Bees lead researchers to trailblazing ecological partnership with Texas city

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SAN ELIZARIO, Texas – What started as a project by Auburn University to study ways to protect a unique ecosystem of bees in the Chihuahuan Desert has lead to a series of pioneering environmental renovation projects for this historic frontier city on the eastern edge of El Paso County. While fewer than 10,000 people live in San Elizario, the area is special to researchers because it is home to one of the largest diversities of bee species and bee pollinated plants in North America. Auburn University researchers began working with the City of San Elizario in studying the bees in 2017. They soon realized there was more going on that deserved further study. “We were very much bee-centric and now we actually think much more in terms of the ecological interactions between plants and insects.

Study program in the Indonesian jungles influences attitudes and expands cultural horizons

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EL PASO — In the dense tropical rainforest, nature softly enveloped the group of students — the wind sifting through braches and leaves, the singing of myriad insects and birds — a potent reminder that they were not in Texas anymore, but in Kutai National Park in the island of Borneo, in the East Kalimantan region of Indonesia. “In 2009, I was finishing up my undergraduate degree in communication at UTEP and was still somewhat uncertain where my life was going. I had been admitted to the master’s program at the University of Colorado, but had no clue as to what I wanted to study,” said Carlos Tarin, 27. “Indonesia changed all of that.”

A college student’s life consists of homework assignments, computer issues and dreaded group projects. It’s unfortunate that not a lot of students are aware of the diverse opportunities for advancement offered by their universities.