7 January 2009 Visiting US students on 'coast to coast' fieldtrip

A twenty-strong party of American students from the University of Missouri will cross the South Island today from the Pacific coast to the Tasman coast as part of a study visit to New Zealand based at Lincoln University.

It’s the fourth annual visit to Lincoln University by students from Missouri and the latest group, accompanied by one faculty member, are mid-way through a 19-day programme in which academic credit points are gained for their time spent at Lincoln University.

The students are all animal science majors and so far  field trips associated with their course have taken them to a dairy farm at Te Parita, to Lincoln University’s Ashley Dene sheep property, the University’s dairy farm and to a deer farm at Aylesbury.

The traverse of the South Island will take them across the Canterbury Plains, over the Southern Alps and through to Westland. Topics for discussion along the way include geomorphology, land use, conservation, erosion control, plate tectonics, native forestry, coal and gold mining, tourism, glaciology and national parks.

The study programme is organised through Lincoln University’s Professional Development Group and the principal lecturer is Neil Gow.

Other field trips in the programme include visits to Queenstown, Kaikoura and Banks Peninsula.