News
Ethnobiology summer school to take place in Saaremaa
From June 29 to July 5, an intensive field course "Designing and conducting ethnobiological research" will be held in Kavandi, Saaremaa. The course will bring to Saaremaa respected international scientists form six European countries and 22 students with different disciplinary backgrounds from seven Eastern-European countries.
Ethnobiology is a study of the interactions between humans and their natural surroundings, including ethnbotany (the study of human-plant relationship), ethnoecology (human-ecosystem relationship), ethnozoology (human-animal relationship). In addition, various disciplines contribute to the methods of ethnobiology, such as anthropology, biology (botany), pharmacology, ecology, ecosemiotics, linguistics, ethnology etc. Through its interdisciplinary approach, ethnobiology can address different aspects of human-nature relations, bridging culture and nature researches, connecting cultural beliefs and scientific methods of systems of knowledge. The course is designed to provide boost to the understanding and implementation of ethnobiological research for the students for wide variety of the disciplines.
The course is jointly organized by Department of Botany of Estonian University of Life Sciences, Department of Folkloristics of Estonian Literary Museum and Macroecology Workgroup at the University of Tartu, under the official patronage of International Society of Ethnobiology. The course is partially financed by Doctoral School of Earth Sciences and Ecology through European Social Fund and supported by Estonian Academy of Sciences.