28 ACUMEN • SPRING 2023 The natural beauty of Mount Elgon National Park in Uganda’s Bududa region contrasts sharply with the challenges faced by the people living there: poverty, dangerous landslides, lack of medical care and limited educational resources. “Being there is different than reading about it in a book or in movies I’ve watched for class,” says Petruska, who is from Emmaus, Pa. “There are none of the normal comforts that we are used to. It’s mostly subsistence living.” Petruska conducted her research while participating in a summer program run by Kelly Austin, professor of sociology and associate dean of undergraduate programs, and Mark Noble, visiting assistant professor of sociology. Working with Pathways Development Initiative (PDI), a nongovernmental organization that works to improve education, health care and economic opportunity, Austin has taken Lehigh students to Uganda for internships and research experiences since 2012. Austin is a member of PDI’s board of directors. The summer program is experiential and not done for academic credit. All students receive full funding from Lehigh for the experience. Petruska received a Summer Environmental Fellowship from the College of Arts and Sciences Environmental Initiative to cover her expenses. Petruska earned her bachelor’s degree, with a dual major in global studies and political science and a minor in environmental studies. She was originally supposed to attend the Uganda program in summer 2020. Because the program was suspended in both 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, she was permitted to attend as a graduate student. Petruska and other Lehigh students lived at the Zaale Homestay with PDI founders David and Elizabeth Zaale and PDI team members. Limited access to electricity and internet—most power is generated using solar panels—meant a summer unplugging from cellphones. “I really appreciated the time to appreciate what’s around me and just go on walks and hike rather than just be on my phone scrolling. I loved it,” Petruska says. Before going to Uganda, Petruska thought her research would focus on how government conservation efforts were impacting coffee growing, Uganda’s primary export and the area’s most lucrative crop. After her first interviews with farmers, local officials and conservation specialists, her project took on a broader focus. Because 90 percent of the population is engaged in subsistence agriculture, in which food is grown to meet basic food needs, examining the impact of conservation policies on that type of farming also made sense. Margaux Petruska ’21 ’23G, a graduate student in the Environmental Policy program, spent four weeks in eastern Uganda in summer 2022. Clad in a long skirt in the summer heat, Petruska worked with a translator interviewing farmers and government officials. Her research project—Conservation Complexities in the Mount Elgon Region of Uganda—examines the challenges that conservation efforts pose to farmers trying to eke out a living. It is the basis of her master’s degree thesis. VICKI MAYK Crucial Conversations Environmental policy student examines impact of conservation in Uganda CHRISTINE KRESCHOLLEK, WILLOW MUNSON, ADOBE STOCK
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