Results From Field Data Collection to Improve Management of Protected Areas
May 13, 2013Categories:
Costa Rica: Sustainable Development Studies, SFS faculty posts
Name: Edgardo Arévalo, Ph.D.
Position: Resident Lecturer in Tropical Ecology and Sustainable Development
Program: Sustainable Development Studies, Costa Rica
After six days of field work at four different locations in Costa Rica, the students 
returned to the SFS campus to begin the analysis and interpretation of the data collected. Each student chose a specific topic within the general project lead by each of the professors. Last week, the group dynamic shifted away from supervised data collecting and into a mode of independent time management, 
with the students working on the variety of tasks needed to produce the final Directed Research report. Requiring lots of time and effort, this process is invaluable in that it provides students the opportunity to take an in-depth research project from its beginning as a research question, and following it through to completion. Being directly involved in the research every step of the way is an important learning experience, one that helps to prepare everyone for their future careers.
A Memorable Semester
May 10, 2013Categories:
SFS faculty posts, Turks & Caicos: Marine Resource Management Studies
Name: Heidi Hertler, Ph.D.
Position: Center Director
Program: Marine Resource Management Studies, Turks & Caicos Islands
SFS Alum: U.S. Virgin Islands Fall ’87
It hard to believe the students have just left. Reflecting back, this has been a memorable semester—up close encounters with migrating 
humpback whales, octopus and dolphin sightings, diving some of the most diverse reefs in the area, field trip to Provo, Saturday outreach, and Sunday bake-offs at the Center.
On the research front, Aaron Henderson, Marine Ecology Lecturer, and Megan Nash (Fall 2012) had a publication accepted in Marine Biodiversity Records documenting turtles hatching on South Caicos and the Center received a grant to measure and monitor erosion and accretion patterns on turtle nesting beaches around the TCI.
Alumni Profile: David Bennett
May 9, 2013Categories:
Name: David Bennett
Education: BS in Geographic Information Science, James Madison University; MA in International Development & Social Change, Clark University; MBA in Sustainable Business Management, Presidio Graduate School
SFS Program: Mexico Summer ‘97; SFS Intern Mexico Spring ‘98
Current Position: Green Team Operations & Innovations Lead at Google
Why did you choose SFS as a study abroad program?
I chose SFS because I was committed to having my study abroad experience be hands-on, one in which I would learn tangible research skills and methods. I also wanted to participate in a research effort where the outcomes would be applied to support the needs of a local community. SFS was a great fit for meeting these goals.
What is your most profound or lasting memory from your SFS program?
One of my most profound memories is helping Wallace J. Nichols record data from a green sea turtle that had been caught in a fishing net in Magdalena Bay earlier that day. I’ll also never forget the bioluminescents that we would see illuminate as the waves crashed in the distance during late night water sampling sessions in the field.
Read more
Earth Day on South Caicos
May 9, 2013Categories:
SFS alumni posts, SFS staff, Turks & Caicos: Marine Resource Management Studies
Name: Chrissy Lamendola
Position: Waterfront Intern
Program: Marine Resource Studies, Turks & Caicos Islands
SFS Alum: TCI Spring 2010
South Caicos may have never before seen an Earth Day celebration quite like the one we pulled off this past Saturday. The event was the accumulation of three 
weeks of hard work and planning by Kimbrough, the Student Affairs Manager, and a member of the Soroptomist women’s service organization named Beggitta. It was decided that Beggitta would supply the DJ, microphone, and the bouncy castle on the day of the event, while the Center for Marine Resource Studies (CMRS) would market the event as well as facilitate the day’s fun activities.
Final Impressions from SFS Panama
May 8, 2013Categories:
Panama: Tropical Island Biodiversity and Conservation Studies, SFS students
Wow! Those 3 months went by way too fast. Since arriving, my expectations for my experiences have only been exceeded exponentially. Not only has my Spanish speaking seen serious improvement through interactions with the local people, my eyes are now wide open to the complexity of the cultural and social dynamics throughout the archipelago. Being a materials science & engineering major, this program has imbued within me a critical ecological perspective that I hope to incorporate in my future studies, and my upcoming entrepreneurial & career-based ventures. Oh, and have I mentioned how much I love snorkeling now? – Nathan Freedman (University of Connecticut)
It has been an amazing three months here in Panama. When family and friends have asked me to describe my experience thus far, it has been nearly impossible to sum everything up in just a few sentences. Everything we have done here – lectures, field exercises and trips, guest speakers, etc. – has contributed to a more inclusive understanding of the environmental, cultural, and social issues of the Bocas del Toro region; but all I have learned is not just applicable to the small world of southern Central America. Being in Panama has allowed me to develop more informed opinions about many of the issues faced everyday, whether those are relative to Panama, the U.S., or the world as a whole. I will always remember speaking with indigenous people about their livelihoods, assessing carbon stocks while considering local resource use, and documenting the progression of the red lionfish invasion and what it means for the future of local ecology. As I look out at the natural beauty surrounding me, I feel inspired to use what I’ve learned here in Panama to help address the environmental and social issues at large today… even if I can only contribute a small part. – Jeff Baldock (University of Washington, Seattle)
Final Impressions from SFS Turks & Caicos
May 8, 2013Categories:
SFS students, Turks & Caicos: Marine Resource Management Studies
Name: Jess Bechhofer
School: Franklin and Marshall College
Major: Biological Foundations of Behavior
Program: Marine Resource Management Studies, Turks & Caicos Islands
In three days it’s ending: the most wonderful study abroad experience I could have asked for. It sounds rather cliché to say, “It feels like just yesterday that I arrived (all pale and pasty) at the Center.” But in fact, that is exactly how it feels. So much has happened in so little time that I’m definitely going to be that girl that talks nonstop about her abroad experiences until her parents and friends scream at her to stop.
