The Slackline

Something that continually tested our patience and skill this semester was the infamous slack line. In this love hate relationship, we got to experience the progress of each other as the weeks went by. For all the failed attempts and face plants onto the grass, a successful walk across the line, or even a good solid 3 steps made up for it. Class breaks served as an ideal time to hit up the line, taking a few tries while the tree still provides the shade needed for concentration. There’s always a higher level of patience to be achieved. 

By Nick Voss

Marine Ecology

“Like love, the coral reef is a great mystery that sweeps over us, bypassing our rational minds entirely and eliciting feelings we didn’t know were in us”—The Enchanted Braid, Osha Gray Davidson.

 

It is no wonder many of us wax poetic when describing the rain forests of the sea.  This semester we returned to Calabash Caye for marine ecology.  Here are a few poems to give you a glimpse, a taste, of our experience there…

 

Breathing.

I hear breathing.

My breathing. Steady and deep. In and out.

Waves.

I hear them too.

But they are gentle background noise of that other world above this 

aquatic jungle.

And popping.

I hear a clutter of cracking and popping as fishes and other secret 

organisms bustle about their business.

Freely and seemingly effortlessly going about their lives for survival 

on the reef.

 

Taste.

I taste salt, and honestly that is all I taste.

 

Warm salt water. (later to be crust and dust in my hair and salt 

crystals on my skin)

This is what I feel.

It envelopes me.

I dive and am totally taken in by this dimension. Their Dimension.

 

Colors.

I see colors.

All colors:

Black, white, brown, tan, yellow, neon green, grey, dark blue, deep 

red, shimmering emerald green, orange, royal purple, line, sand, ash, 

and on and on.

Shapes.

I see shapes, and patterns too.

Round, square, tall, short, cylindrical, stripes, checkers, dots, 

scales, fins, eyes, mesh-like fans, cones, half circles, shapes and 

patterns that don’t even have names!

I am encompassed by it all.

My senses are saturated.

This place is teaming.

This place is alive.

I am alive.

  I breathe.

                        --Jessie Borden

Beneath the Waters:

 

The ocean swells pulse through my body

Even after I leave the waves

The salt lightly peppers my skin

The sights and colors brighten my eyes

And the absence of sounds makes it feel

Like I am floating in a dream world.

There is so much life out in the open

And much, much more life beyond

What our eyes can see

At the surface level, which is all I can pierce

For the abilities of humans have not yet unlocked

The web of intricacies only God could knit together

I am privileged, one of only some

That are allowed to peek into a time machine

That shows the alternating scars and healings

The earth has inflicted on this strong, yet vulnerable

Underworld.

                  --Christine Prins

 

 

I have often looked out across the sea -

                played in its waves,

                tasted its salt in my nostrils.

It was always there, something to entertain

 on warm summer days.

Never did I wonder, nor did I suspect,

What was present beneath its waves.

 

Its coral reef is full of beauty

It is an undulating labyrinth,

dappled by the diffuse sunlight,

                a shimmering and delicate landscape.

It is an intriguing mystery.

 

As its cool water envelops me,

I see only the life beneath me,

hear only my own breath and an alien crackling.

Below me:

                elkhorn, staghorn,

                blue tang, blue head,

                squirrel fish, cow fish,

                damsel fish, angel fish.

The complexities of their lives are beyond imagining.

 

But I enjoy observing,

                      wondering,

                     invading

                                           for a short time.

                                                      --Autumn Brown

 

 

God and Nature II

“So now what?”  This is the question we asked ourselves in God and Nature II.  It is relatively easy to believe that Christians should take care of creation but how we should go about doing that is much trickier.  Should we look primarily to market-based solutions to deal with the ecological mess we’ve gotten ourselves into?  Or,  should we focus on being agents for change at the grassroots level?  Is some kind of combination of both desirable?  These are questions we wrestled with throughout the week. 

 

         Our discussions this week took place in the wake of our homestay with Mennonite friends in Barton Creek.   We have a lot to learn from them, if we have the ears to hear and the eyes to see.   For me (Courtnay), the “take-away” message from that experience is this: what the groaning earth needs is people who will live differently.  We can’t trust in technology to save us; technology carries with it many unintended consequences.  Nor can we trust in the market that turns greed into a virtue to save us.  What the world needs is people who are peculiar, people who catch a glimpse of the Kingdom of God in our midst and align their lives with that reality.  The Mennonites in Barton Creek are just such a people.  They help each other grow their own food, make their own lumber, build their own houses, sew their own clothes, and travel by horse and buggy. They are patient. They are a community in the truest sense of the world.   Are they perfect?  No.  Should we all become Old Order Mennonites? No.  But…don’t our single-family homes, with a two-car garage, and a TV in each bedroom seem hollow in comparison?  Are we not dying in North America from loneliness and isolation due to a lack of community? As Shane Claiborne reminds us, the question we should be asking is not “is there life after death”, but rather, “is there life before death”. 

