Final Week and Back to Smith!

This past week was our last week in San Pedro. It was a week full of activities, emotions, and excitement. The team worked very hard to have everything ready for departure back to Smith and to finish Youth Camp.

On Monday, Emiline and Liz led a lesson focused on fossil fuels & renewable energy. Unfortunately, it was a rainy day so we couldn’t do the amazing solar ovens we had prepared beforehand, but the students had a chance to learn about where Belize’s energy comes from and other sources of energy besides oil. They also tried to clean an oil spill simulation in order to better understand the impact of off-shore drilling.

Tuesday was also a day full of activities, starting with Mariela from Hol Chan visiting us at camp. Mariela led an informative lecture about the Marine Protected Areas (MPA) in Belize and the different environments protected by them; the kids learned a lot about the history of MPAs and all about the marine life they protect. After that Aidan and Liz led the tragedy of the commons activity, in which the kids got to try their hand at (gold)fishing to understand resource exploitation. 

Wednesday we had two visitors come to camp: ACES (American Crocodile Education Sanctuary) and Paula and Shannon Riley from the Blackadore Project. Chris Summers and Ciaran O’ Mordha from ACES taught the students about the crocodiles in Belize, and they even brought a one-year-old American crocodile, Enchilada, for the students to meet. Paula and Shannon guided a lesson in which students learned about sea turtles’ life cycle and the actions that people around the world are taking in order to protect them. Paula also taught the students basics of drawing, and how to draw sea creatures using lines, angles, and simple traces. They ended the lesson with the students making four big murals, letting them try out their new drawing skills as they created a rainbow reef.

Thursday was our big graduation day, so students spent all the time in camp working on final projects. This year we decided to host a poster symposium, so all the campers prepared a poster to present about their favorite topic they learned in camp. Among the topics presented were: mangroves, renewable energy, sargassum, coral polyps, plastics, and pollution.Later in the evening, we hosted graduation at the San Pedro High School auditorium. The event was a success despite the rainy night, with families and friends gathered to hear the students present their posters and to see the projects that they have been working on during camp. The event culminated in 51 students making a pledge to use what they have learned in camp to protect their community as they proudly held up their new ‘reef protector’ cards.






On Friday, we hosted three glass-bottom boat trips as a closing activity for camp. The campers saw all the corals they had learned about in “Coral of the Day” through the glass bottom, as well as hoards of sharks at Shark Ray Alley. One group even got lucky and saw a few turtles! This was our last day with the students and it was a perfect way for us to close out Coral Ed 2018.

This week we are back at Smith preparing for our SURF presentation on Thursday and ensuring that all is in order for the next team STARRs. We hope you liked our posts about this year’s ed-venture and that you keep following us for next year, our big 20th year anniversary!!!

-Dana Vera & Team STARRs

 

 

 

Youth Camp — Week 1!

This week marked the beginning of our Youth Program which meant we were out the door bright and early on Monday morning to ensure that we had enough time to set up at San Pedro High School. With construction and other programs at the High School we found ourselves with only one classroom and not enough chairs, so we moved half of our camp activities for the day into the auditorium. We started our camp book about Wallie the Whale Shark and her travels around the world, learned our first coral, and then set off on our annual camp-opening beach cleanup! It was a hot day but the campers persevered and we collected lots of trash from the surrounding beach.

Some of the campers participating in the beach cleanup during day one of camp.

Day two of camp was our first day of lessons, and we started with Whales and Microbes — some of the largest and smallest ocean creatures. Emiline made light traps the night before to collect water and ocean organisms that the kids were able to look at using little microscope boxes, and in the other classroom we calculated how many students would fit inside different kinds of whales! After concluding that the blue whale was the largest we took a trip outsicapde and tried to fit the whole class in the length of the blue whale. The scale of the whale matched up perfectly to the auditorium size, which was a nice visual for the kids to use to imagine just how large whales can be.

The younger campers measuring out the length of a blue whale — 98 feet!

On Wednesday we finally had two classrooms with enough seats for all the kids, and camp started off smoothly. The kids made coral polyps out of marshmallows with Carla, and became a part of an ocean food web in Kate’s rotation to investigate how important every organism is to the food chain. Right after camp we trekked home and started making and bagging popcorn for our second and final Movie Night! The popcorn process took less time this time around, but still lasted about three hours and we ended up with 90 bags of popcorn. The weather wasn’t great on Wednesday afternoon so we were concerned about our turnout, but we ended up with about 30 kids and family members watching two episodes of Blue Planet II: Coral Reefs and Green Seas.

