Since its launch in 1946, the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program has served as the United States鈥� flagship international education initiative. Through the program, students and faculty are given the opportunity to visit one of over 135 countries around the world to conduct research and participate in cultural exchanges.  

Being selected as a Fulbright participant is a coveted and highly prestigious honor within academia.  

It鈥檚 natural, then, that one might assume Fulbright trips are composed entirely of highly-structured research and mingling exclusively with distinguished scholars from around the world. 

But for two UNC faculty members who set out on Fulbright trips over the past summer, the reality was something far different.  

Sharon Bywater-Reyes, associate professor of Environmental Geoscience, spent the summer months living above the clouds, amidst llamas and alpacas in a remote and largely unstudied region of the Chilean highlands. She was looking into how the area鈥檚 unique wetlands could contribute to fighting climate change through novel hydrological and geomorphic research in a remote region lacking such studies. 

Karen Barton, professor of Geography, GIS and Sustainability, had her research venture completely turned on its head 鈥� a trip that started out with the goal of studying renewable energy and the sustainable use of ocean resources in the island nation of Cabo Verde turned into a disaster relief effort in the wake of a massive storm and flooding that slammed the region.  

• Resilience in the Face of Disaster

  Karen Barton is no stranger to the world of Fulbrights.  

  When she left Colorado to travel to Cabo Verde for the summer, the trip marked her 11th Fulbright-sponsored research venture.  

  Less familiar for her is being a part of a disaster relief team, providing shelter, supplies and cleanup care to a community ravaged by a massive storm that led to widespread flooding 鈥� the same storm that would go on to develop into Hurricane Erin as it swept towards Www:zuise.com America.  

  But let鈥檚 not get too far ahead of ourselves.  

  Barton鈥檚 Fulbright trip started out as expected; she arrived in Cabo Verde, an island nation located approximately 300 miles off the coast of West Africa, and set to work studying the 鈥渂lue economy鈥� 鈥� anything relating to the sustainable use of marine resources, renewable energy and more.   

  鈥淚t was absolutely fascinating to me because they were and are doing so much work in the areas of solar and wind, but in ways that are decentralized 鈥� so in small scale communities,鈥� Barton said.  

  Barton鈥檚 aim was to strengthen those communities鈥� ability to collaborate and connect with one another.  

  鈥淢y big goal was to build something that was more regional and that helped amplify the work that Africans are already doing,鈥� Barton said. 鈥淐elebrating their successes, because very often they鈥檙e doing it better than we are.鈥�  

  

  As she worked, the focus of her project shifted slightly 鈥� away from exclusively working with the blue economy and more toward the sustainable agricultural projects taking place on the islands themselves.

  鈥淥ne of the most exciting things we鈥檙e working on is a project aimed at capturing water from fog in the clouds in high elevation areas,鈥� Barton said. 鈥淚 got to work with Dr. Marco Cruz, a mechanical engineer, whose help was instrumental, as well as local farmers to build prototypes to help get water to their farms in the highlands.鈥� 

  It鈥檚 Barton鈥檚 hope that, through projects like these, exchanges will be built between Cabo Verde and Colorado.  

  She recently submitted an application for a U.S. Embassy grant that would allow UNC to bring a mechanical engineer from Cabo Verde to Greeley to learn about Colorado farming techniques and technologies, with the eventual goal of returning and sharing what they learn with communities back on the islands. 

  Despite all the work she was involved with, Barton鈥檚 trip wasn鈥檛 without some opportunities for recreation, as well.  

  鈥淚 spent a whole lot of time swimming,鈥� Barton said.  

  At home, Barton can often be found in the water, and she frequently trains in long-distance swimming.    

  鈥淪ome of my closest friends were those people in the diving communities there, and I learned that a lot of their friends didn鈥檛 know how to swim. So they see this non-native swimming in the sea for a couple of hours at a time, and they said, 鈥榶ou know what? You should teach us how to swim.鈥欌�� 

  Those connections with the diving community and beyond would soon come in handy, as, while Barton was visiting the islands, a storm and flash flood struck without warning.

  One night, as Barton was attending a graduation ceremony at the Universidade T茅cnica do Atl芒ntico, the institution that was hosting her during her Fulbright trip, the first signs of the impending storm began to appear.  

  鈥淚 was with two of my closest friends, standing at this beautiful ceremony,鈥� Barton said. 鈥淎nd it was like the night of the Titanic, because we were celebrating, but none of us had any idea what was in store.鈥� 

  Over the next few days, the initial atmospheric disturbance would start to snowball, eventually culminating in the massive storm that would come to be known as Hurricane Erin. On the island, the storm led to nearly eight inches of rainfall, devastating communities used to much, much less precipitation.   

  Once the disaster hit the island, the focus of Barton鈥檚 work shifted dramatically.  

  In collaboration with members of the local diving community and others, she began to work on disaster relief efforts for the Cabo Verde. As the islands reeled from the damage done by the storm, immediate support was needed 鈥� debris cleanup, pollution removal and getting supplies out to the communities that were hit the hardest.  