I’ve learned so much in my three months here: how to identify underwater creatures, how to be a better diver, and how to conduct field research, just to name a few. I loved my classes, the afternoons exploring, the weekend nights out, and time that I got to simply hang out with my friends. Speaking of friends, those I made here are going to last a lifetime.
Final Impressions of SFS Tanzania
May 8, 2013Categories:
Kenya + Tanzania: Wildlife Management Studies, SFS students
Name: Simmi Patel
School: Muhlenberg College
Major: Anthropology and Biology
Program: Wildlife Management Studies, Tanzania
What did you like most about the SFS experience?
During my three and a half months in Tanzania, SFS has provided a well-rounded and diverse experience. From spending time in the national parks to visiting the Hadzabe and immersing ourselves in the cultural phenomena, SFS has given me an experience of a life time. What I love most about the SFS experience is 
the feeling of family. Growing up with twelve people, family is pretty important to me. SFS provided another home to each and every one of us, a place that may always be our second home. From the understanding professors, our great staff, drivers, and wonderful SAM, SFS has provided an experience that encompasses family, culture, and wildlife.
You’ve been in the country for a full semester – tell us your impressions of it now.
Tanzania will take your breath away. From the colorful skies, to the rolling lush hills, Tanzania has it all. In my life, I have never met such nice and happy people. It’s everything and more than what I expected. I came here confused, but spending the last three and half months in Tanzania, I found a place where I fit in. Tanzania has given me another home.
Final Impressions of SFS Costa Rica
May 8, 2013Categories:
Costa Rica: Sustainable Development Studies, SFS students
Name: Alex Jandernoa
School: Knox College
Major: Environmental Studies and Anthropology/Sociology
Program: Sustainable Development Studies, Costa Rica
What did you like most about the SFS experience?
I would have to say the Directed Research has been my favorite part of my term with SFS, alhough it is hard to choose. I came into the program wanting to get my hands dirty in the field and really hone my scientific writing while here. The Directed Research has allowed me to do just, that as I trekked through a local forest fragment for a week collecting samples which, with the help of the wonderful professors here, I have turned into a promising research paper.
You’ve been in the country for a full semester – tell us your impressions of it now.
Costa Rica is just as amazing as when I first arrived here. I feel as though I have done so much in my time here and it still holds so many mysteries. I have felt nothing but welcome in this country where I am very clearly a foreigner. Costa Rica has truly been the perfect classroom for learning about myself.
Our Diversified Farm
May 7, 2013Categories:
Costa Rica: Sustainable Development Studies, SFS staff
A Vital Part of the SFS Costa Rica Learning Experience and Sustainable Agricultural System
Name: Rosy Cohane-Mann
Position: Program Intern
Program: Sustainable Development Studies, Costa Rica
The two pigs run up to greet us as I walk down to the lower farm at the SFS Center For Sustainable Development Studies in Atenas, Costa Rica with students on the morning Pandilla. Seeing a pig running is 
wonderful; it is pure joy, better than anything from the movie Babe. I give Trygve and Karlyn (the pigs are named after our Student Affairs Managers) each a scratch behind the ears and a pat on the head as we continue on our way to the chicken coop to fill water containers and top off feeders. We 
say hello to our mama cow, Clover, and her three-day old calf, Ferdinand, water and weed plants, and collect some fresh mangos as we head up to breakfast.
Our farm here at the Center is an integral part of the students’ experience. The field station has been here, in Atenas, since 1993 and since then our farm has grown to about 2.5 hectares. In 2011, the farm was recognized as a Rainforest Alliance Certified™ sustainable farm. With cows, pigs, chickens, a greenhouse, mango and orange groves, bananas, raised beds, and forested areas with trails, it is a lot of work to keep it all running.
A Day in Directed Research
May 6, 2013Categories:
Panama: Tropical Island Biodiversity and Conservation Studies, SFS faculty posts
Name: Steven Whitfield, Ph.D.
Position: Resident Lecturer in Natural Resource Management
Program: Tropical Island Biodiversity & Conservation Studies, Panama
We set off in the morning for a remote corner of Isla Bastimentos, a 45-minute boat ride from our home on Isla Solarte. The sun is warm, but the ocean air keeps us cool. We pass by countless mangrove islands and scattered Ngöbe indigenous villages, their thatched-roofed huts nestled among the mangroves. We’ll pass by several Ngöbe fishermen in their dugout canoes, carved by hand from the trunks of single rainforest trees. If we’re lucky, we’ll see a pod of dolphins on the way to our field site. Our boat ride ends with a 10-minute ride up the Salt Creek, a shallow stream that passes through 
dense mangrove forest before we arrive at the Salt Creek indigenous village.
At Salt Creek, we meet with the operators of a community-based ecotourism alliance – a coalition of indigenous Ngöbe men and women who have come together to promote ecotourism as an alternative to livelihoods based on exploitation of marine resources like conch or lobster, or forest resources like the increasingly scarce and slow-growing timber trees. These Ngöbe guides know the forest very well, so we discuss where the best places in their forest might be to find the frogs and lizards we’re looking for.
keep looking »
