Dr. Suzanne Banas, Lead Teacher of the Richmond Heights
Middle School-Zoo Magnet joins an Earthwatch Institute Mexican research team for
a nine-day trip to study mangroves and wildlife in Mexico. Dr. Banas is
sponsored by National Geographic Education Foundation.
From April 21 to April 29, 2006, Dr. Suzanne Banas joined other Earthwatch volunteers from the United States and the United Kingdom. The research team will be led by principal investigator Juan Francisco Castellanos Avilia of Universidad Autonoma de Baja California Sur. The volunteers assisted researchers in all phases of the project, from baseline inventory of flora and fauna to restoration design, implementation and monitoring.
The research team that she joins is developing data sets on the mangal restoration projects along the Mexican central Pacific coast: the Costa Alegre. This is the beginning of a three-year comprehensive biological inventory of the mangal system, establishing and identifying priority restoration areas, as well as benchmarks for subsequent monitoring and inventorying.
Dr. Banas is looking forward to bringing all that she will learn back to her classroom. In addition she will be participating in “Live from the Field”. Dr. Banas will share her learning interactively with classrooms and colleagues “back home” through web post, e-mails, photos, videos and live conferencing.
Earthwatch Institute is world leader in the field of experiential education providing opportunities in the field and online for volunteers to broaden their understanding of sustainability and support conservation research. There is no experience necessary to be involved and hundreds of teams worldwide that need support. Visit: www.earthwatch.org or call 800-776-0188 for more information.
Lessons from the Field
digtial images supported by Olympus
send thoughts, comments, requests, etc to sbanas@dadeschools.net. or join the blog at: http://zoomagnet.blogspot.com
Today is Wednesday, April 19. I am all packed except for laundry detergent. So much to do and so little time. I am so excited that I can't sleep. My animals have noticed my restlessness and have become very clinging. It is like they know I am leaving them. I will miss my little friends. (lots of cats, dogs, parrots, sugar gliders, snakes and stuff- My boyfriend now has to take care of them :))
Day 1 Saturday April 22
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
| Heading into town | The Town "La Mazanilla" | Our transportation | Dinner each night at La Grisol | |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
| My Home on the beach | Looking north towards Tenacatita Bay | Looking South | Crocodiles that lived behind us- 4 m long! | |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
| Map of Mexico | Map of the State of Jalisco click on picture to enlarge | Ariel map of La Manzanilla click on picture to enlarge | Paco presenting a daily lecture |
Thoughts for the Day: We arrived after spending 5 hours on planes, then an hour crammed into the van. 12 people and all of our luggage. We set up our tents in the dark, then we went to a late dinner in town. Yum! Saturday arrived when the roosters started crowing at 4am. All day Saturday we spent the day learning about the area, what we are researching and how to implement the protocols. We will be mapping various areas of the mangroves. This area just finished Easter Holidays (two weeks of tourists in tents on the beach) We are going to check the impact all these people had on the mangrove ecosystem. We will also count birds, count fish in the rock reef and check on the crocs. There are 12 volunteers: Sally a journalist and Howard from HSBC bank are from England; Michael is also from HSBC bank in New York; Susan a retired naval officer is from South Carolina; Mark a physician and his son Dan (getting ready to do his residency) are from Boston and Philadelphia; Kelly & Carrie are teachers (6th & 5th grade) from Vermont- they are doing this project as part of their masters; Alberto, Flora and Evangelia (middle school) are also teachers from Massachusetts. We have been divided into two teams: I am on team 1 with Kelly, Susan, Mark, Howard and Sally. We also have to do meal duty (make breakfast & lunch as well as clean up) for two different days. There are also two college students who assist us in everything: Camilla & Santiago. Both are natives of Mexico and are studying at the university in Guadalajara.
