Stakeholders Discuss the Future of the Cacao Industry in Belize

/1 Comment/in , , , , , /by

Participants gather in a circle for an open discussion during the Forum in San Pedro Columbia.

On  20th July 2017, the Belize Foundation for Research & Environmental Education (BFREE) along with Ya’axché Conservation Trust hosted the first Belize Cacao and Agroforestry Forum, entitled “The Future of the Cacao industry in Belize,” at the Church of the Nazarene Medical and Education Center in the historic village of San Pedro Columbia, Toledo District.

The Forum brought together nearly 50 participants representing the NGO community, cacao farmers, community leaders, and government representatives in what proved to be an extremely positive event.

Located near the Bladen Nature Reserve in Toledo, BFREE has been hosting and sponsoring workshops, symposiums, and forums to promote the conservation and maintenance of Belize’s rich biodiversity, its tropical forests, watersheds and abundant wildlife for the last 25 years. This forum took shape in response to our current research and work, which focuses on using cacao-based agroforestry as a way to expand the edges of rainforests and protect the wildlife who inhabit the area.

The Forum had two primary goals; bring together a group of stakeholders in order to share information, discuss challenges and explore opportunities for collaboration and compile information regarding the cacao industry in Belize for inclusion in a regional cacao website, CocoaNext, which will be launched later this year by the Cocoa Research Centre at the University of the West Indies in Trinidad and Tobago.

Forum goals were achieved as information was shared and opportunities for collaboration were considered. The group represented an exceptional diversity of experts with a wide breadth of knowledge and experience representing in Belize’s cacao industry making for focused and informative discussions throughout the day.

With the success of the Forum behind us, participants are already looking forward to the future. The shared desire resonated – that Belize and, particularly Toledo, will continue to become an important player in the local, regional and world Cacao Market and that this growing industry will benefit local farmers, local businesses, Belize’s economy, and most importantly future generations.

BFREE Executive Director, Jacob Marlin welcomes the participants of the first Belize Cacao and Agroforestry Forum on Thursday, July 20, 2017.

The Forum speakers included:

  • •  Ms. Antoinette Sankar of the Cocoa Research Centre, at the University of the West Indies, Trinidad and Tobago. Ms. Sankar provided fantastic overview and history of the Cocoa Research Centre as well as need and purpose for the regional cacao website that will be launched later this year.
  • •  Mr. Wilber Sabido, Chief Forest Officer of the Belize Forest Department. Mr. Sabido spoke of the Forest Department’s position on cacao and agroforestry.
  • •  Mr. Densford Mangar, Ministry of Agriculture Toledo Extension officer. Mr. Mangar presented a national perspective of cacao in Belize.
  • •  Mr. Pablo Mes, Program Coordinator for Maya Leaders Alliance. Mr. Mes described traditional Maya lands rights and land use in Belize.
  • •  Mr. Johnson Ical from Trio Village and Mr. Martin Chiquin from Indian Creek Village both provided the group with an overview of a small farmer’s viewpoint.
  • •  Mr. Gustavo Requena, Community Outreach and Livelihoods Director of Ya’axché Conservation Trust. Mr. Requena described how agroforestry bridges livelihoods as well as on protected area management and adaptation to climate change.
  • •  Mr. Jacob Marlin, Executive Director of BFREE. Mr. Marlin presented how cacao agroforestry may conserve and restore biodiversity.

Hyla and Jacob Marlin along with Antoinette Sankar of the Cocoa Research Centre pose for a photo before the Forum in BFREE’s cacao nursery.

BFREE would like to thank each of the speakers and the participants for their dedication to a healthy and sustainable future for cacao in Belize. Special thanks also to BFREE Deputy Director, Heather Barrett, BFREE Operations Manager and Cacao Demonstration Farm Manager, Elmer Tzalam and BFREE Board Member, Gentry Mander who helped make the event a success.

Funding for the Forum was provided by Belize Foundation for Research & Environmental Education, Ya’axché Conservation Trust, and the US Fish and Wildlife Service, on behalf of the Nyanza Natural Resource Damage Trustee Council – comprised of the Service, Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration.

