Belize | Experiential Learning: Marine and Terrestrial Science

You will be met at the airport in Belize City and your driver will take you southwest to the Belize Zoo’s Jungle Lodge, which is situated adjacent to the zoo. The Zoo and Tropical Education Center are nestled on 29 acres of tropical savanna and exhibit over 125 animals, all native to Belize. The zoo keeps animals which were either orphaned, born at the zoo, rehabilitated, or sent to the Belize Zoo as gifts from other zoological institutions. Upon arrival you will receive an orientation to the center and the important work they do here. Check in to dormitory accommodations with shared bathroom facilities. This evening have a traditional Belizean dinner and then enjoy an introduction to the animals of Belize during a nocturnal visit to the zoo.

After breakfast, travel to the colorful seaside town of Dangriga, where you’ll be met by the managers of the Tobacco Caye Marine Station-- a marine education and research facility located in the heart of the Belize Barrier Reef system. After time to gather supplies, the group will make the 30 minute journey across crystal-clear seas to five acre Tobacco Caye Station, located on the edge of the barrier reef. Upon arrival, the station managers will provide a full tour of the station and the island, before fitting all members of the group for snorkel gear; followed by a snorkel orientation and a short tour of the island’s adjacent coral reefs. This evening, the station managers will provide an introduction to the marine environments of Belize.

Today, take part in a fish and invertebrate identification workshop and lecture, including snorkeling at reefs adjacent to the island.

Spend a full day exploring various sites. Start with a visit to Man O' War Caye, one of 11 Magnificent Frigatebird nesting sites in the Caribbean. Also snorkel amid the mangroves in Tobacco Range Atoll, where you may be able to see manatees, and in Carrie Bow Patch Reef, a shallow patch where all the diversity of the Belizean waters is on bountiful display. Have lunch on South Water Caye, where seahorses are often found swimming near the docks, and enjoy some free time in the clear blue waters. Visit the Smithsonian Institute Research Station on Carrie Bow Caye; if there are researchers, chat with them about their work. Continue snorkeling nearby sites based on energy level and preference, and then return to the island. After dinner, the second classroom session will focus on marine ecology and how mangroves, seagrass beds, and coral reefs interact with the terrestrial environment and each other to create the marine world.

Spend a half day exploring various sites including mangroves, Tobacco Range Atoll, Carrie Bow Patch Reef, and shallow patch reef. After lunch back at the station, participate in a reef clean up project.

Spend a full day exploring various sites including mangroves, Tobacco Range Atoll, Carrie Bow Patch Reef, and shallow patch reef. After lunch back at the station, reef cleanup project and then return to the island. After dinner, experience an exciting night snorkel in the lagoon. Step off the dock into a nocturnal world of cephalopods, moray eels, arthropods, and echinoderms. Underwater lights are provided but must be turned off temporarily to observe the phosphorescent dinoflagellates.

After four days of field education and guided excursions through a broad range of tropical marine habitats, students will begin a period of class project development /laboratory study. Station managers and facilities are open and available at all times throughout this period. In the evening, students will do final project presentations.

This morning, bid farewell to the marine station staff and transport by boat to Dangriga dock where you will meet up with your TEC guide and board a bus to the Belize City airport for your flight home.