Field Trips/Course Work

Field Trips out of San Ignacio:

Iguana Project (2/2/2012)

     The first field trip we made was right here in San Ignacio, just a bit up the up the street from Martha's! The Iguana Project is stationed at the San Ignacio Hotel and Resort. After we had learned a bit about iguanas we got to meet them up close and personal! We met Gomez (the dominant male and main project mascot) as well as Bradford (a male a few years younger) and Roxy (a pregnant female).  It was a pretty rainy day and since reptiles need the sun to warm, their internal body temperature all of the iguanas were very calm and slow-moving.

The Iguana Project's main purpose is to breed green iguanas in captivity so that they can release them back into the wild when they're a bit older (and they aren't as vulnerable to predators).  We learned that one of the biggest threats to Iguana conservation is actually human consumption, which is how they got the nickname "bamboo chicken."  It's a tradition in some cultures here in Belize to eat iguana around Easter time.  The Iguana Project is working hard to educate local people in an effort to end this practice (especially the eating of pregnant females).  After we visited the adult iguanas, we got to go into a separate enclosure where they kept the juveniles.  They were so cute (and much more active)!  and before we knew it, they were climbing all over us! 

Belize Bird Rescue (2/2/2012)

     After lunch we visited a woman named Nicki Buxton who runs "Belize Bird Rescue--Parrot Rehabilitation Center and Bird Sanctuary" out of her home in Belmopan.  We've learned that in Belize it's illegal to own a captive parrot unless it is licensed--this is mainly because a lot of these birds are endangered and only captive-bred parrots are allowed as pets.  Many people poach birds from the wild in order to make money--often times they are sold in the U.S. and wild bird populations are unfortunately decreasing at an alarming rate. Even the birds who are "pets" in Belize are often kept in really small cages and many die at a very young age.  Nicki realized that Belize didn't have any sort of organization in place to help these birds and so although she didn't originally come here planning to start a bird sanctuary, she decided to try and do something about it. The center focuses on creating and distributing educational materials, as well as doing presentations in some of the local schools. Part of her operation also involves "bird rehab," which means taking previously owned parrots and essentially making them "real birds" again.  Once the birds were part of a flock, and could communicate with one another and forage for food, she would release them back into the wild (where they belong!).  When we visited, she had over 40 birds on the premises: 25+ parrots, a keel-billed toucan, a crested aracari (another type of toucan) and even two peacocks! We learned a lot at Belize Bird Rescue and it was really inspiring to see someone making so many positive changes despite having to overcome quite a few obstacles in the process.

Community Baboon Sanctuary (2/3/2012)

     We also visited the Community Baboon Sanctuary where we got a tour from one of our professor's younger brothers, Conway Young (everyone knows EVERYONE here!).  The CBS was started because the population of black howler monkeys was decreasing because of habitat destruction--mainly deforestation along river banks (their favorite place to live).  The strategy for helping preserve this habitat was to ask the people in the local surrounding communities to sign a voluntary pledge that encouraged them not to hunt or trap the monkeys as well as keeping a "buffer zone" of trees on their land so that the monkeys could travel easily from place to place.  This program represented a community-based conservation model that has worked fairly successfully.  We walked from the main building onto a path where we learned about traditional medicine and plants and then we got to see the moneys up close! There was a family group of seven, and Conway fed them some of their favorite food--trumpet tree leaves. The monkeys are pretty small in size--but you'd never know it when you hear them howl! We joked about how they sort of sound like dementors from Harry Potter.  But we're happy to report that they are much cuter, and since the CBS has started, their future is looking much brighter--they even did a relocation project a few years ago and brought a group of monkeys to Chaa Creek where they have been living in (and repopulating) the area ever since!

Belize Zoo (2/6/2012)

Jay getting a kiss from Junior Buddy!

Alyson and the Boa

 Through Dr. Isabell's course on wildlife conservation in Belize, we had the extreme pleasure of getting a V.I.P. tour of the Belize Zoo led by Sharon Matola, the founder and main woman behind the scenes of the zoo.  Sharon came to Belize originally in 1983 to film a wildlife documentary and, after filming ended, she was left with 20 animals, thus the beginning of the Belize zoo.  Aimed at educating the local public, specifically Belizean school children, all of the signs around the zoo are written in fun and engaging ways, some even in Creole!  With Sharon, we had the most amazing experience behind the scenes.