If you would like to know more about the Forum, would like to be involved or have any questions, please contact us at: contact@bfreebz.org

 

 

2017 BFREE Field Courses

/0 Comments/in , , , , , , , , , , /by

BFREE 2017 Field Course Season wraps up this month with 172 students and instructors visiting the Field Station from as far as Scotland and Alaska. Eleven courses in total, including two junior colleges and one primary school from Belize, all traveled to our small slice of paradise off the Southern Highway.

BFREE field courses are each uniquely developed by the lead instructors and BFREE staff. Courses are created to reflect each school’s curriculum and goals. While each group is different, visitors to BFREE share many similar challenging and rewarding experiences.

Upon arrival to Belize, each group is welcomed at the airport by a BFREE Tour Guide. If you have the pleasure to be greeted by Nelly Cadle then you know you are in for a treat! Nelly’s experience, knowledge, and passion for her country and work are hard to match.

The hike from the Southern Highway to the BFREE Field Station is a memory hard to forget. Traversing several distinct habitats, each with unique plants and animals, leads you to the Bladen River, towering cecropia trees, and your final destination — The BFREE Field Station.

While at BFREE, groups not only learn about the various ongoing program work but have the chance to roll up their sleeves and get their hands dirty with first-hand experience supporting BFREE’s conservation initiatives. Students have the opportunity to visit the Hicatee Conservation & Research Center (HCRC), a breeding and research facility for the critically endangered hicatee turtle as well as the 15-acre cacao and coffee agroforest, home to over 12,000 cacao trees.

Assigned by their instructors, many students are tasked with developing research questions and collecting preliminary data while spending several days working on independent projects.

Students may choose to participate in various field experiments such as conducting river studies in the Bladen River, setting up small mammal traps for the Small Mammal Community Study or surveying selected plots in the Fruit Phenology Study.

In addition to the BFREE Field Station, many groups incorporate a marine component, learning about the second largest barrier reef system in the world, snorkeling from various islands around Belize.

There is nothing quite like traveling to a remote field station deep in a tropical rainforest to create memories and friendships that will last a lifetime.

On behalf of all of us at BFREE, we would like to extend a sincere thank you to all of the instructors, administrators, students, and parents that helped make the 2017 BFREE Field Season one of the best yet! We can’t wait to see you all again!

If you are interested in visiting BFREE, whether it be a student group, family vacation, solo adventure or interest in volunteering, we would be thrilled to have you! Contact BFREE Program Coordinator, Tyler Sanville at tsanville@bfreebz.org for more information.

2017 BFREE Field Courses 

 

For even more Field Course information check out these links below: 

University of Richmond Story Map

Click the link above to visit the University of Richmond’s Story Map put together by the fourteen students that visited BFREE this year.

Vermont Commons School Video: Belize is Our Classroom!

Cacao-based Agroforestry Handbook

/0 Comments/in /by

Now in its 3rd year, the Belize Cacao-based Agroforestry Project (BCARP) is on the path to broadening its reach by producing an illustrated guidebook to be distributed around the country.  The BCARP seeks to expand habitat for over-wintering neotropical migratory birds and other wildlife by converting environments such as farmland and secondary growth forest to wildlife-friendly agroforests with cacao as the dominant understory.

Cacao grows under the shade of the forest at BFREE.

Cacao grows under the shade of the forest at BFREE – pic by Heather Barrett

To date, this BFREE project has helped farmers in the nearby agricultural community of Trio Village to plant over 20,000 trees. Support has been offered in the form of training, labor, materials, and extension services. From the very beginnings of the project, interest in cacao and organic farming far surpassed BFREE’s expectations, in spite of the great desire to continue to expand by adding more farmers to the project, it also exceeded the financial and human resources dedicated to the project.

Always up for a challenge, BFREE decided a handbook illustrating specific methods could be one valuable component of a larger effort to address the ever-growing interest in cacao. Working with Dr. Jamie Rotenberg, BFREE board member and professor, BFREE engaged students at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington to help with the development and design of the handbook.

