Remembering the Westminster Expedition

During the 2017 Fall Semester, 14 students, two professors, and a program coordinator loaded a bunch of books and some camping gear into a trailer, piled into a couple of vans, and took off on a 10,000 mile, 84 day academic adventure around the American West. The trip was designed as an exploration into the issues at the heart of the contemporary West. Students earned 16 credits in environmental studies and history as they study Environmental Cooperation and Conflict, Landscape and Meaning, the History of Public Lands, and the Native West.

This prolonged journey into the field gave us a chance to learn directly from the landscapes and ecosystems of the west. More importantly, we had a chance to talk with the people who live, work, and study in those places. In this weeks podcast, we remember some of the places we visited and people we met. We also take a moment to look forward to the next Expedition, when we'll hit the road with a new cohort of students in the fall of 2020.

Jeff Nichols and Brent Olson co-direct the Institute for Mountain Research and our 2018-2019 Mountain Fellows are Katie Saad and Naomi Shapiro. Our theme song is “Home” by Pixie and the Partygrass Boys.. As Naomi likes to say, “They are awesome and you should check them out.”

• Free Music Archive: napz - Memory (feat Sattaman)
• Westminster Climate Concert! Featuring Pixie and the Party Grass Boys — Join us on April 18th for a Climate Concert featuring the local band Pixie and the Partygrass Boys. The event will feature live music, environmentally focused art, political climate activism information from Citizens Climate Lobby and snacks! The venue will be announced as soon as possible! This event is for Westminster College students, staff, alumni and faculty only. If you are a student/staff member interested in displaying art at this event, please let us know.
• American West Expedition | Westminster College | Utah