Adelante Abroad - Summer Ecological Conservation Program in Scotland
Spend a summer studying abroad in green Edinburgh, Scotland. With Adelante's extremely affordable summer abroad program, you can put yourself in the middle of a country known for its natural beauty and heritage while taking classes on ecological conservation.
Students will take courses in Conservation Skills and Habitat Management. While you explore Scotland's natural and diverse beauty, which includes inland cliffs, woodlands and grasslands, you're also encouraged to travel and experience Scotland's lively capital. Check out Adelante today to start your study abroad trip!
Reviews
90%Overall
Rating
90%Overall
Rating
Overall, I had an amazing time in Scotland and in this specific program. The other students in my program were definitely the highlight, since we all got along so well. I have made so many new friends who I hope to see in the future. Seeing Scotland was even more beautiful than I remembered it to be, and we got to see many areas of Scotland that I would not have seen if I was just on a regular tour. The college itself is a wonderful agricultural college with really cool opportunities for students in a beautiful area of West Lothian.
80%Overall
Rating
This experience has overall been very rewarding. The program was a bit a more unstructured than I had thought, but looking back that is what should have been expected as this was the first time this program was being run.
I love how there were cultural visits built into our weekly schedules alongside our coursework activities. Also, the coursework largely consisted of conducting outdoor fieldwork - which I was very excited about. It was a good way to cultivate this fieldwork skill as well as spend time outdoors in the beautiful Scotland countryside.
I'm not sure how the selection process worked for accepting students into this program, but whatever you're doing you're doing it well. All of the ecology students were very fun to work with and we got along well. They were also pretty low maintence and able to go with the flow - an important trait when dealing with a new program such as this.
A few unfortunate things:
The canteen/dining hall was under construction nearly the entire time we were here. The food selection was not what I expected, not a lot of fruits and vegies which can be difficult for people, like myself, with dietary resrictions such as gluten allergies and vegetarian options.
The airport pickup was a bit uncoordinated as well. I was told to arrive at certain time and that an Adelante/Oatridge representative would be there with a sign for me to meet until we had a large enough party to head back to the college. There was no one waiting, and I ended up just having to blindly seek out students in the airport who might be part of the same program. And we were waiting for a while. Which would've been fine if we knew that some help was on the way. The phone numbers we were given to contact Oatridge upon arrival weren't working either - which made it even more difficult to tell if anyone was on their way to get us.
Some of the coursework was not explained in full. There was a big project at the end of the course and everyone in our group thought we were doing something different than what was actually assigned. The organization/coordinatino between different instructors seemed to be lacking a bit - but not too much.
70%Overall
Rating
Overall, the ecology program at Oatridge University was a good learning experience for my major at the University of Arkansas in environmental, soil, and water science. The biggest aspect of the program I enjoyed was learning about the cultural heritage of many of the practices used currently in Scotland. I found it particularly interesting concerning the use of cattle and other grazing animals over strimming or mowing to control dominant vegetation and general maintence.
100%Overall
Rating
Overall, this was an amazing experience! What I loved most about this experience was not being in the classroom except for a couple times out of the four weeks. We traveled to many different country parks, nature reserves, and cultural sites learning the whole time from proffesionals in that particular field. If you love to learn about different habitats, how to sustainably manage a habitat, and enjoy being outside then this will be a fantastic experience.
70%Overall
Rating
This was the first year for this program. There are obviously some kinks to work out. There is a lack of communication between the students and the staff as far as the technology. This is referring to the fact that the access to the internet was limited at times and that skype barely worked. There were many little things that are needed to be remerbered when studying abroad: bring an alarm clock, get used to eating bad food, the beds are not comfortable and the comforter will barely cover your feet when you sleep at ngiht.
This being said, this was a great trip. The issues are very small and not really a big issue in the grand scheme of things. They are just a part of studying abroad. Scotland has a beautiful contryside and the scenery is great. The castles here are awesome and very historical! The best thing about this program is that you get to see a lot of the countryside. You get to see a lot of cultural sites, such as prehistoric sites. The college is slightly away from the nearest town. It takes thirty minutes to get to the small town of Uphall, which really only has pubs and a convenient store. It is an hour walk to the train station in Uphall. The train is the best way to travel to Edinburgh, Glasgow or St. Andrew's. This really isn't bad you just need to get used to walking a little. You will need to walk in order to not get fat from the heavy meals that they feed you in the kitchen, or "canteen."
Everyone in Scotland is very friendly and nice! I have met so many people in Uphall, Edinburgh and St. Andrew's that it isn't even funny. If you are ever lost somewhere don't hesitate to ask someone how to get somewhere. I have never had anyone ignore me. Everyone is very helpful and polite. It is not like New York City where people are rude.
This trip is great. I would recommend that you only go if you are an Environmental Science or Ecology major. If you aren't then it will still be a neat trip, it just won't be as interesting as the other students think that it is.
Bottom line is that it is a country of beautiful scenery and the most laidback people ever! The castles are so awesome too!
Further Info
About Adelante
What were you doing in 1999? That is when Adelante Abroad sent its first candidate to Madrid, Spain, to do an International Internship Program there. She participated in a 6 month program, in a graphic design internship with a mid-sized company and lived, at first, on her own in a great little downtown apartment. By the following month we sent over two more candidates and have never looked back.
Internship, Semester & Summer Study, Teach and Volunteer Abroad programs define our menu of offerings and expertise now. Yes, you have your own room in a central, shared apartment, but meals are typically not included because we want you to grocery shop in your new country. Yes, we have staff on site full time but do they call you every day to check in? Nope. They are there if you need them but are trained to give you space to bump into things, make mistakes and finally find, on your own, how you fit in to your new country & home.
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The ecological program in Scotland was a great experience for me. I really loved seeing all the scenic parts around Scotland- the Highlands, nature reserves, castles and so much more. Even the campus itself that you stay at has some gorgeous landscape. The two program courses were very informative and showed me a lot about habitat management and conservation.