New Zealand Faculty
Courtnay Wilson - NZ Program Director M.T.S.
Courtnay is a Canuck from Dundas, Ontario, Canada. Did you know that, with over 100 waterfalls, Dundas claims to be the “waterfall capital of the world”? Courtnay joined the New Zealand team four years ago after spending two years working for SoPac’s sister program in Belize. Although she sometimes misses the escabeche and Johnny cakes, she definitely does not miss the cold showers! Prior to working with CCSP, Courtnay spent three years in Japan teaching English in a public high school. Before that, she completed a Master’s in Theological Studies at McMaster Divinity College in Hamilton, Ontario, where she also did an undergraduate degree in History and Political science. It was at seminary that Courtnay found her theological home in the Mennonite Church. Recently, Courtnay joined St. John Ambulance in Kaikoura and is excited about her training to become a volunteer ambulance officer. Her favourite activity in Kaikoura is communing with the acrobatic dusky dolphins from the comfort of her kayak. You can call her “The Dolphin Whisperer”. Things you’re likely to hear Courtnay say: Boggle anyone? Is there coffee made? Are you going to eat that piece of chocolate?
Dr. Beth Horvath - Marine Ecology
Beth Horvath--Assistant Professor of Biology, Westmont College (Santa Barbara, California); Research Associate with SB Museum of Natural History; degree in marine biology, primarily an invertebrate zoologist.
Current research--The taxonomic standing of numerous forms of gorgonian coral across the eastern Pacific. With that elucidated, issues of gorgonian ecology are next for study, as gorgonians create important “forests” on the sea floor for all manner of invertebrate and many forms of commercial fish. Deep sea forms are becoming the “hot ticket” of study, as more becomes known about global climate change and how that is impacting the deep sea.
In the marine ecology segment of “New Zealand Ecosystems,” we will be looking at specific examples of the various types of relationship that occur: between marine organisms, between those organisms and their abiotic environment and between those marine organisms and the humans that utilize their environment in all manner of ways. Our manner of interaction with the marine environment will be crucial to sustained living on this planet; we need to alter our interactions so that they are far more sustainable, “earth friendly” and clearly bear witness to the great gift of life, in all its forms, that our Creator has blessed us so richly with.
I adore reading, but ONLY read books when printed on paper!! No e- books for this gal!
I think that invertebrates are even MORE interesting than vertebrates and hope you will find their diversity as intriguing and as exciting as I do.
Mick Duncan MA
In 1985 he and his wife, Ruby, with their two children relocated to the Philippines and moved into the very heart of a third world squatter community. For many years they lived and worked among the poor. Michael soon became the Team Leader of the work in Manila. Their concern was to bring about holistic transformational development and this necessitated being fully engaged in relief work, community development, social justice, evangelism and church planting. Michael has written five books. Move Out (1984) published in the United Kingdom was a call for churches to be involved in the wider world. A Journey in Development (1987) was a reflection on how best followers of Jesus could work amongst the poor. And Costly Mission, published by MARC in the United States was voted one of the ten most outstanding books in mission in 1996. Who Stands Fast? (2005) and Wild Ones (2006) was published in Australia. Michael has studied theology and sociology, and has also done work in Ethics and Development Studies at Oxford University. His Masters in Theology was entitled: Dietrich Bonhoeffer and a Theological Ethic of Initiative.
Michael and his wife Ruby recently moved into a neighborhood in South Auckland where they are involved in pastoring a church.
Dr. Joe Sheldon: Terrestrial Ecosystems & Tropical Forest Ecology
High school in St. Helens, Oregon; B.S. The College of Idaho (biology); Ph. D the University of Illinois (Entomology). Thirty six years of college teaching at Eastern College and Messiah College (both in Pennsylvania). Summer teaching faculty of Au Sable Institute of Environmental science (1987-2007) Received outstanding teaching awards at both Eastern and Messiah College. Received the Conservation Educator of the Year, Classroom Category, for the state of Pennsylvania in 1998. Served as President of the American Entomological Society (1991-1997) and President of the American Scientific Affiliation (1998-1999). Board Member of the Evangelical Environmental Network (2004-2007). Chairman of the Academic Committee of the Creation Care Study Program (2004-2007). Presented invited expert testimony on the Endangered Species Act for the House Committee on Resources (2004). Participant in the first Scientists-Evangelicals Retreat in 2006 at The Melhana Plantation, Thomasville, GA., sponsored by the Center for Health and the Global Environment, (Harvard Medical School) and the National Association of Evangelicals. Author of numerous articles on insect ecology; science/religion focusing on stewardship of Creation; and two books – Rediscovery of Creation: A Bibliographical Study of the Church’s Response to the Environmental Crisis, 1992, The American Theological Library Association ATLA Bibliography Series, No. 29 and The Scarecrow press, Inc; Redeeming Creation: The Biblical Basis for Environmental Stewardship, 1996. Inter Varsity Press, Co-authored with Van Dyke, Mahan, and Brand. Retired to Whidbey Island, WA June 2007. Board Vice Chair for Pacific Rim Institute for Environmental Stewardship (2009-present).
