands of Turks and Caicos in the British West Indies participating in a fieldwork and marine management course. “I’m particularly interested in Palua because I wanted to examine a place that is very isolated and investigate how its conservation efforts developed.”
Tim Spurgin, who serves as Lawrence’s campus liaison to the Watson program, says the Watson fellowship allows students “to chase their own dreams.”
“Micha’s project is the culmination of her studies at Lawrence, combining her interests in ecology and public policy, but it’s also the result of her lifelong love of the water,” said Spurgin, associate professor and Bonnie Glidden Buchanan Professor of English. “Her project is deeply personal, not narrowly academic, and that’s one of the reasons why she’s such a perfect choice for this fellowship.”
As she looks forward to her adventure, the logistics of globetrotting to three destinations she has never visited before doesn’t faze Jackson in the least. Any anxieties she has have more to do with meeting the spirit of a project she’s been thinking about for two years.
“What I’m most concerned about is staying true to my proposal. How well will I be able to adapt if things aren’t quite the way I expected them to be” said Jackson.
“And…finding a place to live in Palua,” she adds with a laugh.
Jackson was selected for the fellowship from among 179 finalists who came from an original pool of nearly 1,000 applicants representing 50 of the nation’s top liberal arts colleges and universities. She is the 65th Lawrence student awarded a Watson Fellowship since the program’s inception in 1969.
The Watson Fellowship Program was started by the children of Thomas J. Watson, Sr., the founder of International Business Machines Corp., and his wife, Jeannette, to honor their parents’ long-standing interest in education and world affairs.
Watson Fellows are selected on the basis of the nominee’s character, academic record, leadership potential, willingness to delve into another culture and the personal significance of the project proposal. Since its founding, more than 2,400 fellowships have been awarded.
