Overview of the Envirovet
Summer Institute 2007

The goal of the Envirovet Summer Institute is to create a force of scientists with unique perspectives, knowledge, skills, and expertise required to implement an efficient approach to ecosystem repair that will enable synchronous gains in wildlife, domestic animal, human, and economic health.

To meet this goal, Envirovet Summer Institute 2007 will provide seven weeks of intensive lecture, laboratory, and field experiences to 25 veterinarians, veterinary students and wildlife biologists in the areas of terrestrial and aquatic wildlife and ecosystem health, addressing both developed and developing country contexts.

Each participant in Envirovet Summer Institute 2007 will engage in comprehensive classroom, laboratory, and field interactions. Individuals with determination, stamina, sense of purpose, keen intelligence, and capacity to envision and pursue positive outcomes in the face of incomplete knowledge and institutional inertia are invited to apply for admission to the 2007 Envirovet Summer Institute.

Each participant will be linked to cutting-edge leaders in a wide variety of relevant disciplines. A strong emphasis will be placed on collaborations to restore self-sustaining wildlife populations by addressing issues where natural areas interface with areas devoted to agriculture, forestry, mining, urban development, and other forms of human enterprise.

The Envirovet Summer Institute is divided into two sessions. The first session is entitled "Terrestrial and Aquatic Wildlife and Ecosystem Health Issues and Techniques for the Developed World With Outreach to Developing Countries." Components of this session will take place in Florida and Georgia. The second session is entitled "Terrestrial and Aquatic Wildlife and Ecosystem Health Issues and Techniques for the Developing World" and will take place in South Africa and Swaziland.

The first session of Envirovet Summer Institute 2007 will provide 4 weeks of intensive lecture, laboratory and field experiences related to understanding wildlife health in the context of overall ecosystem health. The University of California-Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine, Wildlife Health Center and The University of Illinois Department of Veterinary Biosciences will plan and administer this first session of Envirovet Summer Institute 2007.

Topics of emphasis will include: terrestrial and aquatic ecology, population biology, epidemiology, infectious and toxicologic diseases of terrestrial and aquatic wildlife, wildlife immobilization, mapping, environmental laws including those related to wildlife conservation and environmental pollution, conservation strategies (e.g., ecotourism, Endangered Species Act litigation, habitat restoration), translocation medicine, conservation genetics, theriogenology, communication skills, advocacy and grantsmanship. Students will be introduced to field and laboratory techniques including wildlife capture and immobilization, necropsies and sample collection, telemetry, and using global positioning systems (GPS) and geographical information systems (GIS). Each lecture, laboratory or field exercise will be led by one or more highly-regarded experts, skilled in teaching, who is involved in the a subject area on a daily basis as part of their regular jobs. In this way, students will gain first-hand knowledge of the myriad ways in which they can play a significant role on ecosystem health teams.

Approximately two weeks of this session will be held at White Oak Conservation Center, near Jacksonville, Florida, which is supported by the Howard Gilman Foundation. Veterinarians and other experts, primarily from North America, will provide instruction on largely terrestrial topics. A range of political, economic and sociologic factors that influence ecosystem stewardship will be addressed. In addition to classroom and laboratory sessions at White Oak, students will spend time on St. Catherine's Island (Midway, Georgia) applying various field techniques to examine and support the health of the unique ecosystem and species of this barrier island. Envirovet participants will interact and assist with programs of St. Catherine's Island Center.

The aquatic program will be hosted at Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute (HBOI), located on the Indian River Lagoon, one of the most biologically diverse estuaries in North America. HBOI is comprised of state-of-the-art oceanographic, aquacultural, biomedical, and environmental research facilities as well as a full-service conference facility with on-site housing for visiting faculty members and graduate students. Students will learn techniques for ecological assessment and interact with species ranging from invertebrates to fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds and marine mammals. The Institute is a center of excellence for deep-sea exploration and offers vessels and labs needed for ecosystem and aquatic animal health assessments.

Each Envirovet Summer Institute features a large number of superb teachers and role models. All faculty are hand-picked, based on established expertise and career productivity, to bring essential real world perspectives and commitment to students. Their specialties range from biomedical and ecological sciences, to policy, law, economics, ecotourism, game ranching, agriculture, aquaculture, engineering, and sustainable development. They represent career possibilities from academia to industry, consultancies, non-governmental organizations, and governmental agencies. They offer knowledge, techniques, and especially mentoring to the students. Envirovet provides immersion-like experiences for its participants, who put in 60 to 80 contact hours per week throughout the Summer Institutes.