Nine graduate students in Dr. Rotenberg’s class, EVS: 530 “Graduate Tropical Environmental Ecology,” embraced the opportunity to produce something lasting and useful to farmers. Over the fall semester, the team worked to vet and compile resources for the handbook content. The clear priority was to design a guide specific to Belize that was thorough and complete yet simple to understand and illustration-based rather than text-heavy to account for varying levels of literacy and language.

cover art

The handbook will be filled with simple and clear illustrations to supplement and enhance written material.

In December, the team presented their final products to BFREE. Both students and staff were thrilled with the results; the handbook was attractive, comprehensive, clear, and included both English and Spanish translations. Unanimously, the group agreed the handbook was a great beginning and the next step was fine tuning.

Elmer Tzalam, BFREE Cacao Farm Manager, and Gentry Mander, recent University of Florida graduate and long-time BFREE collaborator, along with other BFREE staff, edited the handbook content and compiled recommendations for a final version. Those edits were given to some of the former EVS:530 students – Sara Marriott, Katherine Weeks, Danielle Frank, and Carmen Johnson – who eagerly accepted the opportunity to work with BFREE to complete the project. We anticipate publication of the handbook this autumn, and distribution in Belize immediately following.

We are most grateful to Dr. Jamie Rotenberg and his students: Karissa Bearer, Johanna Colburn, Lindsey Cole, Danielle Frank, Evan Gruetter, Carmen Johnson, Bretton Little, Sara Marriott, and Katherine Weeks. Their investment of time, energy, ideas and enthusiasm helped to spur on this meaningful project. 

Partial funding for BCARP is provided by the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service, along with co-trustees from the State of Massachusetts and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

First captive bred Hicatee Turtles hatch at HCRC

/0 Comments/in , /by
Seven eggs successfully hatched between June 14 and June 18.

Seven eggs successfully hatched between June 14 and June 18- pic by Heather Barrett

Six months after a clutch of eight Hicatee eggs was found buried at the waters’ edge at the Hicatee Conservation and Research Center (HCRC) in December of 2014, hatchlings began to emerge from their eggs.  These are the first hatchlings in the captive breeding program established by the Turtle Survival Alliance (TSA) and BFREE at the HCRC located at the BFREE Field Station in southern Belize. Locally known as Hicatee, Dermatemys  mawii, is the only living representative of a formerly widespread group of turtles in the family Dermatemydidae.  D. mawii is classified as Critically Endangered by the IUCN Red List, which identifies it as “the most endangered species, genus, and family of turtles in Mexico and possibly elsewhere in its limited range.” D. mawii’s range extends only from southern Mexico, into northern Guatemala and Belize.

Of the eight eggs deposited in the nest, seven were determined fertile, and of the seven, all hatched. With an incubation period of over six months, this is an unusually long period for most turtle eggs. This is partially due to the delayed development that occurs during the initial stages of incubation, called embryonic diapause, a term that describes a period of time when virtually no development of the embryo takes place. With Hicatee, this evolutionary trait likely occurs because Hicatee deposit their eggs at the rivers’ edge during the rainy season when water levels fluctuate greatly, and nests are often partially or completely submerged from days to weeks at a time, and temperatures are cooler.  These environmental factors, as well as others, are being studied at the HCRC.

Hatchling

Dermatemys mawii is classified as Critically Endangered by the IUCN Red List – pic by Nichole Bishop

Jacob Marlin of BFREE is thrilled about the new additions to the HCRC.

“There are so many questions and opportunities for discovery concerning the biology and reproductive ecology of this rare and little known species. I feel honored and excited for BFREE to play such an important role in the long term conservation of Hicatee turtles.” 

Starting on June 14th, the seven hatchlings were all born within 5 days of each other. After first breaking through the egg shell, called “pipping”, the baby turtles tended to wait to fully emerge from the shell for an average of two days.  Hatchlings were then carefully weighed, measured, and permanently marked for identification. Each was set up individually in small containers so they could be closely monitored. The hatchlings’ average weight was about 35 grams – large for a freshwater turtle. They all began to feed almost immediately and showed no signs of any health problems or abnormalities.

