CMU Blogs
Within CMU blogs, you'll find fascinating stories and pieces on current students and accomplished alumni. You'll also hear directly from students, faculty, and staff, as they tell their personal CMU stories in their own voices.
Handing Over the Pen: What Community-led Conservation Taught Me in Rural Zimbabwe
When I arrived in the dusty, sun-drenched Mwenezi district of southern Zimbabwe my task was clear: pilot a tool I developed to assess the conservation of medicinal plants at the grassroots level. It seemed straightforward on paper—I was eager to see how communities engage with biodiversity, not just as a concept in global conservation systems, but through lived experience. What unfolded during our few days of piloting felt far more personal, layered, and instructive than I could have imagined.
Gendered Impacts of Climate Change in Zimbabwe
Climate change is disproportionately impacting women in rural communities in Zimbabwe. Culturally, women are primarily responsible for domestic responsibilities such as such as fetching water, providing food for their families, and keeping their households clean.
Environmental changes driven by climate change, such as more frequent droughts and irregular rainfall, are making it increasingly difficult to carry out these tasks.
Gazing Into the Mirror of Climate Adaptation: An RA's Reflections from the LINCZ Project in Zimbabwe
I'll never forget that first set of interview videos I received from Prof. Arnold. Sitting on my chair at home, watching the interview video play on my laptop atop my work table, where I remote work, I was struck by a woman's words from Mwenezi village in Zimbabwe: "She's bringing the issue of domestic violence, as a result of no food in the house."
Researching climate change adaptation governance: a journey into rural Zimbabwe
As part of the LINCZ project, I spent a month in Zimbabwe talking with people about how their communities are adapting to climate change in their daily lives, and how they collaborate among the actors and organizations involved at the ward, village, and district levels.
Daily Research Activities
In June 2024, I met with colleagues from Mennonite Central Committee Zimbabwe's partners from Score Against Poverty and Brethren in Christ Compassionate and Development Services. Then, we visited communities in the Mwenezi District of Masvingo Province and the Gwanda District of Matabeleland South Province of Zimbabwe. There, we spoke with local stakeholders about the challenges and opportunities in responding to climate change in their communities.
Wetland Sampling in Zimbabwe: Photo Essay
What makes a wetland a wetland? Tales flowing through the lens in Zimbabwe
Water is often seen as the source of life, and some cultures even say that water is life. This isn't by chance—our bodies, like all living things on Earth, are filled with water. Life exists here because we have liquid water, and without it, life can barely survive.
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