Lucie is an award-winning designer and educator with broad experience in interior/architectural design. She is the Coordinator of the Interior Design program at Kwantlen Polytechnic University, and her teaching has focused on Design Theories / History courses, site tutorials and field trips, and Design Studios. She has been involved in the establishment of international partnerships and exchanges, and has conducted field study educational travel in Canada, USA, Mexico, Chile, Colombia, Spain and Turkey; and has collaborated across Faculties to develop and implement the KPU Interdisciplinary Amazon Field School.
She has a doctorate in Educational Leadership from SFU. As a researcher and educator she is interested in the connection between people and their
environment, and the possibilities that can result from the spontaneous collision of ideas when people from differing backgrounds and experiences collaborate.
She has a doctorate in Educational Leadership from SFU. As a researcher and educator she is interested in the connection between people and their
environment, and the possibilities that can result from the spontaneous collision of ideas when people from differing backgrounds and experiences collaborate.
Marlene and Diego Samper lived for 8 years by the Caquetá River in the Northwest Amazon, and now are leading the Calanoa Project in its new setting on the banks of the Amazon River in Colombia.
Marlene is a social communicator, book publisher, and environmental educator, and has promoted Indigenous community development through the revival of traditional art. She has led several international groups to Latin American countries, exploring their cultures and nature.
Diego is a visual artist, photographer & designer, and has a lifetime of experience as a photographer and explorer of the Amazon. His work on the Makuna people of the Northwest Amazon was published by Smithsonian Institution Press and he was invited to join a team of National Geographic and international photographers in the Ecuadorian Amazon. He regularly delivers workshops on Photography, Creativity and Aesthetic Research. They both speak Spanish, English and French.
Marlene is a social communicator, book publisher, and environmental educator, and has promoted Indigenous community development through the revival of traditional art. She has led several international groups to Latin American countries, exploring their cultures and nature.
Diego is a visual artist, photographer & designer, and has a lifetime of experience as a photographer and explorer of the Amazon. His work on the Makuna people of the Northwest Amazon was published by Smithsonian Institution Press and he was invited to join a team of National Geographic and international photographers in the Ecuadorian Amazon. He regularly delivers workshops on Photography, Creativity and Aesthetic Research. They both speak Spanish, English and French.
Lee Beavington, PhD, is an award-winning author, learning strategist, and interdisciplinary instructor for KPU’s Amazon Field School; he also teaches Ecology, Genetics, and Advanced Cell and Molecular Biology in the lab and field. He is passionate about nature experience, and incorporates his transdisciplinary interests in science, art and education when facilitating experiential and embodied learning in both native and foreign ecosystems. His research explores land-based pedagogy and environmental ethics, poetic inquiry, and transformative learning. He has over 100 publications ranging from peer-reviewed articles to science fiction, nature photography and poetry.
Farhad has degrees in experimental psychology from UBC (BSc) and Dalhousie University (PhD); and he now teaches at KPU. As an educator and researcher, he found the place where his natural talent collided with his personal passion. His teaching and research interests are diverse and include evolutionary psychology, human factors, perception, critical thinking, traffic safety, animal cognition, and open education.
His personal interests are also eclectic: woodworking, vegetable growing, cooking, science fiction, and hiking; he hates mosquitoes, loves eating mangos, and building Lego creations with his 6-year-old son. Farhad serves as a mentor/buddy with Big Brothers, and has worked with Habitat for Humanity to renovate homes in Recife, Brazil.
His personal interests are also eclectic: woodworking, vegetable growing, cooking, science fiction, and hiking; he hates mosquitoes, loves eating mangos, and building Lego creations with his 6-year-old son. Farhad serves as a mentor/buddy with Big Brothers, and has worked with Habitat for Humanity to renovate homes in Recife, Brazil.
