Conservation in Action

The Conflict and Development Foundation supports the ongoing research, extension, and development efforts of Conservation in Action.

Project Manager: Dr. Leslie Ruyle

Dr. Leslie Ruyle is a Research Scientist in the Department of International Affairs at the Bush School of Government & Public Service where she teaches "Women, International Development, and Environmental Conflict". She also teaches "Natural Resource Policy" for the Department of Rangeland, Wildlife, and Fisheries Management. An ecologist working across disciplines to create innovative solutions for conservation, conflict, and development, she holds a PhD in Ecology from the University of Georgia, served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ghana, West Africa, and has managed university-based initiatives for NSF and USAID. Having lived in four countries and traveled to over 90 countries in her career, she has broad experience in international applied conservation and research including stints at the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute-Panama, Honduran Coral Reef Foundation, Applied Biodiversity Science Program, Earthwatch, the Center on Conflict and Development, and the Scowcroft Institute of International Affairs. Her work has been recognized with the UN’s Equator Prize Initiative, the Dean of AgriLIfe’s Award for Interdisciplinary teams, The Founder’s Excellence Award from her alma mater Montana State University- Northern, and the Dean of the Bush School’s Award for Excellence.

Currently, she is working on three international programs: 

1. an entrepreneurship program in regions of conflict, conservation concern, and limited connectivity (EC3) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo,

2. a human-wildlife coexistence project for ranchers in Botswana to protect both cattle and predators like lions and cheetah

3. a marine project in Costa Rica called Tiburones and Tortugas for shark and turtle conservation.

Fieldwork:

Faculty Fieldwork - It Takes a Village - Texas A&M Foundation

Aggie students contributed to the program by developing an app to help local businesspeople with their finances and bookkeeping. Ruyle’s group has also built a co-working space where Wakisha participants can use computers, electricity and the internet.

MORE: https://www.txamfoundation.com/Fall-2018/Faculty-Fieldwork.aspx

Podcast:

Professor Leslie Ruyle is expanding students’ horizons while breaking down barriers to innovation (Episode 69) - She Said/She Said Podcast

I traveled to Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas to meet with Leslie Ruyle, a professor of international affairs at The Bush School of Government and Public Service. Leslie is working to break down academic barriers that often stand in the way of solving some of the world’s most challenging problems. And, she’s drawing […]

MORE…. https://shesaidshesaidpodcast.com/episodes/professor-leslie-ruyle-expanding-students-horizons-while-building-their-confidence/

The Conflict and Development Foundation supported the ongoing research, extension, and development efforts of conservation agriculture production systems in Ghana.  This is carried out through a variety of programs looking at on-farm production management, land tenure systems, and soil fertility trials across Ghana.

The main focus is the Centre for No-Till Agriculture which serves as a research and training center in a public-private partnership between agribusiness and agricultural institutions.  This first of its kind institution that serves as a focal point for no-till research and activities as part of a Brown Revolution soil conservation approach.  This center’s research will be a world-class in-field example of how conservation-based techniques can lead to better long-term results for smallholder farmers around the world than traditional practices, and its outreach activities will make it well known throughout Ghana, then West Africa, and eventually across the continent of Africa.  The center designs, tests, and implements context-appropriate, high-yielding, conservation-based agriculture systems for rural smallholder farmers in Africa. 

Centre for No-Till Agriculture

Pioneer Castroville Preservation Trust

The Conflict and Development Foundation is based in Castroville, Texas. Part of our mission is to conserve our unique corner of Texas History through the preservation of pioneer structures throughout the town. The following homes are part of the collection and are made available for historical tours and educational interpretation through partnerships with local organizations in Castroville.

We encourage visitors to Castroville to make stops at the Castro Colonies Living History Center, the Landmark Inn State Historical Park, and the Steinbach House Visitor Center.

Castroville has a unique space in Texas history. During the years of the Republic of Texas, Castroville was the only community in the wild frontiers West of San Antonio to the border with Mexico. Upon its founding, San Antonio was nervous that the upstart Castroville settlement would compete for the trade routes to Mexico. Castroville is the only surviving French settlement in Texas. And because of geography, the railroads bypassed the town allowing much of the original pioneer structures to be preserved.

Castro Homestead

The Castro Homestead is part of the original property of Texas empresario Henri Castro, founder of the Castro Colonies of Medina County. The primary house served as the Castroville residence of Henri Castro and wife Amelia Mathias. There is also a side house that was originally on the street and served as a diner and bakery.

In modern times, the Castro Homestead served as the office of the great Texas Aggie, Sterling C. Evans where he managed his South Texas ranches. Evans owned the Castro Homestead up until his death at age 101.

The Castro Homestead is a registered landmark of the State of Texas and the Department of the Interior’s National Register of Historic Places.

Bippert-Kueck House

The Bippert-Kueck House was first constructed by Jacob and Mary Magdalena Bippert, who settled in the community with their seven children. Jacob Bippert bought one lot from Henri Castro for $1.00 and received a second lot in compensation for his masonry work on the Catholic Church. Rather than beginning as a large residence, it started as a very small, practical home: a single limestone room measuring about 7.5 by 21 feet, with plastered walls, a dirt floor, front and rear doors, paired windows, and a fireplace. All for 9 people.

The Bippert family sold the property to Henry J. Kueck for $180 in 1869 and the house was expanded shortly after. Those additions included a long hall and two rooms with fireplaces, changing the building from a one-room pioneer dwelling into a more substantial house while retaining its limestone-and-plaster character. Extensions continued to be added over the years. Over the years the home also served as a Methodist worship space and a funeral home.

Arcadius Steinle House

The Steinle House was constructed in 1847 by Arcadius Steinle, a mason from Hettingen, Prussia. He married Marie Ann Dreyer in March 1847, purchased the Castroville lot from Henri Castro in August of that year, and began building the house later that year.

Arcadius and Marie Ann raised six children here. After Arcadius died in 1858, the property remained the family homestead. Marie Ann later married Arcadius’s brother, Franz Steinle, and five more children were born from that marriage. The home passed to Arcadius’s son Henry Steinle and stayed in the family until 1946. Architecturally, the house was built in phases and is described as a vernacular side-gable dwelling of stucco over rubble stone, with a rear ell of timber frame and stone and a central entry flanked by paired windows.

Its relevance lies in how much of the property’s working layout survived. Most of the original architecture is intact. The arrangement makes the Steinle House especially useful for understanding the built form of an early Castroville pioneer home.

The Steinle House is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.