UTSA anthropology major looks at climate change on a practical level

UTSA student Christine DeMyers in her internship last summer at the Smithsonian Institution

By Tim Brownlee
Associate Director of Internal Communications

(Nov. 12, 2014) -- Meet Christine DeMyers. The UTSA senior anthropology major and Honors College member believes in looking at climate change on a practical level: A better environment produces better food and healthier lives for everyone.

As part of her interest in climate, DeMyers was selected two years in a row to participate in the Clinton Global Initiative University (CGI University) and is now the group's UTSA campus representative. One thousand students from around the world submitted plans that were selected for CGIU, and DeMyers' plan for a UTSA garden (that she co-wrote with classmate Merced Carbajal) was one of them.

The CGIU brings together experts, youth leaders and global leaders to support students in implementing positive change in their communities. Students submit plans for a project in one of five areas: environment and climate change, public health, poverty alleviation, human rights or education.

"Students from all over the world are doing huge things for their communities and are making a big impact," said DeMyers. "I am very lucky to be part of this organization and sharing what I'm learning at UTSA."

DeMyers submitted the CGI University proposal to the UTSA Green Fund to establish a campus garden on the Main Campus, and she says it could happen within a year. A student-approved fee supports Green Fund campus environmental projects.

In partnership with the UTSA Department of Health and Kinesiology, student organizations and classes would lease garden plots where they would grow vegetables in a field near the Child Development Center. An orchard and composting area would be added in the second phase.

Students would sell produce to sustain the garden financially. The composting area would provide fresh soil for the garden with campus dining services providing the food solids.

Working on the garden project, DeMyers wanted to learn more about student experiences with diet and health. This became the basis for her honors thesis, which is documenting how students make decisions about food and physical activity. So far, UTSA students say there are great opportunities for physical activity on campus, but fewer choices for healthier food because it is more expensive.

"Students realize that the environment contributes to their health," she said. "I think it's important for students to give feedback on food choices. If they don't participate, the choices won't get better."

DeMyers' conclusions on environment and health were reinforced when she served last summer in a 10-week internship at the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. As one of 17 undergraduates chosen from 500 who applied from across the nation, her selection for the Research Experience program was based on her proposal, "Climate Change, Environmental Risks and the Food Security of Subsistence Communities in Greenland and Alaska."

Comparing historical accounts to current accounts of communities living during climate change, she formulated three strategies for more food-secure living in arctic regions: get resources locally rather than importing, be more mobile than sedentary in choosing where to live and live in smaller groups. This could be good advice for everyone.

"In my studies at UTSA and in the projects in which I am participating, I am energized with a unique perspective within anthropology that would allow me to integrate anthropological understandings of culture into other disciplines, such as sustainability, development practice and public health," she noted. "Building a more unified campus community ties in with UTSA's Tier One efforts, and health and climate become a big part of that."

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