Academic News
How time flies when you're having fun! The environment on and around South Caicos stimulates learning and every trip into the water spawns a hundred questions. The semester is nearing its end, and the students have completed their last in-water exam – on fish identification, as well as completing their final written exam. Last week the students finished their zoning exercise – with the goal of developing a Coastal Zone Management Plan for the TCI that balances socio-economic objectives with environmental protection and enhancement, to allow sustainable development. While hypothetical, it is an excellent exercise that uses the real world problems facing the TCI during this time of extensive tourism development. Protected Areas are one of the management techniques that are in place in the TCI, and during the course of their last week, students and staff are out in the field assessing the effectiveness of the Admiral Cockburn Land and Sea National Park. This involves in-water surveys of important fish stocks and the health of the coral reef habitat inside and outside the MPA, which is located right on our doorstep. This assessment is critical for the long-term monitoring of the effectiveness of the MPA network in the TCI, and thanks to the efforts of the students, our greater understanding of the marine environment of the TCI will benefit many others in the country.
-Steve Newman, PhD, Center Director

Student Reflections
When I arrived on South Caicos I was excited about several things: being out of the country for the first time by myself, meeting 15 strangers and living with them for one month. But over all of these things, I was most excited to SCUBA dive. I have been an avid diver for 8 years, and I really wanted to see how South Caicos compared to some of the other places I have been diving. All I can say is the diving here is unbelievable; coral reefs are so colorful and vibrant, there are hundreds of different types of fish, and the visibility is over 100 feet! All of the scuba diving sites are located off of Long Cay, which is approximately a half mile from our front door. So far we have had five dives, and my favorite thus far has been at a site called the Grotto. At the Grotto all kinds of different marine organisms can be seen, from spotted-eagle rays, to reef sharks, sting rays, all kinds of reef fish, and just the other day a hammerhead shark was spotted! Seeing all of these amazing animals and being able to SCUBA dive and snorkel almost every day make me regret not coming for a semester. Oh well, these past few weeks have been unbelievable and if I can leave you any advice, it's dive South Caicos!
-Michael Schmitz, Gonzaga University

Our written assignment for the summer session involved creating a hypothetical framework for marine protected areas, based on a desired proposal from the government. My group's goal was to create a network of MPAs in concurrence with the rise of mass tourism in the Turks and Caicos. The upcoming developments are evident in many parts of the country, especially on South Caicos. In order to understand the proposal, we took a development tour of the island where we saw all of the major construction sites bringing mass tourism to the area. The picture shows a resort already in place that currently experiences little visitation. The ongoing construction is evident and encompasses much of the island, with the many cranes and trucks all over hard to miss.

Part of the SFS program is evaluating how the country can deal with the influx of tourism and still keep intact the environmental integrity of the vital marine ecosystems. There is no stopping the tourism, so we must adapt to its arrival. The tour around the island was a real eye opener to the impacts of developing on small island nations. The social, environmental, and economic impacts are as diverse as they are abundant. I think the entire group will benefit from the experience of seeing how tourism has spread onto the island. It will provide a unique perspective into how the current generation can promote environmental awareness and sustainability while still promoting economic growth and prosperity.
-John Kester III, Denison University

Last week we went out for our first night snorkel. It started out like every other time-putting on swimsuits, gathering gear, and happily climbing into the boat. But as we left the dock, the sun set and left the water eerily dark. You could feel the collective excitement and apprehension in the air as we stared at the water below the boat that could hold any unknown number of barracuda and sharks. As we got in the water, my nerves were erased by enthusiasm. With our underwater flashlights, we could see all of the now familiar faces on the coral reef going about their nightly activities. Soon after getting in, a green turtle swam past, and by far the best part of the trip was when the group got together and turned off our flashlights so that we could see the bioluminescence (light produced by a chemical reaction in living organisms). The glow resembled tiny underwater stars, and was simply breathtaking. I felt so lucky to be in the TCI sharing an unforgettable night of snorkeling with my newfound friends.
-Anna Kilbourn, Michigan State University

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