Ghana Field School - Tropical Agroforestry

Please note: While CIP is hopeful that Field Schools will be able to run in Summer 2022, we are monitoring the COVID-19 situation carefully and will keep students updated if we are not able to offer any of the Field Schools.  

From 2007 to 2014, the U of G School of Environmental Sciences (SES) led a Canadian-government funded project in Ghana entitled Agroforestry Practices to Enhance Resource-poor Livelihoods (APERL).  The project was in collaboration with Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Ghana, and introduced various agroforestry technologies in six rural farming communities with the goals of reducing land degradation and forest fire susceptibility, while enhancing property assets through the planting of multi-purpose tree species that could provide food and income for the communities. The students participating in the Ghana Field School will see and learn about the agroforestry technologies used in the project and gain hands-on experience about how these methods can influence food and income security, community well-being, and environmental sustainability.  The students will also learns qualitative and quantitative methods to assess the overall impact’ of APERL project, which ended in 2014, through meetings with faculty from KNUST, local organizations and members of the farming community.  Students will live in the residences at KNUST.

Information Session

TBD

Field School Details

• Instructor: Dr. Naresh Thevathasan, Environmental Science
• Offered: Summer 2022 (Previously: Summer 2019)
• Prerequisite: 68% cumulative average, and it is recommended that students applying for the Ghana Field School have previously taken ENVS 3230 Agroforestry Systems or other international development-related courses.  However, students from other fields of study may be considered if they speak with the faculty coordinator for approval. 
• A (tentative) course outline can be found a the bottom of this page
• If you have any questions about the program, please contact Dr. Naresh Thevathasan.

Program Dates

June 17 - July 9, 2022 (tentatively)

Course 

Students will be registered in ENVS* 4430 for 1.0 credits.  

Costs

Students should budget for the following:

• Round-trip airfare to Ghana
• Tuition and fees at the University of Guelph for 1.0 credits
• The Ghana Field School fee: approximately $3,300 which covers the following in Ghana - accommodations, transportation for field trips and to field sites, admission fees for venues, all three meals for the first two weeks of the program (students will cover their own meals for the last week of the trip). This amount is subject to change based on the fluctuating exchange rate.
• Mandatory travel health and emergency insurance through the company Guard Me ($1.65 / day)
• Personal expenses (food for the last week of the trip, additional personal travel, etc) 

Eligibility

Students applying for the program must have the pre-requisites for the program (see above) by time the program begins in May 2022 (or permission from the instructor), and must have a 68% cumulative average. (Students with a 65 - 67% cumulative average may be considered if there are extenuating circumstances that affected their marks which are described on their application.)

A maximum of 14 students will be accepted to the program.

Apply to the Ghana Field School

To apply for Field School programs you must complete CIP's online application. Step-by-step application instructions are outlined in the link below.

Application Instructions