In November 2013 the University of Northampton provided the
opportunity for us to travel to California to study arid environments in the
Mojave Desert and Death Valley. We
departed from Gatwick airport on the 2nd, travelling with us were 14
students from the University of Leicester who we would be working with
throughout the trip. The majority of our time was spent at the Desert Studies
centre in Zzyzx, located in the Mojave National Preserve; however we also spent
2 days studying in Death Valley National Park.
After a hearty American breakfast at the grand hour of 6am,
we would depart each day to different locations around the Mojave National
Preserve and Death Valley. There we would study the climate and the formation
of desert landforms. Within the two weeks we completed 2 assignments in the
field, which comprised of a topographic map and a group presentation. These
methods of assessment were useful as they enabled us to enhance our time
management, presentation and communication skills. Although these 10 days in
the field proved to be challenging work, it was worth the effort in the end, as
after the two weeks away we had finished the module. This allowed for more time
to concentrate on our remaining modules knowing one was already completed.
Overall the trip was a fantastic experience; we had the
chance to learn about a completely different environment whilst seeing these fantastic
landscapes at first hand. At the same time, being under the instruction of
enthusiastic lecturers, who made the trip informative and exciting.
There was also the chance after the 10 days were over to
spend 3 days on in America independently; we chose to spend 2 days in San
Francisco and the last in Las Vegas before returning to the UK.
We would like to extend a big thank you to everyone who made
the trip possible, but a special thank you to Professor Ian Livingstone for organising
and making the experience so enjoyable.
