O
ver January-Term, my colleague, Dr. Brad Engle, and I took 12 participants – nine full-time students and three alumnae - to Belize as the travel-abroad portion of our course, Tropical Ecology of Belize. This course was offered as an upper-level elective within the biology department and was open to all
students, who could receive biology, environmental studies or transdisciplinary credit. Dr. Engle and I agree, the course was an incredible success!
Tropical Ecology of Belize was designed to: (1) provide participants with the background and opportunities for studying several of the most prominent tropical ecosystems that contribute to global biodiversity, and (2) help students understand how human cultures value biodiversity and, therefore, act to conserve it. We focused our course work on mechanisms, theories, field methodologies, cultural history and legislation related to tropical broad-leaf forests, mangrove forests, sea grass beds, tropical riparian corridors and coral reefs. In doing so, we covered a broad range of topics in the areas of ecology, zoology, botany, marine biology and oceanography, anthropology, conservation science and environmental policy. Specifically, the course intended to combine an understanding of the ecologies of the select ecosystems and their biodiversity in the context of culture and how culture affects conservation practices and environmental policies. Belize was a natural choice for the academic thrust of this course for several reasons. First, Belize is a relatively new independent nation with low population density and high endemic biodiversity. Many of its ecosystems remain in pristine condition. As a new nation, Belize is still in the process of establishing environmental policies that will protect native biodiversity and preserve ecosystem integrity. In the area of environmental policy and practice, Belize is seeking creative solutions to some of the challenges of conservation, particularly with respect to funding. We certainly wanted to highlight creative solutions in this course. Second, Belize has a highly diverse human population,
including peoples of Mayan, Garifuna and Kriol (British Creole) descent. Third, the official language of Belize is English, which made it easy for us to get around and interact with Belizean people. Fourth, I had a set of excellent references for a tour group that employs local guides for ecotourism. My references came from other academic institutions that have run very successful courses using this tour group in Belize. Our J-term course schedule was divided between one week on campus and two weeks in Belize. During the first week, we spent three hours each day in traditional class lecture and formal discussions of reading assignments. The first weekend, the students had a comprehensive exam. Weeks two and three were spent in Belize. Our time in Belize involved traveling between three main locations. Our first location was outside of Belize City at the Tropical Education Center. There, we studied geography, culture and ecology, and learned about some of the most valued species in Belize. In addition to hiking in the savannah and rainforest, we spent time at the Belize Zoo. Our first visit to the zoo was at night, when we were escorted on a nocturnal tour. Highlights of the nocturnal zoo included seeing animals such as howler monkeys, jaguars, ocelots, pumas, margays and tapirs up close. Our second visit to the zoo entailed a detailed day tour, when we got to see and learn about the ecologies and care required for Belize’s most prominent native wildlife. This part of the trip included an opportunity to get very close to (close enough to touch) a captive jaguar named Buddy and to bottle feed juvenile tapirs.
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