My name is Noor Al-Baghdadi and I am a second-year (also sort of 3rd year) political science student at GSU’s Honors College. I am also involved with the 4+1 program which is a program that allows me to work on both my Bachelor’s and my Master’s degree at the same time. I chose to participate in this Urban Ecology service-learning course because it is a field I was not really informed about. Of course, I knew the politics and realities of things like climate change, the environment, nature, and all things of the sort, but I never had to look much beyond what my major required me to. The topic of preservation and conservation in relation to nature is something I was always interested in but only really talked about it in a broad, global, and political context. I’ve learned so much more than I initially thought I would since I started the course. In our seminar-style classtimes, we discussed how the idea of “nature” could perhaps be a concept that we have assumed is separate from human society. It can bicultural, too- different people understand nature, its importance, its role, and its relation to us in completely different ways. We discussed how human beings could be understood as ecosystem engineers, much like ants, and that if we perceive ourselves that way, we may better understand our role as natural. All of these concepts were things I didn’t even realize were debated and so vital in our everyday interactions with nature and the politics of the environment.

For our service-learning portion of the class, I chose to partner with the Amphibian Foundation which prioritizes engaging communities with the amphibian extinction crisis in order to implement and encourage solutions to the issue. I found their work to not only be interesting, but necessary. Many people don’t realize the urgency of the amphibian crisis and the Amphibian Foundation offers a space where people can learn about it and actively participate in the solutions to it. In my mind, allowing individuals and communities to directly participate in these matters is an ideal way of encouraging individuals to feel important in environmental conservation and promotes efforts that require communities to connect with each other. This is a beautiful way of combating environmental issues while also promoting community values. Every individual’s contribution to the environment matters and the Amphibian Foundation embodies that truth. For that reason, I chose to partner with them for my volunteer work. I hope to offer valuable perspectives to their mission and also gain experience and expand my knowledge during my time with them. While I’m particularly interested in researching with the organization, I’m not sure what position I will be given, but I plan on doing my best in any position I am assigned. I couldn’t be more excited!