Nearly three weeks old, the hatchlings are adapting well to their new world. They have been moved into larger enclosures, approximately 36”L X 18”W X 8”H, and are living in two groups – four in one container and three another.  These herbivores receive daily feedings of Paspalum paniculatum, which is a native grass of Belize and the preferred food for Hicatee. In addition to p-grass, both groups are also feeding readily on a variety of leaves including fig, banana, sweet potato, Cecropia, and Cocoyam.Fruits have been offered including papaya and mango, though the hatchlings have not seemed particularly interested. Some meat items have been introduced such as fish, but have not been taken by the turtles.

One of the groups was offered feces from the adults in order to inoculate them with the appropriate gut microflora. The presence of gut microflora likely plays an important role in the ability of the turtles to break down plant matter and absorb critical nutrients from their diet. The second group will wait to be inoculated for one month after hatching, in order to compare growth rates between the two groups. Feces of both groups are being collected twice per week, and will be analyzed for gut microflora by Nichole Bishop, a PhD student at the University of Florida, who is focusing her studies on the ecology of gut microflora and the role it plays in the growth rates of Hicatee.

UF grad student, Nichole Bishop, and HCRC Manager, Tom Pop, collect weight and measurements

UF grad student, Nichole Bishop, and HCRC Manager, Tom Pop, collect weight and measurement data on the one-week old turtles – pic by Mark Mummaw

The turtles are being observed daily, and are feeding both day and night, though they seem to be more active foragers during nighttime hours.  Weight and other measurements are taken on a weekly basis and their two-week checkup showed considerable growth. Some individuals gained as much as 27% in weight!

We anticipate watching them grow and thrive in coming months and as rainy season is upon us – we look forward to more eggs followed by more hatchlings in 2016!

Hicatee - Dermatemys mawaii. Pic by Heather Barrett

Hicatee Turtle – Dermatemys mawii – pic by Heather Barrett

 

 

Oecologia article considers the winter ecology of Wood Thrushes

/0 Comments/in , /by
Emily McKinnon spent significant time at BFREE studying Wood Thrushes in their overwintering grounds.

Emily McKinnon spent time at BFREE studying Wood Thrushes in their overwintering grounds.

Emily McKinnon, bird biologist and Research Affiliate in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Manitoba, conducted a significant portion of her doctoral field research at the BFREE field station. In her May 27 blog post, “Jungle life is not always easy for Wood Thrushes,”  McKinnon summarized her research and announced the resulting Oecologia article.

McKinnon, E.A., Rotenberg, J. A., and B.J. M. Stutchbury. 2015. Seasonal change in tropical habitat quality and body condition for a declining migratory songbird. Oecologia Early Online. 10.1007/s00442-015-3343-1

Hicatee Turtle Confiscations Help Stock the HCRC

/0 Comments/in /by
Belize Fisheries Officers with confiscated Hicatees.

Belize Fisheries Officers with confiscated Hicatees.

The new Hicatee Conservation Research Center (HCRC) in Belize is now open for business, which is a good thing for eight Central American River turtles, or Hicatee, Dermatemys mawii, that were confiscated recently. Spearheaded by the Turtle Survival Alliance (TSA) and created in partnership with the Belize Foundation for Research and Environmental Education (BFREE), the HCRC is a unique facility located in a private protected area at the foothills of the Maya Mountains.

Jacob Marlin places an identifying mark on a Hicatee turtle.

Jacob Marlin places an identifying mark on a Hicatee turtle.

TSA and BFREE already had a team on the ground in Belize when we learned that the Fisheries Department, acting on a tip, had pursued a group of Hicatee hunters in an area near Sandhill called Grace Bank, Belize District. The pursuit by canoe lasted over three hours and resulted in the officers’ discovery of ten nets set across the creek for trapping Hicatee, an illegal practice that fortunately led to the poacher’s camp. Though armed, two men were arrested without incident on 26 March and arraigned the following day in court and charged accordingly (See Belize news).

