The National Parks Trust of the Virgin Islands (NPTVI) in collaboration with H. Lavity Stoutt Community College (HLSCC) completed an education and training exercise with student from HLSCC and Connecticut College from July 2 through 16, 2021.
As part of the education and training exercise, Director of NPTVI, Dr. Cassander Titley-O’Neal taught students from the two institutions on various environmental topics related to the Virgin Islands including geology, weather and climate, beaches, mangroves, salt ponds, seagrass beds and coral reefs. Armed with this knowledge, students from both institutions completed field exercises to reinforce the concepts that they were taught.
As part of the training exercises, students from Connecticut College dove the only marine park in the territory, the RMS Rhone, to collect data that would assist the Trust in updating their Systems Plan. In addition, students from both institutions assisted Head of Marine Studies at HLSCC, Susan Zaluski, with HLSCC’s mangrove nursery at Paraquita Bay, and the expansion of NPTVI’s mangrove nursery on Anegada, to minimise any genetic differences between the different islands.
Students from Connecticut College and interns from the HLSCC’s mangrove nursery also had opportunities to collaborate on work at the nursery at HLSCC in Paraquita Bay.
Biology Professor at Connecticut College, Dr. Maria Rosa said, “This collaboration provides a unique opportunity for my students to learn about the Blue Economy. They learned a lot about the ecology of the BVI and received a culturally relevant perspective of the island economy and green economy. They had an amazing experience, and I am looking forward to future collaborations.”
Head of Marine Studies at HLSCC, Ms. Susan Zaluski expressed her appreciation to both Connecticut College and the National Parks Trust, noting how excited she was that the College could be an active part of supporting the development of the growing relationships with international academic institutions, local students and local agencies carrying out scientific work on the BVI.
Dr. Titley-O’Neal conveyed her appreciation on behalf of the Board to HLSCC and Connecticut College for the collaborative efforts between the three institutions. She said, “I look forward to a continued working relationship between HLSCC, Connecticut College and the students from both institutions as we continue to build capacity within the marine sector of the BVI.”