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Written by Noel Teter '24
Published on July 07, 2025
EES students exploring the badlands of the Painted Desert, northern Arizona in March, 2025.
(L to R) EES students Isabela Bagnall, Abigale Wilcox, Annalise Kennedy, Kaylee Slosek and Lillia Chaves enjoying the scenery of Sedona Arizona in March, 2025.
(L to R) EES students Lillia Chaves, Isabela Bagnall, Abigale Wilcox, and Kaylee Slosek investigating the geology of old mining sites in the Sonoran Desert near Tucson.
Environmental earth science Professors Peter Drzewiecki (left) and Dickson Cunningham led the course.
(L to R) EES Students Abigale Wilcox, Charles Coccoli, Kaylee Slosek and Matthew Tardella at the Grand Canyon, March 2025
Ezra van Yperen during a canyon hike in Sedona, Arizona
Students standing in front of a huge ore haulage truck at the Asarco Mission Mine near Tucson, Arizona.
EES faculty and students in the San Francisco Volcanic Field, northern Arizona. Mt Humphrey stratovolcano is in the background.
Charles Coccoli giving a presentation to his peers on the stratigraphy and geological evolution of the Grand Canyon, March 2025.
Excited and enthusiastic EES students on the rim of the S-P Crater dormant volcano, northern Arizona
EES faculty and staff sitting on huge petrified logs and trunks in Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona
Students and Professor Cunningham “celebrating” the awesome geology of Fay Canyon, Sedona, March 2025.
EES group seemingly lost in Sedona, yet giddy with excitement.
EES faculty and students on a hike through the Sonoran Desert in the Tucson Mountains, Arizona
Student Kaylee Slosek delivers a presentation at Arizona's Petrified Forest National Park during a field excursion in March 2025.
EES group on the south rim of the Grand Canyon, March, 2025.
EES student group standing on volcanic cinders at Sunset Crater National Monument, northern Arizona.
From a snowstorm at the Grand Canyon to a climb up an active volcano, environmental earth science (EES) students at Eastern Connecticut State University experienced the natural wonders of Arizona during a global field course (GFC) from March 14-26.
The course, titled “EES 271: Earth and Environmental Field Excursion,” was led by EES Professors Dickson Cunningham and Peter Drzewiecki. The two have traveled to Arizona three times to teach the course.
Students studied at national parks, monuments, and other “sites of special interest,” including the Grand Canyon, Meteor Crater, Sunset Crater, the San Francisco Volcanic Field, Petrified Forest National Park, and others, according to the course’s syllabus.
“The trip included student presentations, group discussions, and the thrill of making many new observations and field discoveries,” said Cunningham. “This was a hugely enjoyable trip as our student group was very enthusiastic and met every challenge with a positive spirit.”
He continued: “The students gained a diverse hands-on education in nearly every branch of geology and environmental science that was combined with beautiful hikes in dramatic landscapes all over the state, from the Colorado Plateau to Sedona to the mountains of the Sonoran Desert.”
Student Kaylee Slosek recounted what she studied on the trip, including native rock and volcano formations, wildlife, and meteor sites. Petrified Forest stood out as her favorite site of the expedition.
“Seeing wood as a rock with all these different colors and learning how this process happens was so interesting,” she said. “From this course and others I've taken, I know I want to travel for my career and see the world from different views.”
Additionally, the course familiarized students with the area’s native geology/geological history and educate them about the region’s ethical issues, including “the competing demands of resource extraction, societal development, tourism, environmentalism, and preservation of Native American culture,” explained the syllabus.
“The EES extended field courses provide superb experiential learning opportunities for EES majors that benefit their overall education and employment prospects,” concluded Cunningham.