Academic News
Each of the SFS centers devotes part of its program toward outreach. This past summer, several students and staff decided to focus our outreach on producing short movies to be played on the Turks and Caicos television station, WIV Channel 4. Television is a popular medium among local residents and, therefore, represents a powerful tool for conveying lessons about local natural resources.

And so, with a budget of zero, a crew of students and staff, and some local residents who graciously agreed to be actors, we started the production of our first movie, “The Treasure of Shark Cay.” Weighing in at around 18 minutes, it was an ambitious endeavor (perhaps overly so), and is still in the post-production stage.

For our second production, which began last fall, I suggested to my new crew of students that we try a shorter, more manageable project. They came up with an idea for a public service announcement about littering. I am happy to report that WIV Channel 4 deemed “Keep It Clean,” which stars an SFS student and a local high school student, worth airing. You can view it here.

As we start shooting our third project, we hope that this marks the beginning of a fruitful relationship with WIV Channel 4, providing them with locally produced programming while affording us the opportunity to promote ecologically sustainable behavior across the entire Turks and Caicos Islands.
 
Stay tuned for “The Treasure of Shark Cay,” coming soon to a computer screen near you.
 - Dr. Richard Plate, Resident Lecturer, Environmental Policy & Socio-Economic Values

Student Reflections
Though our last week before mid-semester break was scheduled as a study and exam period, both the students and staff recognized the impossibility of studying all day in the TCI, especially given the week's balmy weather and placid ocean. Subsequently, the staff took this time as an opportunity to invite us to participate in their ongoing research.

Every night a group of four or five enthusiastic souls would accompany Marta to frolic across moonlit sand flats in pursuit of elusive lemon sharks. Armed with long nets, flashlights, and dive booties, we caught, tagged, and measured lemon sharks while attempting to avoid sinking in the deep sediment of the tidal flats. Some students managed to maintain verticality throughout the entire escapade, while others had less success and tumbled into the water.

Another popular study break included participation in the Center's ongoing turtle research. Led by brave interns Devon, Matt, and Siri, we spent hours swimming around attempting to spot hawksbill and green turtles. However, spotting a turtle was just the first step in the challenging “Turtle Rodeo”. Upon wrangling a turtle into the boat, we took measurements, tagged the animals, and released them back into the sea. Though our formal studies may not have benefited particularly from the many distractions of study week, we no doubt learned quite a bit about how real science is conducted.
 - Seth Chanin, Colby College

As our exams wrapped up we all prepared for our mid-semester break. As a special gift, our Center Director sent us on a camping trip to Middle Caicos, giving us a chance to see some of the other islands in the TCI. We flew from South Caicos to Providenciales, where we boarded a ferry to North Caicos, and then piled into vans bound for Middle Caicos. There we got to explore some caves, took a short hike to a beautiful and ragged coastline (much different from our own scenic view from the center), watched a local woman practice basket weaving, and at night camped out by a fire.

The next day our group of 19 split up, heading to our respective break destinations. Some people were joined by family and stayed in the TCI, while others went to the Dominican Republic, which was my country of choice. My Wednesday journey was comprised of one van, one boat, one plane, two taxis, three buses, and finally a “motoconcho” (a Dominican motorcycle-taxi.) After almost 12 hours of traveling, I reached my destination; a sleepy little mountain town called Los Quemados. We spent the next three days hiking, dancing bachata and salsa, eating papaya, attempting to speak Spanish, and climbing waterfalls. The trip was short but sweet, and on Sunday we all reunited back on South, ready to begin the second half of our semester.
 - Kate Kulbok, Virginia Tech

The prospects of relaxation, warm showers, and fresh laundry filled our minds this past week. With spring break right around the corner, we had just one more challenge to overcome: midterms. Within a four day span, we took three extensive exams that tested our abilities to synthesize and apply the material presented throughout the first case study. Although this sounds like an intimidating task, midterm week was a blast. Here on South, hard work is always rewarded with unique opportunities.

To break up our study sessions, the entire week was packed with various waterfront activities such as scuba dives, snorkel trips, and sharking and turtling adventures. My favorite study breaks included the four scuba dives where we witnessed a brilliant array of coral and reef fish. It was a great chance to peel our eyes away from our lecture notes and revisit the awe-inspired feeling that South Caicos' natural beauty commonly arouses. 

As we handed in each midterm, we not only felt a sense of relief, but also an overwhelming sense of accomplishment. In just seven short weeks, we have reached the halfway point of our journey. It is amazing to reflect on how much we have each learned, about the environment and about ourselves, within this short time frame. We look to the second half of the semester with excitement, but also with a faint heart as we begin to realize that our days here won't fill a lifetime, although the memories certainly will.
 - Alisha Kuzma, Dickinson College

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