Week two was full of work and wonder!
Some REU/RET team members began the week with a relaxing trip to Placencia. They did some shopping and lounged by the pool at one of the local resorts.
Teams then hit the ground running, finishing up our drone flying for some areas that needed more mapping, and we got a few more GPS points to help create the most accurate and clear views of Hopkins Village. We will continue to use this data throughout this trip and at home. We also joined the citizenry in their beach clean up.
Some of the flood team finishing up drone flights.
Daily, beginning at 7am, Hopkins Village community members, including some of the council, have been raking sargasm and creating dunes to help with the aesthetic and erosion of the beach area along the coast. Members of the Citizen Science teams have been eager to help with this endeavor. Some members of the debris team even had a chance to meet Hopkins Village Council chairman, Marcario. He was very friendly and informative.
Not all heroes wear capes. Some wear gloves and carry a trash bag to clean the ocean.
The debris and flood teams have both had early mornings this week as they continue to collect data. The debris team has been engaging every morning since Wednesday collecting the quadrat data and finalizing the questionnaire to be used in the interview which will be held next week. This Quadrat was constructed with a 1-meter square, with 12 squares inside. This is used to find the primary, secondary or tertiary types of debris found in the quadrat, and the amount of human-made debris or natural debris found. The team has also included data on erosion along the beach. The points at which the quadrat is placed and data collected are at every 50 meters intervals. The team members would wake up at 4:30 AM so that by 5 AM, they are at the beach starting to collect the data. In terms of collecting data, the survey 123 app has been used and it’s very time effective and easy to use. This app works when it's offline, hence after the data are stored, the team often uploads them to ArcGIS. On the last day before the adventure, the debris team worked to collect the data on all the southern beaches and it was very successful. The team looks forward to collecting and finishing the Hopkins debris and erosion data by Tuesday.
The flood team has been using the ArcGIS collector app to gather data about the culverts in the area. When the footprint data is complete, they will use the information to update the vulnerability and infrastructure of the community and its buildings. The flood team is also finalizing their interview questions. This will allow the team to engage with the Hopkins citizens to understand what issues are most important to them and how we can use the data and responses to help bridge the gap between community and understanding of the flooding in the area. The team also had a meeting with Dirk, the NEMO representative for Hopkins. They discussed emergency plans for the area.
The education team this week had exciting lessons and activities for the local learners at the Library. They began the week learning about solar energy and building solar-powered cars.
Children also learned map basics like directions and parts of a map. They discovered the compass rose and map keys- even creating their own maps of the nearby Hopkins Village area. The team closed out the week by leading lessons on robots, mapping, and recycling. Children also learned to block code the Sphero bots and create art from some of the recycled materials found in Max, the shark. Community learners engaged in using Survey 123 to take pictures of buildings and spaces that are significant to them. The education team will use this information to create a StoryMap.
Young learners show off their solar cars
We ended our week with an amazing hike at the Cockscomb Wildlife Sanctuary and Jaguar Preserve. The Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary is a nature reserve in the Stann Creek District of south-central Belize. It was established to protect the forests, fauna, and watersheds of an approximately 400 square kilometers area on the eastern slopes of the Mayan Mountains. Our hike culminated at a breathtaking waterfall where we got to see some of the diverse and exciting Belizean wildlife that resides there.
Written by: Hector Cucul, Teri O'Connor, & Yasmin Aden