Dr. Rolf Bouma
Rolf Bouma is the Director of the Center for Faith and Scholarship in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and Academic Pastor for the Campus Chapel. He teaches Environmental Ethics and Public Policy courses in the University of Michigan's Program in the Environment and directs the Graduate Fellows program for the Au Sable Institute of Environmental Studies. A native of Michigan, Rolf has a law degree (U.Mich.), an M.Div. (Calvin Seminary), and a PhD (BostonU) in eco-theology. His primary interests are in human valuing of the natural world and ways in which people discern the value God places on creatures and creation. He is married to Sandra, a nutrition specialist who works with bone marrow transplant patients at C. S. Mott Children's Hospital at the University of Michigan. They have three children: Dietrich, Lindsey, and Jalen. Their most loved activities are biking, hiking, birding, camping, and sports (Go Wolverines & Red Sox!).
Dr. Susan Felch
Susan Felch is Professor of English and Director of the Calvin Center for Christian Scholarship at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, MI. She grew up as a TCK (third-culture kid) in Papua New Guinea where her parents were missionary linguists. She returned to the United States for her undergraduate education at Wheaton College in music education and her Ph.D. in English from The Catholic University of America in Washington, D. C. She taught music K-12 and high school English for a few years before going on to graduate school, and has taught at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan since 1992. Her interest in learning was sparked early in life by her grandfather, a farmer, who loved to read and tell stories and who never allowed his grandchildren to use a word they couldn’t spell. She has written a number of books ranging from a four-volume anthology on the Spiritual Biographies of the Seasons to scholarly works on sixteenth-century British women writers. She enjoys cats, reading, sculling on Lake Wabasis where she and her husband, Doug, have a cottage, and teaching.
Dr. Eric Steinkamp
Eric Steinkamp is Professor of Environmental Science, and Math and Science Department Chair at Northwest University, based in Kirkland, Washington. Dr. Steinkamp holds a B.S. in Forestry from the University of Illinois, an M.S. in Forest Management from Stephen F. Austin State University, and a Ph.D. in Forest Science from Colorado State University. He also has a Masters in Divinity from the Assembly of God Theological Seminary. Dr. Steinkamp’s interests include application of environmental technologies in developing countries, studying alpine ecosystems, and the interplay between Christian theological understanding and environmental stewardship.
Dr. Ed Higgins
Ed Higgins is Professor of Writing and Literature at George Fox University, a Quaker-founded institution, south of Portland, OR. Ed teaches creative writing and literature and is a poet, fiction writer, and essayist with a wide range of writing publications. His teaching and scholarly interests include world literature, science fiction, and the contemporary novel. He is also a part-time farmer who draws much of his writing inspiration from his relationship to the land.
Ed and his wife live on a small farm in Yamhill, Oregon where they remain unrepentant holdovers from the early 70s West Coast “back-to- the-land” movement. They raise a menagerie of animals including chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese, pigs, Jersey steers, Oberhasli dairy goats, and two amusing, very fast whippets who love to chase our two manx barn cats (the cats are not amused).
Ed poems, short fiction and other writing have appeared in such publications as, Commonweal, Christianity & Literature, Christian Century, The Mennonite, Friends Journal and Radix as well as in numerous online magazines.
(You can find out more info about Ed on his Facebook page or the George Fox University website.)
Dr. David Warners – Terrestrial Ecosystems & Tropical Forest Ecology
David Warners grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan and graduated from Calvin College with a major in biology and chemistry in 1985. Dave earned a Masters degree in Environmental Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a PhD in Botany from the University of Michigan. Between graduate degrees Dave and his wife Teri lived and worked for the Christian Reformed World Relief Committee in Tanzania from 1990–1992. He has been teaching ecology, botany and research courses at Calvin for 16 years while doing research with students in the areas of conservation, restoration and plant evolution. Recently he has been involved in a community initiative in Grand Rapids to help churches become involved in improving the health of an urban stream and its surrounding watershed, work that has included reintroducing native habitats into urban and industrial areas. Dave has taught several classes at Au Sable Institute as well as both CCSP campuses and loves the opportunities these educational experiences provide for facilitating experiential learning while engaging in a mutually affirming community of Christian stewards. Dave enjoys a variety of outdoor activities with Teri and their three children, including camping, gardening and cooking. He is also quite fond of his big tall red Schwinn Varsity bicycle, which he rides as much as he possibly can.
