Winter 1996


Welcome to the second issue of the Bittersweet Vine. We decided that, what with all of the other projects going on in Student Services, two issues a year, or at least a flexible publishing schedule, would work best. We received positi ve and helpful feedback on our first issue and hope that this one offers similar value. Again, we welcome comments, suggestions and especially submissions for future issues.

This last year has been a time of growth in communications from the Student Services office in the Environmental Program. We have been having good fun creating our World Wide Web site, a bi­weekly on­line newsletter, Bittersweet Notes, an d an on­line discussion group, "env­talk." Yes, you may now access news and information about the Program at your convenience. If you can, check us out @ http://www.uvm.edu/~envprog. We also continue to expand the range of resource s available to those in search of opportunities. Stop on by sometime. ­ Ibit

Choose from the following selections:

Staff Writer/Editor
Ibit Getchell
Student Writer/Editor
Stefanie Liebman and Cheryl Maglosky
Contributing Writers
 Mary Boucher, Susan Clark, Bill Eddy, Sarah Fairchild, Stobie Fairfield, Laura Flight, Heather Kaplan, A.J. Johnson, Amy Quinn, Rick Paradis, Gwen Sheinfeld, Kassie Wilner, Ian Worley
Masthead Designer
Hellene London

The Bittersweet Vine is published by the Environmental Program at the University of Vermont, The Bittersweet, 153 So. Prospect Street, Burlington, Vermont 05401­3595. (802) 656­4055
E­ mail: egetchel@moose.uvm.edu

Any questions, comments, and/or submissions should be sent to: Ibit Getchell, Student Services Coordinator.


Cover Article

Stobie,'92, Bill Eddy and the Kathmandu Zoo Connection

Editor's note:
You never know where life will take you. Connections made during college might well affect the direction of the rest of your life. The Environmental Program encourages students to engage in enriching activities: internships, study abroad, independent travel, volunteer work, or challenging summer jobs. Stobie Fairfield '92 is an example of a graduate who has pursued interests sparked by experiences she had as part of her UVM program.

Stobie Fairfield on a trek in Solo Khumbu, Nepal in 1995

A 1992 graduate of the Environmental Program, Stobie Fairfield is now developing a culturally appropriate environmental awareness program at the Kathmandu Zoo in Nepal for the 750,000 to 1,000,000 rural Nepalis who visit the zoo each year.

Stobie first went to Nepal as part of the College Semester Abroad sponsored by the School for International Training. While she was there she encountered ENVS Professor Bill Eddy who was working with the Nepalese Department of Wildlife and Parks. At that time he was looking for a suitable site in Kathmandu to develop an environmental awareness center.

Stobie eventually returned to the University, graduated, and set off on an around­ the­world trip that landed her again in Kathmandu. Her goal was to find some way to live and work in Nepal. Back in the United States she held various jobs and s aved enough money to return to Nepal, where she volunteered with the Save the Children Federation and other NGO's. Broke, she came home to Maine for several months this past summer to earn enough money to go back. Out of the blue, Stobie got a call from Bill who invited her to join his project at ­­ would you believe it ­­ the Kathmandu Zoo. Says Stobie, "I was ecstatic when this came through. I was committed to working in Nepal and it had been a difficult process of taking any volunteer job I could get to do so. I have a very supportive family and Bill to thank for helping me finally make this dream possible."

Bill has been working to refurbish and reconstitute the Kathmandu Zoo as a center for introducing local people to diverse and critical environmental issues. He envisions the project as a grassroots effort supported by local Kathmandu businesses. The U.S. Ambassador to Nepal, Sandra Vogelgesang, and non­governmental organizations such as the World Wildlife Fund and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature have all been involved with his project. Stobie was offered a job through the World Wildlife Fund to initiate the zoo's education program. Bill found a small grant through the Center for Extinct and Endangered Species, so that before her departure for Kathmandu she was able to visit the Atlanta Zoo to learn about its unique outreach programs with zoos in Jakarta, Indonesia, and Entebbe, Uganda. Because of his graduate research in Nepal, Atlanta Zoo Director, Dr. Dietrich Schaaf, had a special interest in hearing of the new position created for Stobie and other plans for the zoo in Kathmandu.

Zoo Gets a Face­Lift

With her proficiency in the Nepali language, Stobie is able to bring together a number of local Nepalese organizations. One has facilitated the formation of a Friends of the Zoo Society. Local university students are being trained to serve as volunteer guides for Nepalis visiting the zoo. "We've spent five months increasing community involvement and changing the public image of the zoo. Our most successful event was a community workday where 300 volunteers whitewashed the zoo. It was a chaotic mess, but when the day was done the zoo had a fresh face­lift that reflected all of the positive changes taking place. We now have a foundation to create and implement programs."

Because so many of the rural visitors do not read, education programs will use storytelling, traditional dance, and the celebration of religious festivals as familiar ways to convey environmental concepts. Bill Eddy comments about Stobie's work, "I get a fax from her every ten days or so and her enthusiasm for what she is doing is really contagious. The zoo is going to be a very different place because of Stobie!"