Students in Merry Lea’s Master’s in Environmental Education program are learning to teach in a new ecosystem: a tropical island. This year, the curriculum expanded to include a three-week experience on Andros Island—a part of the Bahamas.
The MAEE students are working with children in grades K to 7 in two different schools. Their first experiences involved having the youth show them what they knew about their own context. The group explored the dense bush nearby, comprised of mahogany, sandalwood and guava trees. They also learned about hazards such as the poisonwood tree (a relative of poison ivy) and “banana holes” caused when limestone erodes. Some of these holes are ten feet deep and large enough to swallow a car.
Part of the rationale for the trip was the opportunity to see a context where climate change is having a clear impact. According to the Sustainable Development Master Plan for Andros Island, the area will suffer changes in rainfall and drought patterns, sea level rise, more extreme storms and wave action leading to coastal erosion. The report projects a 5% decrease in food production by 2020.
