Dr. Nikki Carsi Cruz and Ateneo Wild’s Abby Favis and Trinket Constantino

In this episode, Dr. Nikki Carsi Cruz and the Ateneo Wild’s Abby Favis and Trinket Constantino discuss the history of the citizen science group’s advocacy and projects on campus.

Nikki B. Carsi Cruz, PhD teaches interdisciplinary research, nonviolence, and environmental history at the Department of Interdisciplinary Studies where she currently serves as Chair. She is also Editor of Perspectives in the Arts and Humanities Asia, a journal of the School of Humanities. She is part of the university's Magis Aspirations team on Integral Ecology. Most weekends, she spends time outdoors in nature with her husband and three kids.

Abigail Marie Favis and Maria Katrina Constantino are the co-founders of The Ateneo Wild. Abby Favis is a faculty member of the Department of Environmental Science and the Program Manager for Campus Sustainability at the Ateneo Institute of Sustainability. Trinket Constantino is a faculty member of the Department of Biology where she teaches subjects in the field of cell and molecular biology. Both share an advocacy for urban biodiversity and nature spaces, which are essential in keeping cities healthy and livable. Through The Ateneo Wild, a citizen science program that promotes the importance of urban biodiversity and green spaces in making our cities healthy and beautiful, they hope to deepen community appreciation for nature in the city.

Talakayan is a series which presents how scholarship merges with practice by highlighting innovations, creative solutions, or responses to the complexities, ambiguities, and vulnerabilities we collectively face today. It is produced and shared for the benefit of learners everywhere. Talakayan is available on Arete’s YouTube channel for free.

Talakayan is an Areté Production done in partnership with Loyola Schools Department of Communication and the Eugenio Lopez Jr. Center for Multimedia Communication.