Alexandria is pursuing a dual degree in environmental science (M.A) with Dr. James H. Kennedy and environmental philosophy (PhD) with Dr. Ricardo Rozzi. She has been a student at UNT since August 2007. Currently, she is working as a research assistant for the UNT-Chile Cape Horn Biocultural Conservation Program as well as working as an intern at the Baltimore Ecosystem Study urban Long-Term Ecological Research Site in the summers of 2008 and 2009.

Education Background

Curriculum Vitae

• European College of Liberal Arts, Berlin, Germany, Summer Program 2003
  "Great Books" program studying political theory of the European Union
  http://www.ecla.de/about_ecla/
• B.A. of Liberal Arts, St. John's College, Santa Fe, New Mexico, 2003
  "Great Books" program studying the traditional western canon: logic, mathematics, astronomy, music, philosophy, history, science
  http://www.stjohnscollege.edu/about/main.shtml

Biographical Information

With 80% of the U.S. Population, and 50% of the world's population living in urban areas, I am investigating how worldviews, value-systems, perception of community, cultural identity and moral choices are impacted and shaped by life structured within the city. Further, the rapid decrease of biodiversity in the last ten years, and the even more significant loss of linguistic diversity in the past thirty, shows that we are facing homogenization of diverse habitats, inhabitants, languages, and cultures on an unprecedented scale. In order to cope with the significant need for sustainable resources for continued development and growth, the field of ecology is now facing the challenge of integrating the human component into scientific models so that the study of ecology can account for these recent phenomena. My work hopes to integrate urban ecology and biocultural conservation to consider how diversity and relation to place can be preserved within the infrastructure of the city.
Biocultural conservation acknowledges the inherent correlation between linguistic, cultural and biological diversity. The local ecological knowledge that is embedded in a local language is often lost as that language is replaced. This loss of oral knowledge alters the ability of the local community to live off the land, and has been described as an “extinction of experience” within a community. My inquiry looks into the extent to which urbanization, education, and technological development effect the relationship between the local community and their environment, and the consequences in terms of ecological and social well-being. My hope is that this work will help facilitate more ecologically and community oriented policy and education that integrate philosophy, sciences and public policy.
Areas of research include:

Suggested Links, Publications, & Other Data

• Biodiesel Plant in Denton: http://www.cityofdenton.com/pages/solidwaste.cfm
• Space News: http://www.space.com/news/
• Deep Sky Browser: http://www.messier45.com/cgi-bin/dsdb/dsb.pl
• Extraterrestrial Picture of the Day: http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/
• UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, http://www.unesco.org/mab/BRs.shtml
• UNESCO Geoparks Reserve, http://www.unesco.org/science/earth/geoparks.shtml
• The Edible Schoolyard, http://www.edibleschoolyard.org
• Schumacher College, http://www.schumachercollege.org.uk/about/schumacher
• International Space University http://www.isunet.edu/
• A "timeline" of scale: http://www.nikon.com/about/feelnikon/universcale/index.htm
• Measure of biodiversity: http://data.gbif.org/welcome.htm
• Technology, Entertainment and Design http://www.ted.com/
• UN Statistics put to good use... http://www.gapminder.org/