Forest Ecology

The Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary offered all of its many gifts and blessings to us during our week of Forest Ecology.  Professor Vern Peters made the trip down from Canada to teach us about seed dispersal, light competition, disturbances, and the impact that birds have on the composition of the forest.  

Our days were filled with early morning bird walks, morning lectures, field lectures, tubing,  night hikes, the monitoring of leaf cutter ants, watching Nick perform 10 acrobatic stunts, run-ins with bats, delicious meals, and Motmot sounding hammers.  

On the drive down to Cockscomb a special stop was made to investigate a rather large, dead snake that had been spotted on the side of the road.  Looking at the dead boa was not enough for some in the group and a knife was quickly retrieved to examine the contents of the snake's belly.  Autumn and Kandice are visibly disturbed.  

It is hard not to enjoy a class where owl butterflies, white-necked jacobins, sprawling ceibas, and picturesque waterfalls are all active and encouraged members of your class.  The students came away with, other than a load of bug bites, a deeper understanding of tropical forests and the many processes involved to maintain and preserve their health.  

The Birds of Belize

 "I write a poem by dint of mighty cerebration, the yellow-leg walks a better one just by lifting his foot."

Aldo Leopold

Belize plays stage to so many poems and songs all written and sung with an enviable ease.  It seems that each tree and bird, hill and cloud are often lifting their subtle voices in praise of the Creator.  We are thankful and made humble by these secret and sacred exchanges between Created and Creator.  

This tricolored heron took an angler's break before returning to its daily task of fish finding.  

The anhinga, the cormorant's elegant older sister, sits with feathers mottled white and ash to dry its wings in an afternoon's sun.

A boat-billed heron looks on after being startled awake from its daytime roost.  These herons find the fishing easier at night when fish are sleeping and stationary.  

These jabiru storks are tending to their nest in hopes of fledging a young stork that will one day stand at a height of 55 1/2 inches and soar with wings stretched out that reach 141 inches.

The tongues of these pale-billed woodpeckers can stretch out 5 and 6 inches to retrieve ants, termites and other boring insects.  

Its diet of apple snails provided the inspiration for the naming of this snail kite.  The river was riddled with these beauties perching or soaring low over the water.  

Guess-Who's-Eye-It-Is

See if you can guess who's who! Good luck, it's harder than you think!

They Say It's Your Birthday

Birthdays are a big deal here at CCSP.  Not just a big deal but a big celebration, a big cake, big hugs, big plans, and big fun.  A few weeks ago we were lucky to be able to celebrate four birthdays in one week.  So of course that meant lots of parties.  

For Stephen's big day he got to lead the group on an expedition to "Mount Friesen" while overcoming obstacles such as the "Prickly Tickly Logs of Pain" and the lava pit.  Needless to say, Stephen's experience on the trail and enthusiasm for anything out-of-doors met with success and the group enjoyed the treats that awaited them on top of "Mount Friesen". 

Liz had to share her birthday with an all-day Environmental History field-trip but nevertheless her birth was acknowledged every hour on the hour starting from 5:00 AM.  For each hour, a different person took a turn giving her a gift and leading the group in singing "Happy Birthday". Later on we made a "bathroom stop" at Amigos Restaurant where in addition to eating a nice birthday meal Liz got to see some home movies and blow out some candles.

Jesse was next with his 21st birthday but instead of waking up with a hangover he woke up with everyone jumping on his bed and giving him cards and an earful of singing.  And all day long he got lots of hugs, pats on the back, and other sorts of affection because we all know that's what he loves.  

The next day was Pete's birthday.  Miss Martha and Miss Shelly (our lovely cooks) showered him with specially designed meals, juicy pineapple, and confetti that fell on him as he opened the kitchen door.  Later that night we had a birthday bash for Pete and Jesse.  We decorated Jesse's dreds, wrote poems for Pete, and all played a game of "guess-who's-eye-it-is".  Oh what a week.