The younger kids starting to make their coral polyps with marshmallows.

A happy camper and a finished coral polyp!

Our snack table at movie night!

We brought our leftover movie popcorn to camp for a snack on day four, and did lots of coloring. Our two activities focused on adaptations and sargassum — the macroalgae that Al wrote about in a blog post last week that’s been covering the local beaches. In our adaptations rotation the kids got to draw themselves with the necessary adaptations to live in the deep ocean, and in our sargassum rotation they drew pictures of their beaches and local ecosystems before and after the presence of large amounts of sargassum.

Looking at sargassum under a microscope!

 

Friday was rainy again, and we had a smaller camp turnout because of it. We rescheduled one of our exciting guest visitors (you’ll hear about them in next weeks’ blog) and created a massive coral reef board game in the auditorium for the kids to play on to accompany the mangrove craft going on in the classroom. The board game was a success, as was so much of this week! 

Campers with their mangrove tree models on Friday.

The beginning of Youth Camp went by so quickly and we can’t believe we only have one more week here in San Pedro!

-Aidan Coffin Ness & Team STARRs

R.E.E.F. Program!

Last week we held our R.E.E.F. Program for students 12 and up, or students who had previous experience at youth camp. This year we had 8 students, several of whom had either been to youth camp before or were returning to the R.E.E.F. program. On the first day of camp we talked about our experiences doing research and showed the students how to analyze the data that we collect. We gave each team of two a picture of a quadrat and had them estimate the percent cover of the live coral, dead coral, algae, and other. We then calculated a class average of live coral, and we compared that to the data collected in previous years. It was interesting to see the class discuss the different percentages and why the live coral cover was so low.

The second day of camp we talked about plastics. We showed a video on the Great Pacific garbage patch, and talked about what different types of plastic there are in the ocean and if there was anything to be done about it. We then took the class outside and, using the mapping technology we used for our mangrove research, made a map of plastic found on the beach. Along with making a map, we also cleaned up the plastic and trash that we found. The students really enjoyed using the iPads and GPS, and it was great to get out of the classroom.

On Wednesday we had guests from Blackadore Caye join us to discuss their research on seafloor mapping. The kids got to see the equipment used, and the resulting maps of the seafloor. It was really great to have the students see real life opportunities in science, especially presented by local people. After camp the kids got to go on a special crocodile watch with the American Crocodile Education Sanctuary (ACES) where they released a baby crocodile they named “Shirley Buttercup Twinkle”. The students had so much fun, and it was definitely a highlight of the week. 

The next day we taught the kids about seawalls and marine protected areas. They got to go out and see real seawalls as we discussed the pros and cons of different man-made structures to protect cities from the ocean. We then talked about how the barrier reef acts as a natural seawall and protects the island from storms and large waves. Most of the students already knew about the marine protected area around Hol Chan, but it was interesting to show them how much of the ocean is protected, and how much more there is to protect.

Finally, on Friday we went on a snorkel trip with the Blackadore research team. The students really enjoyed the boat ride and the cool water; it was a great way to end a great week.

Starting today, and for the next two weeks we will be busy holding our youth camp! We are so excited and cannot believe that we only have two weeks left in this beautiful place.

-Katherine Akey & Team STARRS

Research Week!

This past week was our designated research week where we went out and did research at Mexico Rocks and at the mangroves. On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday we suited up to do our underwater research on the coral mounds. Before we got in the water, we went over our specific jobs and split up into two teams of three. Two of the team members were tasked with taking pictures of the coral mounds inside a pvc pipe square (quadrat) and taking closer pictures of the soft coral. These images will be used to calculate how much live and dead coral covers the mound. The leftover team member had to take a very slow video going up and over the coral mound and then one going all around the sides, in order to get a complete picture of the mound for later analysis. Over the course of our three dives, I got to help out with both jobs, and such simple tasks become incredibly difficult while scuba diving. Communication is very limited and because most of us were new divers it took us a little bit of time on the first dive to figure out our buoyancy issues because it was such a shallow area. By the end of the research dives we were all pros at taking the data and we saw some incredible marine life as well!

