Academic News

Our second week of classes has been very smooth. Our camping trip to Banderitas was successful in all of its objectives. We had enough time for group bonding and to catch turtles during the two nights we were out. I delivered field lectures on sea turtle tagging and release methods as well as an ethno botany desert hike. Hector taught a class on mangrove conservation, introduced us to the principles of “leave no trace” and lectured on the importance of wetlands. Students also received a creative panga (boat) orientation session by the staff and passed a very cold swim test.

Hector has taught classes on environmental policies and ecotourism. He also led a very interesting pair of field exercises dealing with Isla Magdalena co-management and a description of sea lions and tourism potential. Edgar has taught principles of rural assessment techniques, a sustainable development and ethics class, environmental health and rural development for coastal communities lectures. He also led field exercises on Mexican artisanal fisheries and socio-cultural values in Mexico. As far as gray whales, Hector and I led field exercises on conservation studies and principles of animal behavior.

The students have been familiarized with all that is entailed with each Directed Research field conditions. They have now chosen which project they want to work on for the rest of the semester. They met with their respective advisors to initiate planning on the data collection. I explained the assignment of the natural history presentations and led a field exercise on aquaculture to the nearby estuary of San Buto where we have been helping a bivalve project. Dr. Francisco Ollervides, Center Director

Student News

Students chose their Directed Research groups this past week and everyone seems pleased with their topics of investigation. We have gone out several times on the pangas to observe whale behavior, dolphins and even sea lions! Last Tuesday, the whole group (students and staff) rode over to Magdalena Island and celebrated el Día de la Amistad y Amor by feasting on lobster and shrimp and playing an impromptu game of basketball.

Also, our first English class was successful last week and 24 boys and girls showed up to the local library. This week we are having a separate class for adults at the local high school and hopefully the turnout will be just as good. On the flip side, students have had their first Spanish class and we went to do a language exchange in Ciudad Constitución. Now we are starting to get preparations for the Whale Festival together and everyone is busy, busy, busy!  Cristina Liberati, Student Affairs Manager

Student Reflections

This past week has been rather hectic.  On Monday, we left for our camping trip in Estero Banderitas.  We had classes in the field during the days and checked the turtle nets at night.  All of us had shifts throughout the evening starting at 7pm and ending at 6am.  The first night we did not catch anything but the second night we ended up catching two green sea turtles. After performing measurements and doing a physical check, we let them go.  The second turtle was a large juvenile so Paco allowed Ben to 'ride' the turtle out to sea.  He only held on for about 10 seconds but it was interesting to see.  We returned back to campus late Wednesday afternoon.  It was nice to take a shower after three days in the desert. On Thursday, we were back in the field again.  We went out in the boats to observe whale behavior.  Seeing as it was our first time out to do any observations it was hard to recognize where the whales were.  After a couple of minutes it was easy to point out their locations because of the residue of water in the air from them breathing.  At one point were able to see a whale breeching several times in the distance.  I am looking forward to going to Isla Magdalena tomorrow and learning about the sea lions. Kristin Kuester, University of Wisconsin-Madison

After a week of orientation activities and several days on the camping, we are finally starting to settle down in our palapas and getting a glimpse of what “normal” life here in Puerto San Carlos is like.  This week, we chose our Directed Research projects and all got our first choices.  Whether we are spending the day listening to a gray whale as it interacts with other whales or interviewing the nurse at the local health center or investigating the biggest health concerns in town, we are all excited to get started!

During the past week, we took a day trip to Puerto Magdalena, a fishing town only accessible by boat with a small population and delicious lobster!  While there, we learned about the management techniques that are necessary to distribute the wealth amongst the members of the community.  On Saturday morning, we took another trip to the San Buto Estuary where we discussed the benefits of aquaculture and assisted a local biologist maintain his scallop farm. In the evenings, we are enjoying hanging out with the pangeros, our boat drivers, who are teaching us about the local dialect and giving us lots of competition in our games of soccer, volleyball and Pictionary. Jennifer Johnson, Emory University

MEET THE STUDENTS

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