An Update on the Talladega College McNair Scholar Student Research Projects in Belize
Our science research projects in Belize began with the work of co-founder Dave Cox who, for almost a decade, brought students to Belize for study-abroad science classes to fulfill degree requirements at Lincoln Land Community College in Illinois. When we decided to officially form IE, one of our goals was to provide experiences for students to conduct independent research projects that also contributed to an overall understanding of wildlife conservation. While these projects were all initially based in Belize, we have been expanding our outreach to include other locations both abroad and in the United States.
An image of a jaguar from our trail camera research projects.
The 2023 Expedition
Our partnership with Talladega College and the McNair Scholars stems from a friendship between co-founder Michael Windelspecht and Talladega Biology professor Andy Coleman that started when they were both at Appalachian State University.
During the pandemic, Dr. Coleman approached us to help with research projects to assist the students enrolled in the McNair Scholar program at Talladega College complete their degree programs.
Listen to our conversation with Andy on how this program began.
Doing virtual research during a pandemic is great, but we wanted to get these students into the field. So in 2023, we worked with Dr. Coleman to bring 2 students to Belize to test out the concept of an annual research trip.
For this trip we identified 2 projects:
Trail Cameras. We have had trail cameras in Belize for almost 6 years, and you will find many of those photos throughout our website. For this trip, we worked on resetting cameras to the Aracari Belize Resort and Five Blue Lakes National Park.
Terrestrial Turtle Research. Dr. Coleman is a herpetologist, founder of the Urban Turtle Project, and is obsessed with a love of everything turtle. Through a permit from the Belize Forest Service, and special assistance by the Belize Zoo, he initiated a monitoring project using our contacts in Belize.
One of the most impressive aspects of this trip was the positive attitude of the students. Not only did each student assist each other in their projects (a pattern that Dr. Coleman insists on for all trips), but they consistently displayed a can do attitude despite us taking them way outside of their comfort zones!
Listen to the podcast above about the success of that visit!
The 2024 Expedition
In 2024 we expanded the program to 5 students, all of which successfully completed work on their projects. In addition to the Trail Cameras and Turtle Monitoring Projects we mentioned earlier, we added a project on Water Quality Monitoring using Macroinvertebrates. We have been conducting research along the Sibun River in Belize for over a decade, and we eager to get a student research project initiated to continue data collection!
Listen below to learn more about this unique partnership between IE and Talladega College.
Just a few months ago Eliza Croom, one of the students from the March 2024 trip, presented her findings from the trail camera project to the Biology Department at Talladega College.
At IE, we could not be more proud of these students, and their abilities to investigate and ask questions about their world that are far beyond their comfort zones. Science is about exploration, not only of the natural world, but to expand our individual boundaries of exploration and discovery.
We also want to thank our Belize partners who make this all possible. Thank you to the Belize Zoo and Tropic Education Center, The Belize Raptor Center, Aracari Resorts, Birds Eye View Lodge, The Belize Collection, and Jerson, our in country guide at Classic Expeditions Belize. We have worked with Jerson for years, and he is our expert guide for all aspects of our edventures in Belize. Our success in the field is due to the fact that he is our guide.
If you are an educator who is looking to engage your students on a journey of exploration, whether it be in person or virtual, please don’r hesitate to contact us, we would love to talk with you about the possibilties!