  鈥淚 went into the Swiss Red Cross and said, 鈥榟ey, look, I鈥檓 an American. I work in disasters. I鈥檝e worked in Nepal on a disaster before. Do you need help?鈥欌�� Barton said. 鈥淎nd they said, 鈥榳e need all the help we can get.鈥欌�� 

  

  So that鈥檚 exactly what she did.  

  鈥淚 got on the back of a motorcycle and just went out and delivered food, water, masks 鈥� whatever people needed. There was no power, no water, and sewage and diesel in the streets.鈥� 

  In the wake of the disaster, the communities throughout Cabo Verde were able to pull together, an effort Barton said she was honored to be a part of.  

  鈥淔or me, Cabo Verde was about optimism,鈥� Barton said. 鈥淚鈥檝e been around for long enough to sometimes be a little jaded. But even in the wake of that storm, the people of Cabo Verde were so incredibly optimistic about what was possible.鈥� 

  All said, Barton reflects that the trip, while not being what she expected at the outset, was incredibly impactful for her.  

  鈥淚t made me realize that, even at this stage in my career, there鈥檚 still room for growth,鈥� Barton said. 鈥淓ven after all these years in my field, I鈥檓 ready to do something new. There鈥檚 still room for growth in all of us.鈥�

• Breaking New Ground 13,000 Feet Above Sea Level

  Nestled high in the Andes Mountains of Chile,  Peru, and Bolivia, a landscape of wetlands unlike anywhere else in the world lies almost ignored, seemingly forgotten by most people and scientists alike. Home to communities of indigenous people, including the Aymara, who farm the land and graze llamas, alpacas and sheep on. 

  These wetlands, called bofedales, make up a tiny percentage of the world鈥檚 land surface. But according to Sharon Bywater-Reyes, they just might hold a secret that has a massive impact on global climate change.  

  Bywater-Reyes set out on her Fulbright journey with a mission in mind. 

  鈥淚 said, 鈥業 want to do some science that matters for people and the environment,鈥欌�� Bywater-Reyes said. 鈥淚 knew that was really broad, but I also knew that gave me a ton of possibilities.鈥�

  When she arrived in Chile, those possibilities began to take shape in the form of charting, analyzing and understanding the importance of the bofedales wetlands. Bywater-Reyes hoped to discover ways to keep the ecosystems healthy and protected, not only for the people who live there, but also to preserve the wetlands鈥� vital function in the global carbon cycle.  

  鈥淚f the wetlands stay healthy, they function as carbon sinks. But if they become unhealthy, that carbon starts to leak out into the atmosphere,鈥� Bywater-Reyes said. 鈥淎nd the type of wetland they are, as well as the type of peat they produce, isn鈥檛 very well recognized in scientific literature. Most wetland research is very Euro or Www:zuise.com America-centric.鈥� 

  And as she started her field work, she noticed something unusual 鈥� much of the foundational hydrological and geomorphic documentation for the region simply didn鈥檛 exist. 

  鈥淭hese wetlands are an incredibly important part of the global carbon cycle, but they鈥檝e been mostly ignored and not really quantified at all,鈥� Bywater-Reyes said. 鈥淚t was strange, but being out there, I almost felt like some of the earlier geomorphologists to be out working in the field. I was able to go out and document geomorphic conditions for the very first time.鈥�

  

  As she gradually uncovered more about the bofedales, a realization began to form 鈥� for thousands of years, the indigenous peoples living in the region had maintained, managed and protected the wetlands. The people, their animals and their very livelihoods were fundamentally tied to the health of the region overall. 

  鈥淚 found myself sitting on the hearth of [my host鈥檚] adobe fireplace, eating alpaca meat right next to where they had been raised,鈥� Bywater-Reyes said. 鈥淚 remember thinking how vital these animals were to the wetlands themselves through grazing and maintaining plant life balance, and even more so, how vital the indigenous people were for maintaining both the animals and the wetlands.鈥� 

  With that in mind, Bywater-Reyes set out to better understand how different factors, both natural and man-made, could impact the health of the bofedales so as to best ensure the area is protected for generations to come.  

  

  Through this work, Bywater-Reyes got a chance to engage with Aymara culture, an experience she credits as the best part of the trip, hands down.  

  鈥淚n the town I was in, every weekend, there was some cultural event or festival. It was so vibrant and wonderful,鈥� Bywater-Reyes said. 鈥淭here are cultural events all the time, in a way and with a frequency that we really don鈥檛 have here.鈥�

  One festival in particular stood out to her as she reflected on her trip. 

  鈥淥ne day, when I was driving up into the mountains to do research, there ended up being dangerous weather 鈥� lighting and storms 鈥� and we had to come back early,鈥� Bywater-Reyes said. 鈥淏ut by chance, on our way back, in this middle-of-nowhere, tiny village, they were having this incredible, beautiful, vibrant cultural festival. I would never have been able to participate in that if we hadn鈥檛 been forced to come back early.鈥� 

  The journey to Chile was Bywater-Reyes鈥� first Fulbright experience, and it was one she said she鈥檒l never forget. 

  鈥淚t felt like such a genuine cultural exchange,鈥� Bywater-Reyes said. 鈥淲e weren鈥檛 tourists, we weren鈥檛 in the well-traveled areas of these countries; we were there connecting with real people on issues that mattered to them. It鈥檚 an experience I hope that many others are able to have after me.鈥