Where in the world is Forestry student Jill Aire? Spain

By Molly Rosbach on Jan. 21, 2025
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Forestry student Jill Aire poses enthusiastically in the field while doing soil recovery research in Spain.

Jill Aire is a third-year natural resources student in Oregon State University’s College of Forestry, specializing in ecological consciousness and sustainability. With her degree, she intends to work in international forestry. She spent last summer at a university lab in Spain researching soil recovery after forest fires in the region.

Where were you working? 
I was at the Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha in Albacete, an hour and a half south of Madrid in Spain. 

What language is spoken there?
Spanish.

How much time did you spend there? 
From July 1-Sept. 1, 2024.

What was the focus of your work? 
We were looking at how soil indicates recovery responses to forest fires in the area, with the goal of finding out how to go into these impacted ecosystems and restore their resilience. Part of the experiment was putting in different types of barriers — log, wood chip or stick barriers — to prevent soil erosion and determining which was the best method. Our initial findings were that the log barriers prevented erosion the most while still allowing water to flow. 

In the U.S., especially on the West Coast, we’ve developed so many programs and responses and organizations that help with fire-related research or issues, but in Spain it’s not as developed. We need more information on how we’re fighting fires and how we can work with fires. 

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Jill Aire poses with a friend in front of a sunny forest clearing in Spain.

Who were your closest local colleagues? 
The research project was led by Manual Esteban Lucas Borja at UCLM, who has been to Corvallis and OSU several times. He really wants to create a stronger connection between OSU and UCLM, so he’s working on developing a faculty-led program there. 

What’s the biggest challenge of working there?
I wasn’t as informed about this as I should have been, but in August, everything in Spain shuts down. My coworkers were on vacation so I had to do quite a bit of self-directed work. It was nice to do my own thing, but that was a culture shock, for a whole country to take a month off. 

What’s the best food you had there? 
Spain has amazing food. Unfortunately I recently developed a pork allergy, but Manuel and his wife made us a paella that didn’t have pork in it and that was really good. 

What’s the most non-touristy thing you got to do? 
To be very honest, I went to Spain during a time when I did not have a lot of money, so I didn’t really go anywhere or do much. But my friend Maria showed me a lot of really awesome local food places, and I just really loved that social aspect of the Spanish lifestyle. Everyone’s very open, very welcoming. 

What’s an important phrase to know in the local language? 
The phrase I heard dozens and dozens of times as part of my work was “encendidos forestales,” which means “forest fires.”

What were you most surprised to learn? 
The work ethic. It wasn’t really a surprise; I knew that Spaniards don’t live to work, but it was super chill. The head researcher was like, “Explore what you want, have fun.” The work ethic turned into more of a learning ethic. That was a pleasant surprise, because in some situations I’ve been in, you go to help someone with a project and you just become their laborer, where you just do what they want you to do. 

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Jill Aire and two colleagues taking field readings in a shrub-desert landscape in Spain.

What’s one thing from your experience that you’ll take back to Oregon with you? 
I just want to provide more awareness of and accessibility to our fire programs in the U.S. and share them with the world, specifically in Spain, Greece and Portugal where forest fires are the most impactful natural disaster. I would really like to continue that exchange of information. 

Besides family, what did you miss most from home? 
I missed just cultural context. Living in the U.S., this is my culture; I understand it, I’ve existed in it. But being in a place where I’m just a visitor, trying to navigate all those cultural nuances is a lot to do while also adjusting to a new place and also pursuing school and research. I got back home and I was able to interact with people a lot more fluidly. 

What advice would you give others who might travel there? 
Know how to navigate public transportation; know some important Spanish phrases for getting on and off trains and checking in. And look at AirBnB for housing.