Academic and Professional Development

The ACP partners with universities, the BZS, and the BAMZ to conduct courses for university students and conservation professionals on conservation research and management.

The St. Johns University Course

St. John's University in New York has partnered with the ACP to offer an undergraduate course at the BAMZ. Through lectures and fieldwork, the course covers marine conservation biology, geography, sustainability challenges, and economic development.  

In 2009, 17 undergraduate students from St. John's University and five students from Bermuda took part in this two-week interdisciplinary, three-credit course, which runs each May . The daily program included field trips to study sites throughout Bermuda, as well as lectures on marine life, Bermuda birds, and the island's coral reefs. The itinerary was developed by Dr. Ian Walker, Principal Curator of BAMZ; Richard Winchell, President of the ACP; Dr. Frank Cantelmo, Associate Professor at St. John's University; and Dr. Wolfgang Sterrer, former Curator of the Natural History Museum at BAMZ. Local experts and scientists served as lecturers and guides, and lesson plans were designed so that the BAMZ boat, Endurance, can be used as a 'floating classroom.

The International Course on the Biology and Conservation of Sea Turtles

One of the most significant conservation contributions of the Bermuda Turtle Project is the International Course on the Biology and Conservation of Sea Turtles, which began in 1996 and has been taught for 13 consecutive years. So far, the course has attracted 114 participants from the U.S., Bermuda, the Caribbean, South America, Central America and Europe. The course provides training to university students, biologists, conservation officers, and resource managers through an intensive two-week course taught in Bermuda on the biology and conservation of sea turtles. Participants assist in capturing, measuring, tagging, and collecting blood samples from sea turtles. Emphasis is placed on understanding the impact of biology on management decisions and conservation outcomes. The course builds capacity for regional management of these threatened and endangered marine species, allowing participants to make better conservation and management decisions in their home countries. Funding for this course comes from Chevron Texaco International, the Caribbean Conservation Corporation, and the ACP.