Dr. Eli Knapp – Ecosystems Research Project
Dr. Eli Knapp teaches courses in Human Ecology, Wildlife Behavior, Conservation Biology, and Swahili at Houghton College, in New York, and in Tanzania, East Africa, where he direct the Houghton-in Tanzania Study Abroad Semester Program every spring. His interests lie in the interactions between humans and the environment, especially around protected areas. Eli has studied human-environment relationships most extensively in East Africa and lived in Serengeti National Park, in Tanzania, for three years. While there, he endured daily torment from the resident baboons who, at various times, entered his car and house, helping themselves to solar shower, cereal, Cheetos, and Tortilla chips. He’s exacted revenge on several occasions, drenching them with water from large mud puddles as he drives past, and putting stale flour outside his house. Through rigorous scientific study, he’s discovered that upon eating flour, baboons go into asthmatic fits and sneeze for several hours. When Eli’s not battling baboons, he enjoys teaching his son about birds, trying to make his daughter smile, and kayaking.
Dr. Norman Wirzba
Norman Wirzba is Research Professor of Theology, Ecology, and Rural Life at Duke Divinity School. That's a mouthful! What it means is that Norman teaches and thinks about environmental issues from a farmer's point of view. I think we have lots to learn from farmers because they have been living close to the land for a very long time. The Bible also happens to reflect an agricultural point of view. I grew up as a farm kid in western Canada, thinking I would be a rancher in the foothills of the Rockies. Turns out that I like books more than I like cows and pigs and chickens (though it is sometimes a pretty close call). I love hanging out in a raspberry patch in late spring, collecting God's "red gold," and making salsa in the fall from tomatoes and peppers grown in my garden. I am also a fairly competitive athlete, though I am getting more and more disappointed in my uncooperative body. I look forward to meeting you, enjoying some engaged conversation and learning experiences, and discovering the wonders of New Zealand.
Dr. Corey Beals
I live with my wife, Jillian and two sons, Jonathan (6) and Daniel (4), in a nearly hundred-year-old house across the street from George Fox University where I have been teaching philosophy and theology for the last six years. Philosophers are sometimes parodied as having their heads in the clouds and being of no earthly good, but my love of wisdom has brought me closer and closer to the soil, rather than farther from it. I love to hike, climb, kayak, and walk; I love to dig my hands into garden soil and work with mud, wood or stone in restoring our old house. (see my blog: dirtsoul.blogspot.com)
I have taught philosophy seminars on Evil, Goodness, Postmodernism, Truth, and Wendell Berry and Creation Care. My writing has been focused on some of these same topics, especially focusing on the ways that we become invisible to one another. The purpose of my teaching, writing and living is to find ways for myself and others to move out of invisibility into faithfully seeing and being seen, knowing and being known and being loved anyway. Some of the things heard said by people who know me best: My boys: "let's wrestle" My wife: "let's wrestle"; my Men's Group: "look out for that freighter!"; my House Church (including my wife): "we love you anyway.”
Drew Ward M.A.
Drew Ward is part of an ongoing experiment living in intentional Christian community and has been teaching Imagining the Earth in Belize and the South Pacific for the Creation Care Study Program since 2002. With a Masters in English (emphasizing Environmental Literature) and two Bachelors, one in Classical Languages and one in Comparative Literature, all from the University of California, Irvine, and a graduate of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, Drew recently taught Writing and Literature for Azusa Pacific University, and currently teaches Writing at Chaffey College.
A writer himself, he's a former poetry editor for Creation Care magazine and consultant for Restoring Eden. He speaks around the world about the earth, revolutionary marriage, Christian community, and the Biblical imagination.
Dr. Erik Lindquist – Terrestrial Ecosystems & Tropical Forest Ecology
Erik Lindquist has been called a combination of Indiana Jones, Tarzan and Einstein. An Associate Professor of Biology and Environmental Science at Messiah College, Erik has taught for CCSP many times. Two chief goals predominate his professional life: 1) to reveal the magnificence of Creation through the mechanisms of ecology, selection, and adaptation; and 2) to challenge university students to consider a life of intentional and examined faith. As an ecologist and a conservationist, he teaches college students in all disciplines to reflect upon how their lives impact and interact with the natural world. The Socratic maxim, "the unexamined life is not worth living," defines the direction of his teaching philosophy. From this, he strives to make every effort as a professor to encourage students to become introspective by examining their lives, their faith and their world. Erik's enthusiasm is certainly contagious. Start practicing your kiwi call!
