Academic News

Over the past week, our students traveled to the island of Middle Caicos as part of the British West Indies Culture and Society course. Despite the best efforts of several tropical downpours and a modest sprinkling of sand flies, the trip was successful. This semester we traveled by boat across the Caicos bank where we observed sharks, rays, and bonefish in the shallow (often less than one foot) water. The trip was aimed at providing students with an opportunity to explore more of the TCI while being provided with an array of guest speakers on topics ranging from traditional boat building to historical sites. This week the students will complete their data collection for their Directed Research (DR) projects. On May 2 the students will present their research findings in an oral format to our clients and stakeholders from the local community with whom they have interacted over the past three months. Dr. Dave Wilson, Center/Science Director

Student News

Last week was our culture course field exercise to Middle Caicos, and what an adventure it was.  We all piled into three boats for an amazing trip across the Caicos Bank. After arriving on Middle Caicos we saw local artisans including basket weavers and boat builders. We toured the caves, walked along nature trails, and cooked turkey burgers on the beach. On and off rain did not dampen people's spirits as we played dominoes, read books, and played capture the flag. Upon returning to South Caicos everyone geared up for a celebration on Easter and Passover which included a chocolate Seder and egg dying on Saturday, a bunny cake and matzo ball soup on Sunday. As everyone is finishing their DR data collection this week, I know that many great memories are still to be made during everyone's time on South Caicos. Carrie Simon, Student Affairs Manager

Student Reflections

There are less than three weeks to go and it's hard to believe how fast time has gone by as we have been keeping busy here at the Center in South Caicos. This past week we had an excursion to Middle Caicos that included scenic boats rides, basket weavers, a boat builder, nature hikes, a cave tour, and campfires. A more or less continuous rain lasted everyday, fortunately for us it broke when we wanted to visit local artisans with spectacular, traditional talents. Also, the rain didn't prevent us from having fun as we still could enjoy each other's company by playing childhood games and eating s'mores around the campfire! I particularly enjoyed exploring the cave where we saw the smoky remnants of the past Lucayan civilization and then hiked around historical plantation ruins. Now our schedule coming up is filled with Directed Research and the finalization of our projects and papers. As for me and the rest of the spawning aggregation and migration team, we look forward to spending many hours in the water following schools of fish and cuddling with blue tang, Acanthurus coeruleus, as we tag them. It certainly has and continues to be a privilege to be here, where I swim in the crystal clear sea each and every day. Melissa Rose, SUNY/Oneonta College

We completed our five day camping trip on Middle Caicos this past Friday. Although several days included rain, we made the most of it. Everyone got to know each other a little bit better over the course of card and domino games in the restaurants. There was a rousing game of capture the flag during a sunny spot, and we got to check out the famous Middle Caicos caves. This coming week focuses completely on Directed Research projects, while the week after is devoted to writing up research reports. My studies involving sea turtles will include four night snorkeling sessions this week, as well as an all day trip to East Caicos with the shark team. It is difficult coming to terms with the fact that most of our time here in TCI has passed by. Here on day 76 we only have about three weeks left to enjoy the islands and everything that comes with them. Hopefully everyone will make the most of the time they have left before we all have to go back to the real world that doesn't involve tropical snorkel sessions, catching sea turtles, and innumerable beautiful sunsets. Taylor Crockford, Brown University

Meet the Students

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