Academic News

The past two weeks have seen the completion of Case Study I and II, including four course examinations. The Turks and Caicos Islands' economy is highly dependant on natural resources, both from a tourism and fisheries perspective. Thus, during the case studies our students were provided with a local perspective on how marine resources are managed and the difficulties managers face when trying to balance resource conservation with extraction. The case studies drew upon perspectives from marine ecology, environmental policy and resource management to frame local environmental problems and focus our Directed Research efforts. The case studies were supported by a number of guest speakers who delivered lectures on topics ranging from traditional crafts, to the TCI political system and local developments. Dr. Dave Wilson, Center/Science Director

Student News

It has been a very busy two weeks in the community for the South Caicos SFS students.  We have been visiting the primary schools every Wednesday to assist the children with their many assignments.  We took the 6^th graders on a fieldtrip to the mangroves to learn about their importance. The kindergarten class was taught the letter “Q” last week, identifying objects such as quarters and the students also tried to teach the class the word and the meaning of quiet. 

Back at the Center we have been busy finishing up the foosball tournament and have constructed a ping pong table.  We have been eating well with center BBQs and stewed conch and lobster hash at Mama Love's restaurant.  Carrie Simon, Student Affairs Manager

Student Reflections

SFS-CMRS continues to keep us busy- very busy. The weather has turned from overcast and 80 degrees with sun breaks, to clear skies, 85 degrees with cloud breaks! It is wonderful to sit outside in our saltwater pool and read a book as we wait for our next class, meal or ID session to begin.

Yesterday we had our Economic Policy field exercise which comprised the group walking to the beach and collecting trash. However, this was no ordinary trash pick up session. In groups of five, we laid down two 50m transects and recorded what types of trash we found on the beach. We were then to determine if the trash was local, international or from a cruise ship. We entered our data into a spread sheet and compared it with a trash data sheet from the US. Finally, we performed a chi-squared analysis to determine if our trash came from significantly different sources (local, international, cruise ships) from the trash in the US. The day ended with a fantastic feast at the local restaurant Mama Loves. We dined on lobster, conch, beans and rice, coleslaw and potato salad. Next week we will be taking our first set of finals. Send us luck down to Big South! Molly Cherkin, Whitman College

It's been a week of mayhem and havoc (in a good way, of course) here at the CMRS. Monday saw us taking another field ID exam, this time on the millions of fishes that constantly swarm over our beautiful reefs. That same night, we began our final series of field IDs on the corals of the area. Tuesday was spent in one of our first Directed Research sessions on one of the nastier days weather-wise we've had here. However, in one of the cooler experiences of my life we swam directly over a manta ray, a huge behemoth that glided up off the continental shelf and coasted around underneath us, looking for food. Wednesday was spent in lecture time and community service. I traveled to the Wellness Center, the only geriatric care offered on the island and chatted with Carlos, an ex-boat builder born in 1923. Thursday was full of classes in the mornings and prep for our economics field exercise, which took place the next day. Saturday saw our last coral ID session, with site-improvement; some more community service (sans children); and a relaxing night spent doing homework and watching movies. Sunday, our day of rest, was characteristically spent with color-coded Excel sheets, dips in the ocean, abject panic about assignments and a feast provided by our fellow students on cooking duty. Julianna Mullen, Wellesley College

We have already learned about 80 species of fish, 40 corals, and several other invertebrates. Plus, we also have finals for all of our classes coming up this week before our five day spring break. However, it's hard to complain when your backyard is the Caribbean Sea, and you can spend your free time sunbathing or SCUBA diving. In fact, this past week (besides doing lots of homework) I have taken two snorkeling trips to nearby cays. The first trip was to Dove Cay, a very small limestone island completely surrounded by coral reefs. While there, three other students and I snorkeled around the island, studied corals for an upcoming test, and hiked to the highest point, where an osprey (a large seabird) tried to attack us. The second snorkel trip was to Long Cay where we hiked and then decided to snorkel around the edge of the island, where we saw a fifty-pound bright green parrot fish! The snorkel back was a little rough, but at the end of the day, we saw huge fish, two turtles and a shark. School on South Caicos isn't so bad! Emma Moran, University of NC/Chapel Hill

Meet the students!

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