 

On Tuesday and Thursday we headed up north to take data in the mangroves. We were looking at the mangrove propagules (a small and young mangrove tree) and mapping where they were located, complete with pictures taken above and below the water. To get this data we had to kayak out into the shallow warm waters with our GoPro, iPad, and Bad Elf GPS devices. We were looking at the different organisms living on or around the propagules, such as snails, barnacles, seagrass, sponges, or algae, in order to see their effects on the growth of the mangrove propagules.

To round out our week of data collection and diving, this past saturday was San Pedro’s annual Lobster Fest! The begin of lobster fishing season means a large block party with all the local restaurants serving their best lobster dishes. Every year we also have a booth to promote our camp! This year we did face painting, had coloring pages, and were teaching kids how to fold an origami frog. The night was a success and everyone had a lot of fun!

This week we are busy with our R.E.E.F. Program for students 12 and up, we have a lot of exciting lessons and field trips planned so stayed tuned to read all about it! 

 

-Katherine Akey & Team STARRS

 

Sargassum Crisis on San Pedro Beaches!!!

You may well be asking – “So, what in the world is Sargassum, and what possibly could be the problem?”

Sargassum is a genus of brown macroalgae (might commonly be called seaweed) that can float at sea owing to the presence of berry-like, gas-filled bladders that provide buoyancy (Photos 1 & 2). Numerous species of Sargassum are present in the tropical and sub-tropical oceans of the world.

 

Photo 1: Close-up image of a piece of Sargassum from the beachfront of the Mayan Princess Hotel in San Pedro. Note the berry-like float structures.

Photo 2: Typical small mass of Sargassum floating near our patch reefs study area at Mexico Rocks, north of San Pedro. We observed numerous similar small masses on every dive.

In the western North Atlantic, the so-called “Sargasso Sea,” located south of Bermuda and east of Florida and the Bahamas, takes its name from the large masses of floating Sargassum that occur there. This was an ocean area that early western European navigators tried to avoid for fear of having their sailing ships becoming entangled in the floating masses.

Sargassum is not new to San Pedro beaches. What is new is the hugely increased volume of Sargassum that is washing up daily on Belizean beaches and elsewhere in the Caribbean. Reports of increased Sargassum throughout the Caribbean date back to 2011, with the primary source traced to South Atlantic waters off northeast Brazil and the mouth of the Amazon River. That’s a long and tortuous ride to Belize, but satellite images confirm this. Causes for the “Sargassum explosion” are not fully known and understood, but increased nutrient loading in coastal waters and warming ocean waters likely are contributing factors. You can check online for more information about the bigger picture – there are plenty of recent posts!

The big problem along coastlines like that of Ambergris Caye is that the Sargassumwashes into the very shallow waters of the beach zone and then gets stuck there (Photo #3). The Sargassum bakes in the shallow water, dies, and settles to be bottom, where the sheer mass of the algae smothers the underlying, naturally occurring beds of turtle grass that are so important to the nearshore ecosystem.  Even worse, the decaying mass sucks up all available oxygen in the shallow water column, resulting in very nasty water and fish kills.

Photo 3: Accumulation of Sargassum on the Mayan Princess Hotel beach over a 24-hour tidal cycle, June 19-20, 2018. This is nowhere near as extreme as the accumulations earlier this year (Photo 4), but it is far more Sargassum than what we have seen in June in previous years.

Photo 4: This is a major problem! San Pedro beaches were inundated by Sargassum in the spring. Photo courtesy of the San Pedro Sun newspaper, 30March18.

Significant fish kills were reported earlier this spring at several locations along the ocean-side coast of Ambergris Caye. The Coral Ed team has noted that the numbers of fish around the docks of Amigos del Mar (our long-time dive operators) are low, and the large sting rays that all enjoyed watching in the past now are MIA! As stated earlier, the Sargassum also is a real problem for beachfront hotels and restaurants plus for San Pedro city government officials in terms of the costs of Sargassum removal and disposal (photos 4 & 5) and “what to do next.”

Photo 5: Currently, workers of the city of San Pedro are raking up Sargassum daily, and large piles are everywhere. Needless to say, the piles are smelly and unsightly – not good for a tourist town and expensive to manage. Also, there is a big question as to just what to do with all this “stuff?” We have heard that the Sargassum is being burned somewhere outside of town, but this is unconfirmed. Casual dumping of Sargassum is occurring widely.

