Las Cuevas Field Station in the Chiquibul Forest Reserve

I went to Las Cuevas for 5 days in order to learn how to identify species of plants to the level of classification known as a family in the scientific taxonomic system. David Kao, a UB biology student came as well and provided us much comic relief. We worked with Mr. Jeff Hicks with the Royal Botanic Gardens in Scotland (I think) collecting data for his master’s thesis which entails creating a checklist of trees present in the area and associated soil types.

Jeff was generous enough to spend some time teaching us a simple suite of characteristics that can be used to reach the family ID. Is the leaf compound or simple? Opposite or alternate? Is there sap? is there unique veination? etc. In turn, we helped Jeff out with data collection on some field transects, in both the unique oak forest and pine savanna of San Pastor near the research station. We also prepared, pressed and dried herbarium and voucher specimens. Additionally, we helped Rachael and Robby (2 post docs just setting up their research sites at Las Cuevas) establish seed traps. We also got to watch a team of entomologists from California set up their blacklights and attract insects at night. And… my machete wielding skills improved.

We saw a boa constrictor in the wild, I actually took the photo you see here. We also saw a deer, which is a rare sighting and also a highlight, we visited one of the caves which contained a ton of Mayan pottery shards. We didn’t see a scarlet macaw which are common in the area, I was hoping but no luck. There are many cats as well, jaguars, ocelots, pumas which we didn’t see either.

Jeff taught us some tropical forest survival skills including introducing us to the water vine which when cut and held at an angle produces a stream of fresh water.

So, I got back from Las Cuevas on Tuesday night. Our 2 day, 1^st ever Natural Resource Management Research Symposium was Wednesday and Thursday this week. In addition to the researchers I met at Las Cuevas (2 year study, they’ll be here until October this year) I also met a new American lecturer at nearby Galen University. She has a 4 x 4 truck and is excited to get out and explore Belize. So, it was great to meet some new friends that I can meet up with in August when I return to Belize.

Grades were due Wednesday, all coasting from here, phew. I leave tomorrow for 1 week out at Glover’s Reef Atoll with another lecturer and students collecting thesis data.

I’ll be visiting my parents in late June in Florida and then my friend Ana in Kenya for a month June-July.

More Earth Day and Garden pics

Natural Pesticide/Fertilizer Demonstration Garden Plots

The basil is loving the tropical climate! We've also got cilantro that is doing well. The habaneros are just flowering. The cucumbers are flowering and we have small cucumbers growing. The sweet bell pepper plants have just been planted and we've got eggplant seeds in the ground, we'll see what happens. Hopefully, we'll get tomatoes started soon as well. neat.

the cafeteria

Humorous addition:

I just went to the UB cafeteria to grab a snack before my noon class.

1^st- they have no cake, biscuit, roll snack type thing sans meat
2^nd- the only meat free item available is French fries so I order a small plate of fries from the woman at the counter.

She checks with someone in the kitchen and informs me that she cannot just sell me French fries without the fried chicken.

I wanted to scream. So, I as calmly as I could, asked her a series of questions:

Do you sell food to earn money? yes

Are you selling French fries today? yes

But you will not sell me just the French fries that you have for sale today? No

I told her that I thought she was being rude to me and I left.

Experiences like this make me long for the US.

Goings on

Let’s see, another semester is coming to an end. I should write a little something in this blog. Scattered thoughts and experiences below.

This morning, I decided I should wax my eyebrows before going into work. Some would call this typical end of the semester procrastination, others would say an unusually “high maintenance” activity for moi. Anyway, the wax didn’t harden properly and I spent a half hour dabbing fire hot water on my eyebrows trying to remove excess wax. My skin hurts. But, considering that it will probably reach 90 F today and we still have no air conditioning or fans in our office, the remaining wax will probably melt off by mid-day, problem solved.

I may test for my yellow belt in karate this weekend.

I'm applying for Belizean Residency but doubt I'll get it bc I left for Argentina and the US last summer. Supposedly you're not supposed to leave the country for more than 2 weeks in a year period in order to qualify for residency. I've put off starting the process as I was hoping to meet someone working in immigration and that she/he could "help" me get this residency meaning that it's all "who you know" in Belize which can be said to be true most places but here.....I think the effect is far more marked.

I'm staying another semester (Aug-Dec). I'll take my friend's higher plants class which will be good for me as I have little plant background. Then, she and I will be teaching together the Env. Science course and plan to revamp the curriculum making it more interesting and applicable to non-majors, I'm very much looking forward to working with her on this.

I have to get a permit letter from the Ministry of Finance in order to exchange $1000 BZ to US $ at a bank.

I likely be traveling to Kenya this summer to visit my friend Ana doing research over there so, I contacted the University that I attended in Australia in efforts to get my former Tanzanian roommate, Mahir’s, last name and birth place.

They responded:
“As we are bound by privacy laws, we are unable to give out personal information regarding students, we are therefore unable to assist you with your enquiry.”

So I responded:
Dear Gillian,
ah, what a shame. It seems the paranoia and associated policy of the US has spread to Australia. Too bad, I'd had higher hopes. I must say that I am saddened that we live in a world that where the technology and communication networks exist to allow old friends to reunite but policies born in fear which prevent such. I hope someday we will see change. To think that 10 years ago when I was a student in Australia, email was a new thing and now I (an American) am emailing you in Australia, from my current home in Belize, about a friend in Tanzania! ha! My how things change in a decade. Well, he said he was a "prince in Zanzibar" so, we'll see how far that gets me! And, you know that I know you're just following policy and doing your job. but.


This past weekend, I tried to dye a strand of my hair purple using log wood bark. It turned a bit blue but check out the white piece of cloth that did take the dye, neato. Apparently, dye was in such demand in Europe once upon a time, that’s one of the first reasons the British settled here in Belize. The Mayans used the dye for ceremonial robes (Lugie 2007).














One of our cats, Frederico, was playing with something out in the street in front of our house the other night. Eden went to check it out. It was a Fer de Lance snake that had had an unfortunate encounter with a car but was still alive, nonetheless. Eden whacked it. Fer-de-Lance, French for spearhead (literally "iron of the lance"), can refer to any of several pit vipers of the genus Bothrops which I think here is Bothrops asper. The fer-de-lance is the most dangerous snake in the Yucatan Peninsula and causes more human deaths than any other American reptile. It is aggressive. It is cryptically coloured. It is a member of the group of snakes known as pit vipers. The venom is a fast acting hemotoxin, affecting the heart and circulatory system resulting in internal bleeding, tissue destruction, painful breathing, and just in general, lots o' pain and very possible death. Fan-tastic.














Our other cat, Dotty, had kittens 3 weeks ago. They are so adorable that Geisha, the dog, wanted to “play” when they were about 2 weeks old and killed one of them. Dead kittens, fun. I had nightmares of dead kittens for a few nights.

Upcoming:

last day of classes, tomorrow ;)
finals end 17th May
Plant collection trip to Chiquibul National Forest, 18-22 May
NRMP UB/PACT hosted National Research Forum, 23-24 May
Glover's Reef Atoll research trip, 25 May-1 June
Renewable Energy workshop, 2-3 June

wowza, busy busy. Should be a great combo of experiences though. I'll be in the bush for a bit then out to the reef and finally, some classroom/meeting type stuff. A well rounded 2 weeks of non-stop experience and education. I have to pay for my food in Chiquibul, borrow some dive gear, and pay $60 BZ for the workshop, no complaints here.

Clarissa Falls- Labour Day Holiday

White Lime/5 Blues National Park Field Trip

Los gatitos

UB's 1st Earth Day Fair