It's hot.

It's dusty, and it's halfway through three intense weeks for 84 environmental conservation science (ENCS) and forestry students in the Faculty of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sciences at the University of Alberta.

The Environmental and Conservation Sciences and Forestry Field School, informally known as spring field school, is required part of their undergraduate program that is run every spring in the boreal forest about 200 kilometres north of Edmonton and is an important part of the students' curriculum.

It's an invaluable hands-on introduction to what they will face in their respective careers.

Also invaluable is the support for this annual event provided by Portage College, the local post-secondary institution just south of the field school sites in Lac La Biche. On May 5 the students, faculty and staff from ALES, as well as members of the community of Lac La Biche and of Portage College, gathered together to celebrate 20 years of the partnership that allows the students the infrastructure support needed to concentrate on their studies during spring field school. 

Read more of the University of Alberta news release here: Outstanding in the field