EcoLogic Development Fund, based in Cambridge and Guatemala, has worked to empower rural communities to protect and restore tropical ecosystems in Mexico and Central America since 1993. EcoLogic believes that what makes conservation stick is skilled local leadership and enduring community-level commitment. On Thursday, December 4, Anne Elise Stratton, a Tufts senior, will present her summer research in a lowland Caribbean Guatemala protected area. She’ll explain challenges farmers face with climate change, corn production, and agroforestry as well as her insights and anecdotes from fieldwork. Devyn Powell, Tufts class of 2014, joined EcoLogic’s staff before graduating last spring. She will add to Anne Elise’s presentation by leading lunch participants in a conversation about career paths, sustainability and climate, and EcoLogic’s special role and theory of change applied across the region – especially how a small NGO tackles deforestation and landscape restoration beyond protected areas alone.

Anne Elise Stratton worked as a field intern for EcoLogic this summer in the Sarstún region of Guatemala, where she is also pursuing research about seed selection and exchange in the area. She is currently a rising senior at Tufts, where she is pursuing her bachelor’s degree in Biology and Environmental Studies with a focus on food systems. Devyn Powell, EcoLogic Development Fund Communications Officer. Devyn is responsible for the development and implementation of EcoLogic’s communications strategy. Prior to joining EcoLogic, Devyn helped coordinate online communications, website management, and graphic design for the Tufts Institute of the Environment. She spent time in Ancash, Peru, where she conducted field research exploring climate change adaptation strategies for rural farming communities, and has also lived in Costa Rica. Devyn was raised in Portland, Oregon, and earned a BA in International Relations and Environmental Studies from Tufts (Class of 2014). She is proficient in Spanish and knows some Portuguese and Japanese.

Lunch & Learn lectures take place every Thursday from 12:00-1:00pm at the Lincoln Filene Center, Rabb Room on the Medford Campus during the academic year. The Tufts Institute of the Environment generously sponsors lunch. If you are interested in participating in the Lunch & Learn program as a guest lecturer/participant, contact environmentalstudies@tufts.edu.

You can’t make it to the talk? No problem! Watch it live here from your computer or smart phone.