“Tropical Paradise” is very much an overused phrase for resort islands like Ambergris Caye. The citizens of “La Isla Bonita” face many challenges, both economic and environmental. Some issues are within direct control of the city council and environmental managers, including over-development, traffic control, trash removal, and over-fishing. Others, such as the threat of hurricanes, deteriorating coral reef health, and the “Sargassum crisis,” are global issues beyond direct local control. How both island residents and the global community address these challenges are open questions, with answers to be determined in the future. In any case, my guess is that no local city council or island-planning group could have seen the “Sargassum crisis” coming…

By Al Curran

Into the Jungle!

Saturday morning bright and early, we all boarded the ferry and headed to the mainland, excited for our brief but action-packed couple of days! We arrived at the Belize City ferry terminal and headed right to the Belize Zoo with our knowledgeable guide Melvis who works for Programme for Belize. At the zoo we saw the Tapir, the national animal of Belize, and many other interesting mammals, like the puma, jaguar and ocelot. As the day got a bit hotter, we all got back into the van to drive to La Milpa Field Station (https://www.pfbelize.org), stopping for lunch along the way at “Cocina El Sabor”.

Kate posing with the World Croc day sign at the Belize Zoo!

The pumas we saw at the Belize Zoo!

The group at our lunch stop “Cocina El Sabor” on the way to La Milpa.

When we arrived at La Milpa, the excitement of the group was palpable. La Milpa is nestled deep in the rainforests of northwestern Belize, and it was truly beautiful to be amidst so much undisturbed wildlife (the group was able to see white tailed deer, oscillated turkey, and many species of hummingbird upon arrival). Melvis then took us to the Mayan archaeological site at La Milpa that is the third largest in Belize (it was just ten minutes down the road from where we were staying!). Despite the rain, we all thoroughly enjoyed walking around the un-excavated site and learning about the Mayan civilization.

The sign at the entrance of La Milpa ecolodge.

Exploring La Milpa Archaeological Site upon arrival!

Our guide Melvis talking to us at La Milpa Archaeological Site.

When we returned to the ecolodge, we settled in, ate a delicious dinner, and then got ready for our night walk, which was one of the groups favorite activities from this weeked! Melvis lead us around the grounds of La Milpa, and with our headlamps creating a path, we were able to spot cricket frogs, a tailless whip scorpion, two red-eyed tree frogs, various species of toads, a small snake and too many insects to count. We all went to right to bed after the walk knowing that Sunday would be another full day of exploring.

Emiline and a red-eyed tree frog on the night walk!

One of the many cricket frogs we saw! They were small but made a loud chirping sound that made them easy to find.

The small snake that Melvis found on a tree that we all got to hold!

Just as the sun began to rise, some of the group sleepily made their way to the lodge, where we drank coffee and tea before departing on a bird walk. With Melvis leading the group again, we were able to spot many bird species native to Belize, but perhaps the most intriguing find were the Peanut-Head bugs in camouflage just up the road from the lodge.

The oscillated turkey that was at La Milpa ecolodge.

After a hearty breakfast, the group loaded back into the van to drive to the Lamanai archaeological site. This city, The City of Submerged Crocodile in Yucatec Mayan, is the second largest Mayan ruin in Belize, and was extremely successful due to its proximity to a large freshwater lagoon that was used as a water source. This site was completely excavated, so we were able to climb to the top of the High temple and the Jaguar Temple. It was fascinating to learn more about the ancient Mayan way of life.

The group at the entrance of the Lamanai Archaeological Site.

Emiline and a view of the Jaguar temple.

At the top of one of the smallest temples at Lamanai, the Mask Temple.

The view from the largest temple at Lamanai, High temple.

The group was pretty tired after the Lamanai excursion but we got ample time to sleep during the three hour van ride back to the ferry terminal. On the ferry ride back to San Pedro we got a nice goodbye from two dolphins that were following the waves created by the boat!

This week we will be busy conducting research and preparing our costumes for Lobster Fest, so tune in next week to see how it goes!

Week Two in San Pedro

It’s been a busy week of recruiting on all accounts. We spent Monday morning waking up San Pedro on the Good Morning San Pedro broadcast, sharing details about the camp and talking about how we all got involved and hope to walk away from the camp. It was an unexpected line of questioning, but it was nice to be able to tell the community about why we’re running these camps and why we’re here to participate in them. We even made it to the local paper, which we made sure to grab a hard copy of.

We’ve also been walking up and down the streets and ringing up phones to tell people about camp and ask for local support, whether that comes as funding, food or anything else for camp. So far we’ve raised a fair bit of money and have guaranteed cupcakes for graduation, which is exciting for the kids! We’re still working on that too, with plans to take the kids on a glass bottom-boat trip and out snorkeling to use high-tech research equipment. R.E.E.F. camp this year will get to experience a lot of hands-on activities, and fieldtrips which will hopefully inspire them to venture further into the sciences.

