Aidan ‘20′s Abroad Experience: Coral Reef Ed-Ventures in Belize!
Hello, all! Though I have yet to go abroad at Smith, I thought I’d share with you a little about my friend and teammate Aidan’s experience abroad in San Pedro, Belize for six weeks this summer with Smith College. The program which Aidan will tell you about below is one of many options for studying abroad in the summer for students who either don’t want to study abroad during the academic year or who want an additional abroad experience! Here’s what Aidan has to say:
“Hi, all! My name is Aidan and I’m a rising Junior, Spanish Major, and Swim and Dive team member at Smith. This past summer I spent six weeks living, learning, and teaching in San Pedro, Belize as a part of the Coral Reef Ed-Ventures program at Smith! The program is one of Smith’s many unique ways that undergraduates can interact with faculty and expand their horizons outside of their declared field of study. I heard about the program in one of my Education classes but quickly dismissed applying for it because the deadline was coming up, I was completely unprepared, and I didn’t have a lot of experience in the Sciences at Smith. I heard about it a few more times over the next few days, however, and I quickly realized that I needed to apply because the program combined so many of my interests and was an incredible opportunity. The final team consisted of six students - two of which were returning as group leaders from previous summers, three primary faculty advisors, and a team of other professors and faculty that helped us prepare for the trip.
(photo id: The four of us that were new to the program (Kate ‘20, Carla ‘20, and Liz ‘18) posing in front of the tiny plane that brought us out to Ambergris Caye! I’m second from the right with my leg up in excitement.)
The two major components of our project were research and education. After our initial week and a half adjusting to island temperatures and starting to fundraise and make connections with local businesses, the professors arrived and we started to prepare for research. Research week consisted of two large projects, one focusing on the live coral cover on an area of patch reefs to the north of the Island, and one focusing on the growth of mangrove propagules (baby mangrove trees) in the center part of the island that is currently under development. For the coral research, we took to the water in our SCUBA gear and did underwater surveys with our cameras and quadrats.
(photo id: Myself, Carla, Dana ‘19, Liz, and Kate underwater with all of our equipment and SCUBA gear on the last day of underwater research!)
The last three weeks of our program were spent running two summer camps for kids on the island. We ran a more advanced REEF Program and an entry-level Youth Program, both of which focused on the marine environment, ecology, and conservation. In addition to the lessons we prepared, we also worked with groups in and around San Pedro to teach the kids more about sea turtles, crocodiles, and Marine Protected Areas. We graduated over 50 kids from camp the last week of our visit, and they presented a poster symposium at graduation to teach their families and friends what they had learned at camp!
(photo id: One of our group leaders, Dana ’19, watches me, Carla, Kate, and Liz perform a skit about recycling to a class full of students as we recruit for camp!)
The program was an incredible experience and I learned so much from the environment, my peers, and the students that we worked with. I’m grateful that I was able to partake in this program through Smith, and would highly recommend it to anyone!