Many of the confiscated turtles were below the legal limit.

Many of the confiscated turtles were below the legal limit.

[and by Rick Hudson of the TSA]

Eight turtles were found in bags including an oversize female with a carapace length of 18.3 inches, 3 under-sized females with carapace lengths of less than 14 inches, 2 legal-sized females with carapace lengths of 16 inches, and 2 adult males each with a carapace length of 16 inches. Violations included exceeding the allowable number of turtles (3), using nets to trap turtles, and taking turtles outside the allowable size limits of 15.2 – 17.2 inches carapace length. More restrictive regulations for collecting Hicatee in Belize were proposed in 2012 but have not yet gone into effect.

On Thursday, 27 March, a news report on the radio notified the public of the arrest and reminded them of the laws pertaining to harvesting Hicatee from the wild. Upon learning that an arrest had been made, our team called Fisheries and requested that the turtles be transferred to BFREE for the breeding program. The following day, 28 March, permission was granted and Jacob Marlin, Executive Director of BFREE, picked up the turtles from Fisheries headquarters in Belize City. There are now 22 Hicatee residing at the HCRC.

Since arriving at the Center, the new turtles have settled in well and begun feeding on local figs and Paspalum, an emergent aquatic grass that has been found to comprise the majority of their wild diet by volume, and is being cultivated at BFREE as a food source.
IMG_8638Belize-Mar-2014-DS-(2)-for-web
The goal of the HCRC is to develop reliable artificial breeding methods that will permit the sustainable and large-scale captive management of this endangered and heavily hunted species. Research at the Center is designed to answer questions on the reproductive biology of this secretive and difficult- to-observe turtle such as preferred nesting habitat, environmental triggers for egg-laying and breeding and egg incubation. Other goals include the design of optimal captive environments, and determination of stocking densities and low-cost feeding regimes that will contribute to sustained breeding success. The Belize Fisheries Department has enthusiastically endorsed the HCRC and will continue to help us stock the Center with future Hicatee confiscations. More illegal seizures are anticipated soon, in the days leading up to Easter celebrations, a peak period for consumption of Hicatee throughout their range.

IMG_8635Belize-Mar-2014-DS-for-webThese confiscations – the first in a long time – bode well for the future of the Hicatee in Belize. The formation of the Hicatee Conservation Monitoring Network in 2010 is beginning to pay dividends and we are seeing increases in patrols, enforcement activity and community involvement. For the past three years a national awareness campaign – run by local NGOs YCT and TIDE – has highlighted the plight of the Hicatee and reminded people of protective regulations. Many groups and individuals are now coming together under a single banner and working to strengthen protection for this culturally important and iconic turtle.

The TSA and BFREE wish to thank the following people and organizations for their recent contributions to the Hicatee conservation program in Belize: Milena Oliva Mendez, Venetia Briggs-Gonzales, Thomas Rainwater, Dustin Smith, Howard Goldstein, Lex Thomas, Tom Pop, Eric Anderson, Rich Zerelli, Curtis Flowers, Richard and Carol Foster, Marcelino Pop, Fernandes Sho, Alfio Cal, Domingo Pop, Cheers Restaurant, Monkey Bay Wildlife Sanctuary, Lamanai Field Research Center, Zoo Miami, Belize Aquaculture Limited, Gomez and Sons Sawmill, Maya King Limited, and the Belize Fisheries Department.

New Species of Rare Land Snail Officially Described from Belize!

/1 Comment/in /by

maya drum snail 1
Found in the southern foothills of the Maya Mountains, the Mayan drum, Eucalodium belizensis was formally given scientific description by Dan Dourson, BFREE biologist and Fred Thompson, Florida Museum of Natural History in the journal, The Nautilus, Volume 127 in late 2013.

maya drum snail 2The new species was first discovered by Valentino Tzub, a Kek’chi Mayan from the village of San Jose´ who was trained as a malacological field as-sistant by Dan Dourson. Valentino has been collecting and cataloguing land snails near his village of San Jose for the past 5 years and has found other species of land snails that are likely new to science; these also waiting scientific description. Mr. Tzub works as a guide and research assistant for other scientific expeditions and research projects in Belize.