Wednesday was one of our two movie nights, featuring ‘Surf’s Up’ at the Lion’s Den. After many, many hours over the stove we had 90 bags of popcorn and a 5 gallons of Kool-Aid ready to go. About 20 kids and their parents showed up, which wasn’t bad for a rainy night and our first movie shown outside of camp weeks. The kids who came enjoyed themselves, and got to pose with us for some pictures for a local newspaper.

The professors also landed in San Pedro this week; Al, David and Denise stopped by our apartment to say hello and see how things have been going. Although they only swung by briefly on Wednesday, seeing as we were busy with movie night, we were with them again bright and early the next morning. Come Thursday we were up and at it in the water for 8:30 sharp. Everyone enjoyed our practice snorkel in Hol Chan and Shark Ray Alley, intended for everyone to get comfortable in the water.

There were beautiful coral, copious sharks and gliding rays all around us, and it was a great introduction to the deeper waters of Belize.

On Friday things got a bit more intense as we went out on the water again, this time for a practice dive. This trip was to Mexico Rocks, where everyone geared up to explore the corals up north before moving on to research practice. For this research we’ll be taking coral transect quadrat photos and data to compare to past data and assess annual changes in the reef. This meant that we split into two groups of three to practice laying out the transect, fumbling around with the clipboard, trying to stay in place with a quadrat while someone takes a picture of said quadrat and more. It was definitely a challenge, and everyone appreciated this trial run before the data gets to be real. Things came to an exciting end as a storm kicked up, and we sailed against pelting rain back to the safety of San Pedro’s shore.

 

