Bahamas J2019

Chemistry 290: Immersive Experience on Andros Island, Bahamas.

Proposal by Bradley E. Sturgeon, August 2018

Offered January 2019

The Bahamas, officially known as the Commonwealth of The Bahamas consists of more than 700 islands, cays, and islets in the Atlantic Ocean ~150 miles southeast of Florida. Andros Island is the largest island of the Bahama Archipelago, ~115 miles long and 40 miles wide. The island is sparsely populated (~8,000) with no cities, with the majority of people living in primitive settlements mainly on the east side of the island.

Forfar Field Station is located near Stafford Creek settlement. Forfar is staffed, year round, by the station director, 5-6 interns (college graduates), and ~5 local Bahamians who cook and maintain the facilities. Forfar provides rustic cabin-style lodging along the beach. The field station has a 56 bed capacity divided among 8 cabins. Each cabin has 3-4 sets of bunk beds, electricity, fans, mosquito bug nets, and a private bathroom with shower. The Forfar lodge houses the dining hall, classroom, research lab, and open living area. Breakfast and dinner are served each day in the dining hall, lunches are packed and eaten at off site destinations.

Links

IFS - About Andros Island

Forfar Field Station

Obtaining a research permit For Conducting Research, Conservation Work or Collecting on Andros Island, Bahamas

A Brief Description of the Trip and Course

This is an immersive field studies course designed to be offered during a short-term (~2 weeks) in January. The course content includes the study of natural sciences, creative arts, history, and culture related to the Bahamian environment. The course includes pre-term meetings (~2), on campus instructions/preparation (~1 week), 1-week travel to Andros Island, Bahamas (Sat to Sat), and a written journal documenting travel activities and reflections. It is preferable for students to have basic swimming skills, although on-island activities are both land and sea based. The time spent on Andros Island will be at Forfar Field Station, which is a rustic, former dive resort nestled in a beachfront coconut grove on the east coast of Andros Island. Andros Island is ~115 miles long and is the largest in the Bahama archipelago; at the same time, it is one of the least developed islands, there are no cities, towns are few, and there is a distinctive small-town atmosphere. The facility provides cabin-style lodging along the beach, a dining hall, a classroom and research lab, and an open living area. On-island travel is provided in IFS vans and boats; the field station also has a full-service dive shop.

Coursework

This 2-week, short term, immersive travel course, offered at 0.25 credit, will involve 1) pre-travel instruction/preparation (34%), 2) on-island activities (58%), and 3) travel journal (8%). All students will be required to attend and participate in all course activities. Students who fail to meet this attendance requirement will be dropped from the course.

Pre-Travel Instruction/Preparation (done during the short term)

Extensive history of the Bahama Archipelago is available online. Students will utilize resources at the Hewes Library to gather data/information. Students will be asked to gather/reference data, make a presentation, and to come to a general consensus related to the history of the Islands. Special attention will be paid to the history and geology of Andros Island. A group document will be constructed and contributions evaluated. (NOTE: A field guide containing much of this information has been generated by Professor Wiedman; this student work will be the foundations of a Monmouth College specific field guide to be used on future experiences.)

The IFS website (https://www.intlfieldstudies.org/forfar-field-station/) has information about the field station experience, but most of the detailed information about the “experience” is available through the two IFS provided “guides” entitled, Welcome to Forfar and Sites and Sights, which will be provided in hardcopy to students. Although there is a recommended schedule of on-island activities, the group will discuss and alter the schedule based on group/individual preferences.

This trip will include snorkeling (not scuba diving…yet) so it will be necessary for all students to have some basic swimming and snorkeling instruction. This instruction will be done at the Monmouth College Pepper Natatorium. Students will be required to purchase a mask, snorkel, and fins (~$50) and to have them on campus during the pre-travel meetings. Wetsuits are recommended, but not required. There will be a minimum of 3 on-campus snorkeling sessions. (Note: there is an on-island snorkeling “check-out” conducted by IFS staff prior to the first snorkeling activity.)  

On-island Activities

The general daily schedule while at the Forfar Field Station includes the following schedule. During the 9am – 4pm “outings”, multiple sites will be visited.

7:00 am Lodge Opens

7:55 am Duty cabin* reports to dining room to serve breakfast.

8:00 am Conch shell blow signals breakfast.

8:45 am Load up! Duty cabin* loads lunch.

9:00 am Departure for a full day on land or water (see options below).

12.00 pm Lunch in the field.

4:00 pm Return to Forfar. Duty cabin* unloads lunch.

5:55 pm Duty cabin* reports for dinner-serving duties.

6:00 pm Conch shell blow signals dinner.

7:00 pm Evening presentation in classroom (see options below)

10:00 pm Lodge closes. Quiet time commences until 7:00 am.

• Cabin members are required to assist with the serving of meals; all meals are prepare by professional Forfar staff with most food shipped in from Fort Lauderdale, FL (USA) and supplemented with local food from the Mennonite farms and BAMSI (Bahamas Agriculture and Marine Science Institute) which are both located in North Andros.

Lab Activities

While at “sites” there are options to collect data for the following lab activities:

- Sand/Sediment Analysis

- Seine Netting

- Plankton Tow

- Lionfish Dissection

- Goniolithon Lab (Cryptic Invertebrates)

- Lion fish dissection

- Sea Urchin Fertilization Lab (Monmouth College)

- Blue Hole Water Chemistry Lab

- Bird watching/documentation

- Night Insect Observation with black light

Other Activity options

- Basket Weaving with Miss Annie (2 evenings)

- Batiking at Androsia (afternoon day trip)

- Night Snorkel (must have a waterproof light)

Participants

Group Leader: Assoc. Prof. Bradley E. Sturgeon: Department of Chemistry; besturgeon@monm.edu

Additional Monmouth College Faculty: Prof. Michael Sostarecz, Dept of Mathematics, Statistics, and Computer Science; msostarecz@monmouthcollege.edum

Additional Group Leader: Prof (Emeritus) Lawrence A. Wiedman, Dept of Biology, University of St. Francis; lwiedman@sf.edu