Envirovet groups develop their own dynamic cohesion within a very few days, and remain close thereafter. Moreover, to be among the Envirovet alumni of any year creates a mutual understanding of the opportunities and responsibilities at hand. Envirovet participants act on these, investing their lives in improving the conditions of wildlife, domestic animals, and human beings.

Envirovet Summer Institute 2007 will be comprehensive, addressing terrestrial and aquatic wildlife. It will retain the proven unique intensive approach of earlier Envirovet Summer Institutes. All applicants accepted into the Summer Institute should plan to devote abundant energy to the instruction and experiences provided

With the leadership of former Summer Institute participants and other partnering experts and organizations, Envirovet organizers are also working to prioritize environmental education research and ecological rehabilitation on continents around the world.

Eligibility for participation in Envirovet Summer Institutes requires a statement regarding commitment to a career in wildlife and ecosystem health, as well as at least one year of veterinary school or an advanced degree in a relevant discipline, including a defined animal health component.

The course fee, which includes room and board as well as round trip airfare from the U.S. to the overseas location, is $3,000 for veterinarians, postdoctoral trainees, and students currently enrolled in veterinary or graduate school. Students are responsible for their round-trip travel to White Oak Conservation Center in Yulee, Florida, and Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute in Fort Pierce, Florida. Applicants from developing countries may apply for a fee waiver based on economic need and record of promise in the wildlife/environmental field. It is essential for such individuals to seek funding to offset the travel costs, as well as part or all of the course fee.

The $6,500 course fee is a challenge to some very worthy applicants. However, it covers only a part of the program's investment in each student. The Actual expenditures per student total at least $10,000 and, in addition, the program receives a great deal of in-kind support from White Oak Conservation Center and our stallar faculty.

With some time and patience, you may find one or more sources willing to pay a portion of the Envirovet course fee. Below are ideas and links to resources that may be helpful if you plan to search for outside funds.

Check local environmental groups for small scholarships and grants. In some instances, local groups such as the "Friends of the Local Forest/Bog/Prairie" distribute small scholarships that may defray a portion of the Envirovet course fee. Check local listings, and click here to search for organizations in the United States.

Many universities and colleges provide scholarships and/or search engines for granting agencies free of charge, so try checking with the financial aid office of our alma mater. Also, Ward Allebach's article " The Environmental Scholarship Guide" at EnviroEducation.com can provide additional ideas.

Go to The North American Association for Environmental Education's website. They have a keyword-driven grant search function for multiple foundations and other institutions.

A major goal of Envirovet is to build an international corps of environmental practioners, researchers, planners, and stewards. Applicants from developing countries are encouraged to apply. We realize that the tuition burden on some such applicants is particularly difficult, and, in some cases, the Envirovet program is able to offer a fee waiver. Many resourceful participants from developing countries have helped pay for a portion of the Envirovet course fee and travel costs through independent funding sources. Below are some possibilities for such applicants to explore.

The Ford Foundation International Fellowships Program provides funding to scholars from a select group of developing countries. Eligibility criteria, fields of study, and deadlines differ by country. To learn more about their program, click here and select your country from the panel provided to see if the Ford Foundation funds environmental or conservation education for your country.

The World Wildlife Fund's Education for Nature Program (WWF-EFN) provides grants for especially capable wildlife specialists likely to benefit from Envirovet Summer Institute. Individuals from developing countries who wish to be considered for such a waiver should apply to Envirovet through our website and fill out the fee waiver portion of the Envirovet application. Envirovet works with WWF-EFN in selecting applicants to be supported. WWF-EFN also has a search engine for other funding opportunities specifically for conservationists from Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Click here to go to this search engine.

For further information on the Envirovet Program, please email Dr. Val Beasley
or write to him at:

Dr. Val R. Beasley, Executive Director
Envirovet Programs in Wildlife and Ecosystem Health
Department of Veterinary Biosciences
College of Veterinary Medicine
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
2001 South Lincoln Avenue
Urbana, Illinois 61802 USA

Phone: 217-333-9360
Fax: 217-244-1652