Australia

Though the world’s smallest continent, Australia features a full range of topography and ecosystems: desert, grassland, mountains, rainforests, coral reefs. It is home to the Great Barrier Reef, the koala, the platypus; it is one of the seventeen countries identified as harboring the majority of earth’s species, and a high percentage of Australia’s species are endemic only to the continent. The Piper Center for Creative Writing is partnering with two universities in southeastern Australia for a 2009 exchange program.