Dr. Dave Lundquist - Marine Ecology
Greetings all! I am a former computer consultant turned marine biologist. Growing up 1500 miles from the nearest ocean, I always enjoyed summer vacations spent at the beach, and marine biology was a dream to me. After a few years in the “real world” of business, I decided it was time to move into the real world and chase my dreams. Good fortune, hard work, and no small amount of luck landed me a Ph.D. project in Kaikoura, and the rest is history. I look forward to introducing each of you to the beauty of the natural world we have here!
Pauline Stevick MA
My interest in God's creation developed early, perhaps because I grew up in the verdant ridge-and-valley section of the Appalachian Mountains close to the Susquehanna River. Similarly, I came to an early appreciation of literature in all its forms: short stories, novels, essays, poetry. As a ninth grader I decided I wanted to teach English, a goal that I have achieved, finding much satisfaction in my years as a public school secondary teacher and later as an adjunct instructor at Messiah College.
While in college, I met a man who shared these interests and was also a committed Christian. Now, after forty-plus years of marriage, we share much more--not only a love of travel, but also three sons and seven grandchildren. Teaching and traveling together in New Zealand has been one of the delightful surprises that we never envisioned in those early years.
Dr. Steve Bouma-Prediger
Having lived in Toronto, Los Angeles, and Chicago, I now live in downtown Holland, Michigan (in southwestern Michigan) in a 118 year old house with my wife Celaine, youngest daughter Sophia, and numerous animals with Spanish names (Rosita, Lokita, Bella). Older daughters Anna and Chara are in college, majoring in things such as English, Environmental Education, and Humanity and Nature Studies. My wife is a marriage and family therapist, a spiritual director, and an ordained minister in the Reformed Church in America. I teach in the Religion Dept and direct the Environmental Studies program at Hope College, a 3 minute bike ride from my house. I spend as much time as possible outside, including taking students whitewater rafting, flatwater canoeing, and backpacking in the Adirondacks of upstate New York every May as part of a 3 week Hope course.
I am a graduate (in mathematics and computer science) of Hope College, have masters degrees from the Institute for Christian Studies (in philosophy) and Fuller Theological Seminary (in theology) as well as a Ph.D. in religious studies from The University of Chicago. I have written numerous books, including For the Beauty of the Earth: A Christian Vision for Creation Care (revised second edition) and Beyond Homelessness: Christian Faith in an Age of Displacement, co-authored with Brian Walsh. I have taught with CCSP for over a decade, in both Belize and New Zealand, and believe wholeheartedly in the mission of this program. I am delighted to be returning again to teach.
Dr. Calvin DeWitt - Terrestrial Ecosystems & Ecosystems Research Project
Cal is a scientist, writer, and conservationist who enjoys sharing his interest and enthusiasm for the environment and for earthkeeping. He loves to teach in the classroom and field and is particularly interested in serving Christian colleges and universities across the continent and globe in environmental stewardship. His work is directed at building bridges between environmental science, ethics, and practice. Cal's backyard zoo, begun at the age of three with his first turtle, was the start of his life's work on living things and their environment. After growing up in Grand Rapids, Michigan and teaching at Calvin College and the University of Michigan he left for Wisconsin in 1972 and now inhabits Waubesa Marsh, 8 miles south of Madison. Here, all the animals are free to move over and about a glacial drumlin island that emerges from the marsh to hold his house ("Oak Knoll") above water-- there to keep him, his wife Ruth, and Cleo the cat high and dry. Early in his career as a professor in Michigan he found that, across the country and around the world, the animals he was studying were having their habitats taken away. This brought him to contribute to the development of Au Sable Institute, to prepare hundreds of undergraduate and graduate students for environmental careers, to do wetlands research that integrates across the disciplines, to probe environmental beliefs, and to reach out to help people incorporate environmental integrity into their worldviews and beliefs. He loves to lecture on caring for Creation and has given campus-wide convocation lectures at more than 100 U.S. and Canadian colleges and universities. He has brought his message worldwide through travels to China, Korea, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Russia, Ecuador, the Dominican Republic, and the United Kingdom.
Dr. Laurie Furlong - Marine Ecology & Stream Ecology
An environmental scientist, Dr. Furlong holds a doctorate in ecology, evolution and marine biology. Her research and publications have been in the fields of stream ecology, entomology and biogeography, and she has experience as a biological consultant. Furlong teaches Introduction to Environmental Science, General Biology, Invertebrate Zoology and Aquatic Ecology at Northwestern College, Orange CIty IA.. She has also been a stream ecology and Marine ecology instructor in both the Belize and New Zealand programs.