Day 2 Sunday April 23
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Early day to count birds in the red mangrove lagoon | red mangrove | Great Blue Heron | Boat Billed Heron (endemic species) | Termite nest |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| crocodile as we left | Great White heron with crocs | Croc near the boat as we returned (Watch out Kelly) | Dave in our boat | Great White Heron |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Susan painting signs | Mark is also painting signs "Solo Botellas De Plastico" | Dr. Banas & Mark painting signs for recycling plastic bottles | Dave and the recycling bins we made | Santiago preparing a coconut for us to try the milk. |
Thoughts for the Day: Today we got up at the crack of dawn to crashing waves and cool weather. We headed out into the crocodile resting area to get to the mangroves to count birds. The crocs swam away but some still looked at us. Dave who is the project coordinator, also owns Immersions Adventures, took us out in Francisco's boat (a local with a homemade boat). We went to 4 areas that were designated to assess the bird s. For a time slot of 10 minutes we recorded what type of birds, where, and how many we saw in a 20 meter radius. Then we did another 10 minutes with a 40 meter radius. We were out in the lagoon with the red mangroves and birds around us. For the most part the birds are similar to the tropical areas of Florida. The endemic (ones only found here) species are hard to get pictures of. We spent the morning counting birds and the afternoon painting sign to recycling plastic. Then we collected trash along the beach after the long Easter holiday. I am so tired...
Day 3 Monday April 24
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| The camp bathroom and shower in one! | A croc crossed the road by the camp to take a swim in the ocean | The Howard & Susan learning to measure DBH (diameter at breast height) in the mangroves | a friendly lizard | Kelly learning to use the compass to record the direction each tree is in. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
| White mangroves with rhizophores (air roots up from the roots) | Sally (using a spherical densiometer) and Susan (DBH) | A spherical densiometer | Paco and Dr. Banas comparing GPS's |
Thoughts for the Day: I forgot- We had a minor earthquake yesterday. I felt the tremor through the mattress in the tent about 5am. In 1995 they had a big tremor that caused a small tsunami that flooded the whole town. We will have about 20 minutes to run uphill if we feel a big one! Today we learned about fish or the rocky reef that we are going to count tomorrow. Most of the fish we learned about is the ones we see that people have in home saltwater aquariums. It will be cool to see them in their own habitat. Then we practice in the afternoon how to measure the impact of people on the mangroves. Paco, is from Universidad Autonoma de Baja California Sur. He is primarily concerned with the human impact on the mangroves, rocky reef and what we can convince the local population to protect. So today we went to sites that have been recorded previously to see if the Easter Holiday crowd impacted the area. He collected data prior to the holiday and so we are doing it afterwards. The team found two of the sites and recorded the tree information (distance from center, diameter and changes) then we recorded how much human impact was there (trash, human waste and tree branches cut). I am sandy all the time, hot and sticky. The food is good, mostly vegetarian Mexican food. I am not sick yet.
Day 4 Tuesday April 25
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
| Mark surveying the beach (with rocks) that we will swim near. The small rocks have the rock reef near them | Looking out the other side of Tenacatita | Looking out the other side of Tenacatita | Sally the photojournalist | |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
| Brown Pelican | Othee members in the boat | Susan looking at the ariel roots of the red mangrove | Mangroves near a cliff with cactus on it. | |
Thoughts for the Day: The morning started bright and windy. We are off to test our skills at swimming, kayaking and snorkeling. Paco reviewed the rules and safety procedures with us for each task, then ask us to demonstrate our comfort level. I can do them all but have not practiced them in a while. When we go out in the kayaks we will have to travel 45 minutes to get to the rocky reef. Yuk- I will be tired. We all swam the reef trying to identify the fish. We spent over an hour in cold 65' water (I had a wet suit on). I actually saw fish that are in my friends aquariums. More later - we go to another reef on Friday.. Later in the day we went into Barra de Navidad, an old town colonized by the Spanish and Asians to play tourist. We saw lots of art as in textiles, silver and paintings. Nothing is cheap.