  

Meet Anita

Many would see a rather large, hairy, eight legged creepy crawler, but we here at the Nab simply see Anita, the newest addition to our community. Jesse found her and has a particular fondness for her, insisting when we named her that “it has to be a girl name so I can have a relationship with it.”…….. whatever that means. She resides on the porch of the boys’ cottage in a lovely trashcan (a temporary home) that has been equipped with a bottle cap of water, twigs, and fresh bugs caught for her every night. Whether she’s taking naps on our hands, resting on our heads, or pooping on our arms, Anita has become the 17th member of our little family here in Belize.

Tyler Brown's Internship Report

by Tyler Brown

Kings Children Home has always been dedicated to assisting children in Belize who have lost their parents through death, have been abandoned, abused, or neglected helping them to become healthy, upright, and productive citizens.  They teach through Biblical example and instruction, fostering personal relationships between the children and God.  They hope to provide the opportunity for the children to have a meaningful life in a caring environment.   I was able to three weeks helping out at Kings which allowed me to see more of the true Belizean culture rather than just what the tourists see, it also helped me better understand the people and especially the language.  I was very amazed at the amount of order that was kept in the Home even though there were some fifty children living there.   My role while I was there was generally to help in the kitchen, preparing food or cleaning up around the place and also spending time with the children doing tutoring, having conversations, or simply playing with tem.  Since I have been there I am proud to say that I think I can cook rice from scratch and not have it be sticky or crunchy, and can understand Creole, the local language, far better than I could before. 

Erin True's Internship Report

by Erin True

During the three weeks that I spent as an intern I worked at two places.  For the first two weeks of the internship I was able to work at Mount Carmel Primary School with Mrs. Wade’s standard two class.  While I was there I spent time teaching, grading, and providing individual instruction for the students.  Form this I was able to learn how to prepare lesson plans and grow in my understanding about classroom management.  The second part of my internship was spent at Marla’s House of Hope.  This is a home for children who have been abused.  Many of the children have come out of the sex trade. Currently there are fourteen children who live at Marla’s.  While I was there I was able to help with cleaning, tutoring, and playing.  In the morning I helped clean the dishes and the floors.  Later I would help the older girls with their homework.  After that I would play with the younger children and try to keep them away from the television.  From this experience my heart for children was able to grow.  Many of my priorities were changed during this internship.  I learned that when I am gone it will not matter what kind of car I drive or what I where but if I can help a child the world may be a better place.  

Belizean Worlds Project

Environmental History uses stories to illuminate the changing relationship between people and nature.  The Belizean Worlds Project presents the stories of those who have lived in the region and experienced its pleasures and frustrations.  These people shaped, and were shaped by the contours of the landscape.  Here we present the mental and physical worlds of a few who perceived and valued the land in different ways, wrested a living from its resources, and came to understand the possibilities and limits of God’s wonderful creation.

The World of Captain Yallahs

by Jesse Borden

Sailing on the high seas, raiding, pillaging, killing, fueling the black market, hiding and dodging capture were all elements of the life of the notorious pirates that were the first European settlers in Belize. Captain Yallahs was one of these whose story captures some of the typical characteristics of the legendary pirate life. Yallahs was a Dutchman, who sailed for years as a pirate with the other British buccaneers. However in 1672 he accepted a large sum of money to switch his allegiance to the Spanish, and for many years he was employed by the Spanish to raid British ships and steal their valuable cargo of logwood and mahogany on its way back to Europe. He was a very successful pirate and captured at least a dozen different British ships for the Spanish. In fact, he was so good at his job that the British hired Captain John Wilgres to hunt him down. However Wilgres soon joined the buccaneers in their pirate ways and never went after Yallahs (www.historyhuntersinternational.org).

So what does all of this have to do with environmental history? Well, Yallahs was part of the pirate culture, in a specific time in history, and so represents a specific mindset and way of life that had direct impact on the environment of that time. The three elements of looking at him in regards to environmental history are the natural history of the environment the pirates were found in, the human modes of production being utilized, and their perceptions of the world around them (Worster, 289-307).

The natural environment of these pirates was the coast of Belize. Belize’s coastline is made up of a limestone shelf, which is very porous. This allows the water from the ocean and land to travel and remain underground and thus not flood the land (Sutherland, 1-2). This landscape also means that the coastline is made up of lagoons, mangroves and intricate mazes of rivers between these things. In fact mangroves are found in Belize up to thirty miles inland (Sutherland, 3). These bays, lagoons, and river channels provided an excellent hideout for the pirates ambushing other ships of running from them. These rivers and lagoons were lined by thick forests, which were the source of the valuable logwood and mahogany being exported to Europe.