The subgenus Eucalodium is known from foothills in a rather small area of Belize, Guatemala, and part of Mexico (northern Chiapas and Tabasco.) Drums are seldom encountered, and they are not common where they are found; several species known only from the type locality as is the case for the Maya drum. This is the first species of the genus and the subgenus reported from Belize. The Mayan drum was found under leaf litter near Cretaceous limestone outcrops.

The landform surrounding the type locality includes hilly karst topography, containing sinkholes and multiple cave formations. The type locality is entirely forested with a tropical wet broadleaf evergreen forest with cohune palms and occasional emergent Ceiba trees and an understory layer dominated with shrubs, pteridophytes, and Araceae (Brewer pers. comm.). Farming activity from San Jose is encroaching into the near-by forest and threatens the future of this extremely rare and endangered gastropod. Above are the only images ever taken of a live Mayan drum.

maya drum snail shell

A Rapid Multi-Taxa Assessment of “Oak Ridge”

/0 Comments/in /by
Oak Tree

Quercus lancifolia, an oak tree species endemic to the upper elevations of Central America, exchanging leaves as dry season sets in.

In March of 2012, an expedition team took a snapshot of the vegetation, bat and land snail diversity in the moisture-laden forests of the highest elevations in the Maya Mountains (Bladen Nature Reserve).

Together this team, created the document “A RAPID MULTI-TAXA ASSESSMENT OF “OAK RIDGE” AN UNUSUAL RIDGE SYSTEM IN THE NORTH-CENTRAL BLADEN NATURE RESERVE” prepared by Copperhead Environmental Consulting, Inc. for the Belize Forest Department, Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment and Ya’axche Conservation Trust.

This assessment, first circulated in December 2013 and authored by Steven W. Brewer, Plant Diversity & Vegetation; Price Sewell, Josh Adams and Mark Gumbert, Bats; and Daniel C. Dourson, Snails, is rich with information and photographs, and is available on Ya’axche’s website at this link.

Notes from the Field Spring 2013

/0 Comments/in /by
independence-college-forweb

Students from Independence Junior College in Belize.

New partnerships, bold new field courses and new additions to the BFREE experience along with annual/biannual courses punctuate BFREE’s 2013 field season.

Student from Nebraska Wesleyan University working with cohune.

Student from Nebraska Wesleyan University working with cohune.

In early January, Dr. Jerry Bricker and students from Nebraska Wesleyan University (NWU) participated in BFREE’s newly developed field course, “Field Study Methods in Tropical Ecology”. Designed to optimize BFREE’s premium location adjacent to 1.5 million acres of pristine rainforest, students spent the first few days observing and participating in field research methods presented by BFREE staff biologists. From bat netting to mist netting for birds to aquatic surveys and land mammal survey methods, students experienced authentic research in the tropical rainforest. Throughout these activities, observations were recorded, and mini research projects were developed with input from both professors and resident researchers. Research topics varied widely from ant behavior to bioluminescence. Students’ research results rounded out the week with one “Star Wars”-like presentation by a pair of students studying bioluminescence who made a grand entrance to a darkened dining room wielding the rotting fronds of a cohune palm glowing like Luke Skywalker’s light sabre!

Otterbein University returned once again in mid-January with a new twist to their multidisciplinary course combining Tropical Ecology and Cross Cultural Experiences. A senior research project in psychology and sociology compared the attitudes toward the environment and the natural world of school children from the U.S. and Belize. Conducted during a homestay in the village of San Felipe, the survey looked at the impact of television and other technologies on attitudes toward the environment. After completing their survey, Otterbein students spent time teaching the Belizean kids outdoor games like Red Rover and Duck, Duck, Goose!

