Since its inception in 2004, CHANCE has been taking Penn State students across the globe to address some of the most troubling environmental issues that confront the world today. Thus far, 250 educators and about 400 undergraduates from around the United States and the world have been trained in the field through CHANCE courses by engaging in authentic environmental research and conservation activities.
A Look Back: Planting Trees in Costa Rica
As part of a 2016 trip to Costa Rica and Panama, CHANCE participants helped to plant native trees in an effort to reforest abandoned and disturbed natural areas. Their work was part of the Institute for Costa Rican Tourism’s Blue Flag Ecological Program, which was created in response to the imminent dangers of beach pollutions, its repercussions on public health and the tourism industry.
China Freshwater Study in the Lab
CHANCE participants traveled to China in 2015, partnering with two Chinese universities to examine the region's fresh water supply and efforts to restore and conserve it. The coursework was designed to help them better understand, and seek solutions for, the global challenges individuals and governments face in managing local, state, national, and global fresh water use for a sustainable future.
Beach Clean-up in Costa Rica
Many projects associated with CHANCE are done in concert with local governments, community organizations, and research groups, which allow students to conduct actual research with direct results. In Costa Rica, group members worked alongside non-governmental organizations to reduce plastic pollution harming leatherback sea turtles. In addition to collecting and recycling plastic waste on beaches, participants also logged pollutants in a database to track points of origin.
Addressing Local Issues
Coursework as part of CHANCE is tailored to the region visited so that students are able to help address localized issues of importance. As part of their trip to Cuba in 2017, group members conducted research projects related to Cuban environmental sustainability topics and presented the results of their field research projects in a poster presentation to the local scientific community in a professional undergraduate research setting.