Day 5 Wednesday April 25
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| The dry forest conservation area-biofera | Research station | Map of Jalisco showing the reserve | Close-up map of the reserve and where we stay | Dry Forest in dry season |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Introduction to the forest area | Papelillo tree-endemic | Team members looking out at forest | Spanish Moss in the low areas | Beaver Tail Cactus -endemic |
 |
 |
 |
||
| Barrel Cactus | agave cactus | Dr. Banas with the satellite phone uplink. |
Thoughts for the Day: Today started late- 9am. We drove about 45 minutes to the BioFera (conservation area) called Estacion de Biologia Chamela. It is the only protected dry deciduous (drop their leaves) forest in Mexico. It is about 1600 hectare with about 1100 species,amny endemic only to this area. Due to the dry season and drought the trees have lost their leaves until the rainy season (July) also the animals and birds have left. We saw some native endemic species of trees and cactus. The Beaver-Tailed cactus is on the national flag. We had to climb down hill, up hill, down hill uphill. I was tired - we don't have hills (felt like mountains) in Florida. The afternoon was working with the local school planting trees, or continued work on the recycling bins. The holiday people have left and so the neighboring dogs and cats come to eat and sleep with us. This morning the tamed Mexican Parrot literally walked over (wings were clipped)
Day 6 April 27
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| 15 foot crocodile (I am 25 feet away from this croc on the beach) | Iguana in mangrove | Kayak lesson | Camp cat | Camp Kitchen |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Croc gathering - most are 12-20 feet (This is 1/2 block from camp) | Dave leading us through the mangroves | rare Rosette Spponbill | Great Blue Heron & 4 foot croc | Kingbird in mangroves |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Yellow crowned night heron | Nesting bids | Elementary school | Building planters for the school's 5th grade Biotical Garden (Carrie) | Flora & Carrie mixing cement for the planters |
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
| La Manzanilla's cementary | monument for a child | simple burials (cemented in to buried in the ground) | monuments and simple crosses | Evangelina & Alberto showing off their new cement clothes! |
Thoughts for the Day: Today started real early 6am. We had breakfast in the dark! The rock reef group needed to head out early so they could get a kayak lesson. The skies were clear but the surf was rough. They ended not seeing much due to murky conditions. Our team headed again to the mangroves to count birds. Today we saw a rare Rosette Spoonbill. But what was interesting that there we lots of variety of heron's beginning to nest. We heard lots of calling and territorial displays. Our bird count was high today. The afternoon was painting signage for the plants we will plant at the elementary's school botanical garden. We had to paint in Spanish as well as Latin names. The cemetery for the city is a few blocks away and it was interting. Many of the graves had monuments, very elaborate and expensive. Then there were some graves with simple cement areas with crosses, then there were some just in the ground with a wire or wooden cross. Most had plastic flowers and wreaths but the area was not cared for. Most iof it was overgrown and the wreaths were old and faded. The whole cemetery was located on the breach/dune area near the mangroves.
Day 7 April 28
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| The surf as we prepared to kayak over 2 miles to the reef | Tricolor Heron watches us prepare | Rock reef coral | Diadema sea urchin | Guinea Fowl Puffer fish |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Back in the mangroves-Sally is every the photojournalist | Paco reminding the team of the various things we record | The trees are pre mark so we can measure growth and changes each year | A Great Egret is startled by our presence | A Great Tailed Crackle calls out his song as we work |
 |
 |
|||
| Back to the school to finish with the botanical gardens | The elementary school |
Thoughts for the Day: Today is our last day, and another early start (6am) today is our day for the rock reef. No pictures due to being in the water and surf. The surf was rough and cold 62'. The day was clearer and the surf looked as it was going to die down. We had our kayak lesson then launch into the surf and across the bay to the rocks at the opening of the bay to the south. It was about 2 miles. It took us about 45 minutes to get there. Kayaking is different than canoeing. To canoe you pull with the paddle hand and guide with the other. With a kayak you guide with the paddle side and push with the other hand. Boy were my arm muscles sore. I can hardly type now. It was wet and cold!. We got the the bay edge and put on our wet suits. The surf was rocky and the water was murky. Paco said it was better than the day before but visibility was about 2 meters. We laid a chain transect ( a line on the reef) and count fish that we found along the 20 meter line for about 2 meters on either side. About an hour we were cold and had to stop. We then kayak back, clean the equipment and took a 2 hour siesta. We did our las t day in the mangroves. We measured and changes in growth and humkan impact to four sites. Today is children's day so we dedicated the botanical garden and the 5th graders shared with us how each of the plants we planted are used at home. Tonight is our last night- so we will share our experiences and laugh away the night. We have to clean the camp, put down the tents, clean the kitchen and bathroom all before 11am. We will be off to the airport by then. I am still processing and getting other people's pictures so more pictures will be added.
It was a wonderful experience, one that I will never forget. I have learned how real scientist use the knowledge and equipment we use in school to conduct their research. I watch these scientist work with little to no modern stuff, old technology and little support, share with the community. The become so much a part of the community that they work in and are trying to save. Without the Earthwatch Institute and organization like National Geographic Education Foundation, project like these would not be able to be funded. Also with their support normal people can learn and enjoy the fruit s of these labors. Remember we had school teachers, doctors, bankers, technology specialist, a navel nurse and a British photojournalist. We all came together, work together, learned together and learned from each other. This experience was just tremendous. Now it is up to the rest of you to contribute to saving and educating this world we live in.
Look back to see some lesson and activities that you can use with others soon!