Collaboration between BFREE and Ya’axche Conservation Trust has provided students the rare opportunity to experience Belize’s Crown Jewel of protected areas, the Bladen Nature Reserve. YCT rangers led hikes for most of the BFREE field courses along the Bladen River Trail in an area of the reserve that permits access for educational purposes. These guided hikes focused on the challenges of managing Belize’s highest protected area with limited staff and resources as well as how local people use forest resources in daily living practices fostering appreciation for the necessity to protect such pristine environments like the Bladen for future generations.

Students from Otterbein swimming in the river.

Students from Otterbein University swimming in the river.

Sterling College students and faculty were welcomed for the sixth year at the end of January. Aquatic specialists, instructors Farley Brown and Charlotte Rosenthal, returned to previous research sites near Blue Pool and along the Bladen River to survey the aquatic life and flow of the Bladen River. Students participated in a variety of activities presented by BFREE staff biologists; including snail survey work, bat netting, bird netting and a tour of BFREE’s Agroforestry project: a shade-grown, organic and bird-friendly cacao and coffee farm.

The month of February welcomed local community college students from Independence Junior College (pictured at top) and their professor Abigail Parham for another weekend of field activities lead by BFREE Avian Biologist, William Garcia and Avian Technician, Liberato Pop. We were pleased to be able to offer field experience FOR Belizeans LED BY Belizeans!!

The month of March indeed came in like a lion for BFREE as we hosted two courses simultaneously on site. Both courses featured bold new arenas for BFREE. Next month’s News from the Field will feature a closer look at University of Florida’s School of Environmental Law’s cutting edge masters level course as well as an exciting new focused field course from University of North Carolina at Wilmington.

BFREE Avian Technician Receives Prestigious Internship

/0 Comments/in /by
gato in oregon

Gato in Oregon.

BFREE is proud to announce that Avian Technician, Liberato “Gato” Pop, started his international Bird Banding internship with Klamath Bird Observatory in Oregon, USA during early May 2013. With the support of BFREE staff members, Gato began working toward the internship in January and has navigated through the process of applying, interviewing, obtaining a 6-month travel Visa, and deciding to leave his home for half a year to pursue this goal!

Klamath Bird Observatory (KBO) Interns engage in a variety of bird monitoring and research methodologies (e.g., bird banding and nest searching) depending on annual project needs. Interns gain skills in bird identification by sight and sound, survey methodology, orienteering and general field biology skills, meticulous data collection, and data entry. Interns also contribute substantially to KBO’s research and monitoring efforts. Upon successful completion of the program, Gato will be eligible to pursue his bird banding certification by the North American Banding Council and additionally hopes to be certified as a banding trainer.

Experiences like this are ones that BFREE has worked hard to try to link Belizeans to. Gato lives in Bladen Village, a small community of approximately 300 people. His village is one of the six communities buffering Bladen Nature Reserve in which BFREE has focused outreach efforts over the past seven years. By offering educational programs in village schools and to community members and by training and employing locals to become parabiologists (and in this case, avian technicians), BFREE seeks to involve Belizean stake-holders in the pursuit of the organizational mission to conserve the biodiversity and cultural heritage of Belize.

gato sushi

Gato making sushi.

At just 21 years old, Gato found BFREE five years ago when he was 16. His father, village leader of Bladen that year, saw BFREE employee William Garcia putting up posters advertising the opportunity to train and work as an avian technician. Gato eagerly applied and, a few weeks later, he officially joined BFREE’s avian research team. Since that time, Gato has become an integral part of the avian team and has shown a special affinity for his work with Belize’s wild Harpy eagles.

Gato is one of 13 individuals who have completed avian technician training with BFREE and is one of three who are currently employed by the non-profit. Avian Program Coordinator, William Garcia, has taken advantage of multiple opportunities to receive additional training abroad; he also participated in a KBO internship and has worked with Copperhead Environmental Consulting, Inc. in Kentucky, USA each summer for the past three years. Newest avian team member, Marlyn Cruz, will begin her first international internship with Copperhead Environmental Consulting this June.

BFREE would like to express sincere thanks to organizations like Klamath Bird Observatory and Copperhead Environmental Consulting, Inc. for providing once in a lifetime opportunities to motivated and talented individuals like Gato, William and Marlyn.