Dr. Stewart Skeate Awarded Grant to Develop Research at BFREE
We are pleased to announce that Dr. Stewart Skeate of Lees-McRae College was recently awarded the Whalen Master Teacher Grant to develop a research project at BFREE.
Dr. Skeate has been bringing groups on field courses to Belize for the past eight years and in 2015 became a member of BFREE’s education committee. The committee was charged with creating long-term educational and research projects and data sets for student groups visiting the field station. Dr. Skeate’s interest was to formalize a tree fruit phenology study that he has implemented in the past with student groups at BFREE and to develop a large mammal survey using camera trapping techniques.
Dr. Stewart Skeate (standing third person from left) and students from Lees-McRae College during their 2014 field course
On December 1st, Lees-McRae College announced Dr. Skeate as the grant recipient. The article was posted to their college website and is included in part below. Please follow the link to the website below to continue reading.
Dr. Skeate, professor of wildlife biology and coordinator of the Wildlife Biology Program at Lees-McRae College, has received the Whalen Master Teacher Grant to fund student research projects for the Belize Foundation for Research and Environmental Education (BFREE). As a scholar involved in tropical research for many years, he understands the challenges and is working to improve the student experience.
“Ecological research projects require data input over a long period of time, and unfortunately, spending long periods of time at a tropical research station is challenging for faculty and students,” he said. “The goal of this project is to develop long-term, collaborative studies that create opportunities for visiting students to contribute their findings during a brief stay at the BFREE field station.” Continue Reading the article here.
Congratulations, Dr. Skeate! We are thrilled with your success!
Jaguar caught on camera during one of Dr. Skeate’s recent field courses.