This weekend will see us headed to the mainland for some visits to a zoo, Mayan ruins and more, so stay tuned to read all about it!

~~~

Look for more blog posts at:

https://blogs.smith.edu/blog/coraledventures/category/coral-ed-2018/

Please like our Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/coralreefedventures/

-Liz Nagy & Team STARRS

Week One in San Pedro!

We have settled into our apartment in San Pedro and have had our fill of breakfast burritos. We arrived to San Pedro on Sunday by Tropic Air and were pleasantly surprised by an unusually cool breeze when we landed. We spent the first day getting our bearings and marveling at how fast things have changed in such a short time (Superbuy now has air conditioning!). One of the first things we noticed was the piles and piles of Sargassum, a brown seaweed, on the beach. The increase in Sargassum is a recent phenomenon affecting beaches throughout the Caribbean, and definitely a topic we will address in camp this year.

This week we recruited at four schools; Ambergris Caye Elementary School, Isla Bonita School, New Horizons, and San Pedro Roman Catholic School. The kids loved this year’s skit, which starred Francine the Flounder (played by Aidan) trying to find a place to dispose of plastic waste while visiting her ocean-dwelling friends. Click here to see the San Pedro article written about our school visits. This skit was partially inspired by the new plastic bottle recycling initiative started in San Pedro this year.

We have also been working hard to fundraise this week. Armed with our brightly colored shirts and big smiles, we have been asking local businesses and resorts to support their community by donating to our camp. These donations will be used for field trips for the campers, such as the glass bottom boat trip we hold at the end of youth program.

In the middle of the day when things start to slow down in San Pedro because of the suffocating heat, the group has enjoyed snorkeling off the docks in front of our apartment. Even staying close to the shore, we have managed to spot parrotfish, nurse sharks, and of course, the infamous lionfish.

We are all very excited to get to know our island community and spend more time exploring the marine life over the next few weeks. 

Coral Ed 2018 – Ready to Go!

CORAL REEF ED-VENTURES 2018

This week the Coral Ed Team 2018 is getting ready to depart for San Pedro! Preparation week just started, and the STARRs are working very hard to get everything set before our departure. We wanted you to get to know our team this year, so we took a quick time out to write a little bit about ourselves.

OUR TEAM
  • Aidan Coffin Ness ‘20

Hi everyone! My name is Aidan Coffin Ness, and I am a rising junior at Smith studying Spanish and Education. I grew up camping with my family and learned at a young age to love and appreciate the nature around me, especially the water. Being in and around the water has always made me happy, and I have learned so much about water conservation and the oceans since I started at Smith. For the past four summers I have been working at a camp in the Northern US teaching young girls to appreciate the nature around them, which has shown me the importance of environmental education. I am so excited to be a part of the Coral Ed community in Belize this summer and to share my love of the ocean with the students!

 

  • Carla Schwartz ‘20

Hi everyone! My name is Carla Schwartz and I am a rising junior at Smith. I am majoring in Biology and minoring in Marine Science and Policy. I am particularly interested in conservation biology and what we can do to help both marine and terrestrial life survive. Next semester I will be traveling to Tanzania to do a Wildlife Management program, so I am very excited to be immersed in interactive research and learn more about  Belize in hopes that it will prepare me better for future experiences. I can’t wait to work with students and spread my passion for Biology. Getting to learn about the community and ecosystem in San Pedro will prove to be an unforgettable experience!  

  • Katherine Akey ‘20

Hello! My name is Katherine Akey and I am a rising junior majoring in Engineering at Smith College. I am particularly interested in Environmental Engineering and how engineering processes affect our environment. I grew up in Westminster, Maryland on a small organic family farm, so I am very excited to be in San Pedro and experience a place with ecosystems drastically different from the ones at home! I am looking forward to sharing my love of the ocean and science with the students at camp, and am very eager to get to Belize!

  • Liz Nagy ‘18

Hi all! My name is Liz Nagy, and I’m a recent Smith graduate with a degree in Environmental Science & Policy and East Asian Languages & Literatures. Over the past few years, I’ve done a lot of work with coastal communities and coral reefs from Hawai’i to Tonga, so I’m excited to continue pursuing these passions in Belize. I think environmental education is very important, and that working with the community and exploring the natural landscape will be a great learning experience for everyone involved. I’m really looking forward to diving into marine science with the people of San Pedro!

  • Emiline Koopman ‘18J  Co-leader

Hi all! My name is Emiline and I am this year’s co-leader for the Coral Reef Ed-Ventures program. I participated in Coral Reef Ed-Ventures in 2016, and I am very excited to be returning to San Pedro for another summer of research, community outreach, and environmental education. Since my last trip to San Pedro, I have had many great experiences to prepare me for this summer. I have worked on various community-based conservation projects in the Pacific Islands and I am thrilled to transfer the skills I have gained on marine protection to a Caribbean setting. Since graduating Smith College in January 2018, with a degree in Biology and a minor in Marine Science and Policy, I am ready to dedicate my career to these vital marine ecosystems which we will be experiencing first-hand this summer on Ambergris Caye.

  • Dana Vera ‘19 Co-Leader

Hi everyone! My name is Dana Vera and I am a rising senior at Smith studying Education and Mathematics. This is my second year in the Coral Reef Ed-Ventures Program and I am one of the Co-Leaders of the team this year. I am so excited to go back to San Pedro and see all of our wonderful campers again! Last summer it was my first time in Belize and I truly enjoyed it. This year I am excited to share the research and activities we do in San Pedro with our campers and have a lot of fun during our three weeks of summer camps.

 

THIS YEAR'S CAMPS:

This year we are celebrating our nineteenth year of the Coral Reef Ed-Ventures Program.  We are excited to host our two annual summer camps: The REEF Program (Advanced) and the Youth Program. The theme of the year is CONNECTIONS: we will explore the connections we have with nature, the environment, and the community. Additionally, we are going to introduce the campers to research methods like mapping and coral identification, techniques we use when we analyze the data we collect in Belize.

Both of our camps will be held in the San Pedro High School, and the programs dates are the following:

REEF Program June 25th – 29th – For children ages 12 and up

Youth Program July 2nd – 12th – For children ages 7 to 11

COMING UP:

Keep tuning in for more blog posts as our Belize adventure unfolds! We are departing very early on June 3rd for our flights to Belize, and we will be keeping you updated as the Coral Ed-Ventures Program-2018 continues!

Look for more blog posts at:

https://blogs.smith.edu/blog/coraledventures/category/coral-ed-2018/

Please like our Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/coralreefedventures/

-Dana Vera & Team STARRS

 

 

 

 

 

Coral Ed-Team 2018

Coral Reef Ed-Ventures 2018 welcomes Team STARRS:

Dana Vera (’19)

Emiline Koopman (’18J)

Liz Nagy (’18)

Kate Akey (’20)

Aidan Coffin Ness (’20)

Carla Schwartz (’20)

The STARRS are busy planning for a summer of creating connections with the community of San Pedro, Belize.