Programs Blog

October 24, 2024 

Location: Crocus Hill, Anguilla 

Weather: 87º F, Humidity 79%, Feels like 99º F 

We are now over two weeks into our field component in the Caribbean, and we have been fortunate, as the previous blogs reveal, to work with a remarkable array of wonderful collaborators and other local expert contributors. It is one thing to read about the history, environmental concerns and conservation efforts in academic works and news pieces; it is quite another to hear directly from community members and on-the-ground researchers, cultural interpreters, naturalists and coral reef restoration experts. It reveals the truly dynamic nature of the places we are traveling to in the Caribbean and helps us all begin to appreciate both what local communities face in the region in terms of environmental conservation and cultural preservation needs and the amazing work already underway to address these concerns. 

My name is Craig Marin, and over the last 12 years, I have had the distinct pleasure introducing students to both the Blue Humanities (the history, literature, art and other cultural expressions from an oceanic perspective) and to SEA’s partners in the Caribbean. Year after year, we returned to some of the same locations and worked with the same partners. Now, with more time in each location, we can take these collaborations to new levels and form more reciprocal partnerships with shared knowledge and data. I have been eagerly anticipating the start of this program for the last several months, and it is truly a pleasure to look around me now, in the midst of our field work component, and see it all coming together so well. Indeed, our students, as you have learned from their wonderful blog entries, are at the heart of the success of this program. They are approaching their field work with open minds, generosity with each other and our hosts, and with a respectful curiosity. None of this is possible without their commitment to learning about and contributing to the conservation efforts in our island destinations.  

And, of course, here to assist them in their endeavors is our program and research team. Keeping us all healthy and happy and generally serving as the glue that holds the program together is our outstanding program assistant, Sydney Lynch. Sukanya Dayal, our Reef Teaching Fellow, brings the coral reef science to the fore daily with our students with her brilliant mix of confident direction, good humor and encouragement of the students’ experiences of learning by doing.  And, as both the co-director of this program and the primary architect of the curriculum, Dr. Heather Page, having guided the students in their research project design in Woods Hole, is now literally at their sides in the water, leading them through the scientific field research process and handing over more and more responsibility to them as we progress through the program. With so much of the essential work of this program covered by this trio, I have the time to focus on helping the students further contextualize the environmental, economic, political and cultural aspects of conservation efforts throughout the Caribbean. Achieving the goal of learning, researching and sharing findings with the communities we visit is a team effort involving faculty, staff, students and our wonderful on-site collaborators. I am looking forward to continuing this process with this dynamic group of curious, capable and generous coral reef researchers and scholars. 

Many thanks to all who contribute to and follow this program both here on the ground and from afar. We appreciate your support! Stay tuned for more accounts of our research and interactions over the next few weeks. 

Gratefully, 

Craig