These forests, as the source for the timber being exported, play right into the modes of production that surrounded the pirates during this time. The primary structure for production and money making was the logwood industry between Britain and Honduras. Though the triangle trade was certainly a part of this system of trade, the logwood industry, “unlike the triangle trade…sailed directly back and forth across the Atlantic” (Finamore, 40). And this back and forth trade was the main means of production that the pirates were part of. However, though this legitimate business was the foundation of the pirates work, they then took this already established mode of production and used it to engage in trade on the black market. They did this by raiding ships already full of valuable cargo, and selling the cargo they found on the black market, often in Jamaica. So they were engaged in the illegal mode of production that was a branch off of the logwood industry.

All of this then adds up to give the perception of value that the pirates had for the natural world. I think that the primary characteristic of Yallahs', and other pirates, perception of the natural world would be selfishness. Their entire view of nature was from a place of selfishness. Nothing was valued for its beauty, but purely for how it could help them get rich. Their drive was simply to gain money however possible. This is seen so clearly in the fact that Yallahs had no loyalty to any one nation, but just worked wherever he could make the most money. Thus, nature was something to be used and taken advantage. The forest was only worth anything because it was the source of logs that they could then sell for money. The lagoons, mangroves and rivers were not valuable watersheds that contributed to the bigger ecosystem, but were simply good places to hide or transport goods. So pirates in general had a very anthropocentric view of the environment. Thus they did not really care about protecting it, or using it in moderation. Yallahs, and most pirates, operated in a mentality that was about using whatever you could to benefit oneself in the moment. So, these wild-sea-faring pirates were very much a part of environmental history, as are all peoples and cultures and civilizations. All of us are in some way or another connected to the environment and dependant on it.

A Belizean lagoon, a possible hiding place for pirates like Yallahs.

A typical buccaneer (pirate).

Pirates engaging in raiding another boat.

Sources:

Finamore, Daniel. Pirate Water, Sailing to Belize in the mahogany trade.The Boydell Press in association with the National Maritime Museum

Sutherland, Anne. The Making of Belize Globalization in the Margins. Westport: An Imprint of Greenwood Publishing Group, 1998. 1-150

Worster, Donald. Doing Environmental History. 289-307

www.historyhuntersinternational.org

The World of Thomas Potts

by Christine Prins

Thomas Potts was born in 1740 in England.  In his 20’s, he moved to Belize (then British Honduras) in hopes of becoming a successful logwood cutter¹.  He arrived on St. George’s Caye, Belize in time to sign Burnaby’s laws.  This was a set of codes outlining the rules for owning logwood, and later mahogany, works².  Within a few years of faithfully cutting logwood for England, Potts and 11 other rich white men owned 4/5 of the loggable land in Belize³.  He then became a magistrate for the local government of St. George’s Caye in 1790.  During his service as a magistrate, the Battle of St. George’s Caye broke out between the British settlers and the ruling Spanish government⁴.  Potts encouraged the settlers to abandon the Caye, but he instead was ousted from his position on panel.  He continued his logwood operations and obtained much wealth until his death in 1806.

Logwood is a skinny tree of no more than a foot around and is armed with sharp thorns on its branches.  The branches grow entwined in each other create a scraggly mess that is difficult to pass through.  The bark is a light blue-gray color and the leaves are quite small and round.  It is located along the banks of rivers, lakes, and lagoons and also in any wetlands.  It requires squishy, damp soil and thrives in brackish waters.  The swampy Northern Belize has ample amounts of logwood, but there also some available in south along rivers such as the Sibun.  The heartwood of the tree is removed and used as an extract for clothing dyes.

Another operation similar logwood that settlers like Potts also endeavored is the extraction of Mahogany.  Once the supply of logwood exceeded demand, the price dropped so much that there was no longer much profit.  The settlers shifted to a more difficult but more profitable industry of Mahogany cutting.  Mahogany is a tree prized for its beauty in furniture and is shipped in whole log form instead of in pieces.  Mahogany grows deeper in the forest and requires more scouting to locate trees in the interior.  

Logwood is cut from the tree.  The small trunk size makes it easy to remove.  The white sapwood is stripped from the deep red heartwood.  The pieces of heartwood are then put on to trucks to haul to the river banks.  On the river, the logs are put into cradles that are buoyant enough to float down the river and prevent the logwood from getting wet.  When the river meets the ocean, the logwood is loaded onto large ships headed towards England.

Mahogany trees are cut down with more effort as the trunks are much larger. Because the trees are located deeper in the forest, transport is more difficult.  The logs are carried by truck from the cutting site to the river.  When conditions are too wet for the truck the logs are put onto skids that drag the logs through the over the mud.  On the banks of the river the logs are squared off and sent floating down the river.  At the mouth of the river, the mahogany is loaded onto a ship bound for England⁵.