A Tapir--the national mammal of Belize

We got to hold a boa constrictor, feed a tapir (the national mammal of Belize), go inside the cage of the scarlet macaws and feed them peanuts (or try to...they got a little excited and kept flying around), and even go inside the jaguar enclosure and meet Junior, the most famous animal at the Belize zoo (he even made the phone book cover this past year!).   It was an amazing experience and in my opinion is the best example of conservation through hands-on education in Belize. 


Belize Herpatarium Aquarium Park-BHAP (2/6/2012)
 After going to the Belize Zoo, we visited Tony Garel at the Belize Herpetarium Aquarium Park (BHAP).  Currently in the process of construction, Tony is building the first tourism and educational facility in Belize specializing in herpetology (snakes!).

Tony and a beautiful snake

The institute is actively involved in assisting authorities with the removal and relocation of problem reptiles such as crocodiles and venomous snakes.  Currently he is housing quite a few snakes and crocodiles.  While we were there, Dr. Isabelle, our professor and trained wildlife veterinarian, took a look at one of the crocodiles who had gotten in a fight with another croc, and administered it antibiotics and other treatments.  We even got to go inside the enclosure, with two other crocodiles watching our every move, while she administered treatment!

Dr. Isabelle and Tony assessing the injured crocodile

Tony's master plan for the herpetarium includes much more than is currently built, but he hopes to open within the next year or so to the general public.

Sneaky Snake with Julia P.

 Doing conservation work with snakes and other reptiles is extremely difficult in Belize, because culturally most Belizeans hate snakes and immediately kill them on sight.  So having a reptile educational facility within Belize is a huge step towards an understanding of snakes and their positive impact on the ecosystem!

Trip to a Tropical Rainforest (2/11/2012)

Dr. Colin Young explaining some of the magic of the rainforest!

On Saturday the 11th we had our final field trip with Colin Young, our professor for Linking Ridges to Reefs--a fabulous course studying the ecosystems of Belize--at Black Rock, hiking through a riparian tropical rainforest!  Black Rock is a beautiful resort tucked in some of the most beautiful rainforests we've seen yet, and we had the extreme pleasure of meeting one of the co-owners Cameron.  He was an amazing host and showed us all around the resort, giving us the V.I.P. tour of the resort's water treatment system and hydro generator!  After the tour we started out on our hike!  It was a cloudy day but we were excited to get out of San Ignacio and explore the rainforest with possibly the most knowledgeable ecologist in Belize.

Diana at the top of Black Rock

We had to take a canoe across the river to get to the start of the hike, which was a fun way to start, and from there we went straight up.  Colin pointed out incredible plants and the intricate layering of the rainforest as we went.  The RAINforest truly held up to its name; when we got about half way, it down poured on all of us.  It was a pretty neat moment, but made the rest of our hike extremely slippery.  We all helped each other reach the top clinging to trees, roots, and the pants of the person in front of us!  Finally we reached the top and got to see the most amazing epiphytes covering every tree around us.  The view was stunning, as we stood inside of the clouds looking over the river.

Meg, Demelza, Jordan, and Julia S. post hike

The most hilarious part of our trek, though, was the walk--or should I say slide--down the mountain.  Trying not to slide face first down, we laughed and rode the mud, some on our feet and some on our butts, all the way to the bottom.  A very muddy ending but an incredible adventure!








ISIS (Institute for Sustainable International Studies) Courses:

Our three ISIS courses--Indigenous Politics-Chalenges and Possibilities with Dr. Filiberto Penados, Linking Ridges to Reefs-An Ecosystem Based Approach to Biodiversity Conservation and Development with Dr. Colin Young, and Wildlife Conservation in Belize with Dr. Isabelle Paquet-Durand--are all wrapped up as of Tuesday 2/21. Now we're focusing on Intercultural Competence and Communication with Meg and our service-learning projects in San Ignacio.

--Submitted by Hayley Williams and Julia Stratton