We moved in early January to a town called Spaldings, in the geographical center of Jamaica. Spaldings is in the mountains at about 3,500 feet. Although the trees here are heavily deforested, we still have a lot of tropical forests (rainforests) in the mountains around us. The views here are great! The temperature is probably about 10 degrees cooler here than where we were living in May Pen (May Pen being just about the hottest spot in Jamaica.) I think it’s about 75 degrees here now, in the winter, (opposed to 85-90 in May Pen.) Plus, the bane of my existence—mosquitoes—number very few here! So, in beauty and comfort we’ve definitely had an upgrade in moving here. The only problem so far is that this part of Jamaica is having somewhat of a drought, and we depend on rain for our water source. We’re down to our last bit stored in the tank, so we’re hoping for a torrential downpour soon!
Every morning we ride our Peace Corps-issued bicycles along a rocky road atop a ridge that meanders through green cow pastures, banana and coffee crops, and tall trees full of squawking parrots. The road is about 2 miles long from our little flat (apartment) to our work at Knox Community College. Both Bryan and I work in the Environmental Studies Department here at Knox. Bryan’s teaching a class on Physical Geography and Geology; I’m teaching one called “Environmental Awareness.” This is the first time either of us have taught classes, so coming up with lesson plans and just figuring out how to teach effectively has been a challenge! In my class I’m introducing my students (most of them for the first time) to global environmental problems, Jamaica’s flora and fauna, wildlife conservation, pollution, overpopulation, etc. My students are between the ages of 18-25. It’s been pretty hard because most of my students haven’t even had a basic biology class before. One of my students the other day said, “Man!! I just realized how much I don’t know about the world!” when we were talking about global warming and the ozone layer. It was a good moment because it makes me believe that I’m actually making a difference here by educating some of Jamaica’s youth on the environment.
Another project Bryan and I are currently working on is revitalizing “Knox Educational Study Tours” (KEST) which is basically a program that other schools in Jamaica (any age) can request and pay for where we lead field trips to cool places in Jamaica and point out cultural sites, natural/physical beauty, plants, animals, geology, etc. The money the program generates is going to set up scholarships for students to go to school (school isn’t free in Jamaica past 6th grade.) First though, Bryan and I are trying to find a donor (in the U.S. or Jamaica) for a bus; because the program cannot run without a bus. Also, we are going to apply for grants from the Japanese Govt., Jamaican Govt., and other funding possibilities for money to help run the program initially (eventually it should become sustainable and not need outside money.) This whole revitalization of KEST seems like a huge undertaking to Bryan and I … but we’re going to try hard to make it work (the principal of Knox and our supervisor, Dr. Miller, really want us to get this going.)
A third project that has been asked of us to spearhead is researching a coastal area called the “Canoe Valley” and come up with species lists of plants & animals in the area, geology, natural history, cultural value, etc. in hopes to establish a National Park or Protected Area. Two NGOs have asked us to do this… it should be fun, but is going to require a LOT of work!! We have to apply for grants, find out what research has already been done, do additional research, etc. Hopefully, though, this will be a successful endeavor—if it is, this could possibly be a HUGE positive impact in Jamaica.
On a personal note, Bryan and I have been very happy here in our new assignment. We love the area, and our co-workers. We have been able to go on a lot of field trips through the school to places we could have never found on our own. Also, we got a little white and gray kitten and named her “Irie”. She’s been a lot of fun and keeps us occupied in our down time at home. We haven’t done any SCUBA diving since December (in December we got to do 4 days of diving for Reef Check), and we miss it—but hopefully we can go soon.
Sorry this has gotten so long… I had a lot to cover! I want to say thank you to those of you who have written us letters and supported us—on some of those especially trying days it really helps to get a word from home! Let me know what you’re up to—