Settlers like Thomas Potts came to Belize for one purpose:  profit.  They wanted to set up operations to remove what they saw as a precious commodity and then move on to the next plot of land.  A quote from Miller’s An Environmental History of Latin America sums up the values of these English settlers:

However, one European response was universal.  Above al else, humans want to know nature’s utility.  The first question regarded what was edible…The second question was whether or not nature could be packaged, processed, traded, shipped, and turned a profit.⁶

These people were simply consumers of the land.  They didn’t understand the cultures surrounding them or the history of the land they were on.  All they thought about was their hopeful profit and whatever means it took to get it.  They had a method of taking over land, stripping it of its precious commodities, and then moving on without care or concern about what it did to the environment or the people who still had to live on the land. These men really did have dollar signs over their eyes.

An example of prime logwood growing location.  The New River Lagoon, Orange Walk, Belize.

A map used to map out the logwood Territory.  Also displays the idea of land us for a profit.

The logwood processing:  removing the heartwood from the Sapwood.

Thomas Potts

¹www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1g1-146215368.html.  27 March 2008.

²Burdon, John Alder.  Archives of British Honduras. Sifton Praed and CO, London.  1931. Pp 100-107

³Bolland, Nigel and Assad Shoman.  Land in Belize 1765-1871.  University of the West Indies, Jamaica.  1977.  Pp 15, 19

⁴ambergriscaye.com/forum.  27 March 2008

⁵Morris, D..  The Colony of British Honduras.  London, 1883.  Pp 47-49

⁶Miller, Shawn William.  An Environmental History of Latin America.  Cambridge University Press.  Pg. 67

The World of Maria the Slave

By Brindley Beckwith

Maria was a female slave convicted of murder and sentenced to death, she was later commuted to transportation in 1826. Although, regarding history, her story is familiar to some, it is more important to understand the background of slavery in Belize and the way of life for people like Maria. The main reason that slavery became a big part of Belize was because of the logging economy. This started in the 18^th Century and went on up until the late 19^th Century.

Slavery in Belize was very different from other parts of the world, even the Caribbean because the slaves in Belize were used mostly for logging, instead of sugar production and work on plantations.[1] This meant that slaves in Belize worked in scattered gangs in the forests, separated from their families in Belize City. The interesting thing about Maria's life is that because slavery was so distinctive in Belize, the roles of males and females were entirely different.

As described by Bolland[2], Maria would have been left behind in Belize city to live with a family, her role could be a variety of these mentioned washerwomen, housemaids, servants, chambermaids, cooks, seamstresses, nurses, or bakers. Women were more subject to violence and punishment by their owner because they were always around and vulnerable to abuse without their men around. While Maria would be taking care of the domestic work and being under close watch of her master, the men would most likely be out in the forests.

Bolland[3] mentions how the experience of slaves in Belize was different from others because their role was timber extraction. This meant a continual shifting of location, smaller groups of men working with each other, and the masters treated them very differently. They did not need to supervise as much because of the smaller groups and he had less authority and no need to use much coercive power, which is a drastic difference to the role of masters in a plantation setting.

Because slaves had some control and power in numbers they became fairly confident at times and did stage numerous revolts. Bolland mentions that slaves would go as far abortion, suicide, murder, desertion, and revolt to escape from slavery. Maria was one of those, she just wanted to be free and felt like there were no other options.

This is an example of logging in the 1800s. It is a long, hard process with a lot of different jobs. This picture shows the axe men’s job, which is to cut down the trees. This job was not easy and fairly dangerous and the axe used was heavy. The axe men stood on a springy platform a "barbecue" about 12 or 15 feet high. 

This image shows slaves being auctioned off upon arrival in Belize City. The majority of them came from Africa, but there was also a mix from West Indies and others that came through Jamaica. Especially in Belize, when working in the timber industries families were split up. Women and Children would go with families to do domestic work, while Men would be grouped with a few others to work primarily on logging, with occasional agriculture work.

[1] O. Nigel Bolland, Assad Shoman, “Land in Belize 1765-1871” The Foundation of Settlement, ch.1,p. 25-27

[2]  O. Nigel Bolland, “Slavery without Sugar” Diversity in Caribbean Economy and Society Since the 17^th Century, Ch.2, p.44-45

[3] O. Nigel Bolland, “Slavery without Sugar” Diversity in Caribbean Economy and Society Since the 17^th Century,Ch.2, p.36,39