Scarlet Macaw Biological Station Training, environment, biology, ecology

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Training and Education

The station´s training and education programs provide opportunities to a wide array of groups to learn about conservation efforts at the local, national and international levels, as well as opportunities to individuals for personal growth and development. Groups that benefit from these efforts include members of neighboring communities - the majority located inside Laguna del Tigre National Park (LTNP) boundaries, personnel of the LTNP, university and graduate students, and conservation organizations.

Our programs include continuing education for conservation professionals, basic environmental education and leadership training for neighboring communities, and field-based training for university and graduate students.

Continuing Education for Conservation Professionals

The station periodically organizes forums for conservation professionals to discuss the challenges of conservation efforts in Central America, renew first aid certification, or share work experiences. Examples include professional exchanges between Scarlet Macaw Biological Station park guards and park guards from the Los Guatuzos Wildlife Refuge in southern Nicaragua and Wrangell-St. Elias National Park in Alaska, and the Tri-National Workshop for Morelet´s Crocodile Management held in 2001.

Conservation and Leadership Training for Neighboring Communities

Our Agroforestry Promotors and Wetland Park Rangers Program is one example of our efforts to provide training to residents of communities located inside the boundaries of Laguna del Tigre National Park. Themes that promote conservation form the basis of this program with topics such as alternative methods to traditional cultivation that minimize natural resource impacts, sustainable agriculture techniques including agro-forestry, crop diversification, environmental education, and leadership and organizational strengthening. This program has provided training to more than 50 young leaders from surrounding communities.

Field-Based Training for University and Graduate Students

The Scarlet Macaw Biological Station provides opportunities for hands-on technical training to students and researchers at all levels interested in tropical ecology, biology and conservation. Through an agreement with the University of San Carlos (the public university in Guatemala), undergraduate students studying zoology visit the station yearly to learn population survey techniques for mammals, birds and fish. Students from the University of Tulane studying international health and development also visit the station regularly as part of a practicum that focuses on the dynamics between environment and population.