Seventeen Hamilton students and Biology Professor Bill Pfitsch are traveling to Belize for a 12-day field study program during spring break, March 12-24. They will explore tropical ecosystems and how humans interact with them. The democratic English speaking country of Belize is bounded on the north by Mexico, south and west by Guatemala, and the Caribbean Sea washes its 174 mile coastline to the East. The group is staying at the Monkey Bay Wildlife Sanctuary then camping at various parks and campgrounds throughout Belize.
The students on the trip are: Emily Starr '06, Scott Turowsky '06, Katherine Kennesaw Richards '07, Brittany Frank '07, Zach Hesse '05, Allison Demas '07, Lauren Fisher '05, Sarah Stewart '06, Matt Palascak '07, Katherine Bear '05, Sarah Entenmann '05, Tessa Teichert-Stein '07, Bobby Wysocki '06, Katheryn Hansen '07, Matthew Marks '05 and Jen Henkle '05.
On the Hamilton itinerary is a visit to the Belize Zoo, exploration of the terrestrial ecology and headwaters of the Maya Mountains and waterfalls, an outing to Thousand Foot Falls Natural Monument and Big Rock Falls, and an excursion to Xunantunich Maya Ruins, where they will have lunch hosted by a local Mayan family. The group will take a paddling excursion on the Sibun River, where they will observe birds, iguanas, cave bats, coatimundi and Central American river otter and do water sampling. Then they will travel to Belize's capital, Belmopan City, and on to Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary, where they will camp. Finally, they will travel to Tobacco Caye, a a group of mangrove cayes inside Tobacco Reef. They will snorkel and tour the Smithsonian Institute's Western Caribbean Marine Research Station.
The students will earn one-half course credit for the seminar and field trip.
