Science class raising funds for Belize trip

Nine Olney High School dual-science students have started preparing for their first-ever science trip to Belize, where they will study several ecosystems during the nine-day trip set for 2023 spring break. The students and some of their parents met in science teacher Will Stewart’s room on Aug. 4 to start their preparations - from brainstorming about fundraising ideas to information about applying for passports and getting inoculations.

The trip was limited to students who are taking Mr. Stewart’s dual science classes in biology or anatomy and physiology, meaning they will earn college and high school credit simultaneously in the two-semester classes.

The group, including two chaperones, will land at Philip Goldson International Airport in Ladyville, and will go by a small plane or bus to their first field location, Mr. Stewart said. Although the curriculum by Ecology Project International Belize [EPI] has not been finalized, the students can expect to be instructed by experts in three separate ecosystems, Mr. Stewart said.

“We’ll be in the rain forest, where we’ll do some bat fieldwork and reptile and amphibian field work,” he said.

“We’ll also do some coastalwork with brackish estuary-type habitats, possibly work with some manatees then also hopefully spend a couple of days going out to the coral reefs and doing some snorkeling and surveys and things out there.”

EPI is a nonprofit organization whose purpose is to get students out in the field where they work with field researchers, field biologists, and ecologists to focus on “biodiversity hotspots,” he said. “We’ll actually be in the field using approvedfield methods to collect, identify and monitor all these different species of concern in the areas that we’ll be in.”

Mr. Stewart said he first experienced fieldwork in Panama while working for his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Midwestern State University and wanted his students to learn about it while they are still deciding what they’ll study in college.

“We spent 12 days down there in a couple of different locations and just doing that was ridiculously cool and made me wish that I had experienceslike that earlier,” he said.

The students are Richard Walk, Taaron Scrogum, Peyton Valdez, Cole Turner, Justin Simmons, Aby Marquez, Gatlin Guy, Cate Rodriguez, and Colin Mason. Most agreed the trip was a special opportunity that would enhance their studies and lives. “It’ll help us learn something and experience something that you don’t always do in a small town,” said senior Cate Rodriguez.

“It’s important to me because this may be what I want to do for my career,” said senior Gatlin Guy, who said he is thinking about a career in marinebiology.

“I think this is a once-in-alifetime experience to go out of the country,” said junior Peyton Valdez, who said he wants to be a physician. “It doesn’t happen every day. I think I just want to take advantage of this opportunity I was given.”

The trip costs about $4,000 per student, and Mr. Stewart aims to cover the fees for all nine students. The group has sold some sponsorships but must come up with $3,395 by September 10 to cover its first deposit and $30,645 by January to pay off the final deposit, he said.

Those interested in donating to the trip can now sponsor individual students on the EPI website at https://www. ecologyproject.org/donate or purchase sponsorships from the nonprofit OHS Biology & ConservationClub by mailing checks to Olney ISD (Memo: Bio Club) at Olney High School ℅ Will Stewart, 704 W. Grove St., Olney, Teas 76374.

The class will hold fundraisers throughout the fall semester, and any surplus funds will be deposited into the OHS Biology & Conservation Club activity account.

OHS science teacher Will Stewart and his students are raising money for a 2023 trip to Belize to get hands-on experience in several ecosystems. Photo by Gina Keating