International Field Studies has a Wish List this holiday season! Unfortunately there are no chimneys at Forfar Field Station, so Santa won't be delivering us presents. We sure could use your help! Check out some of our most needed items here. We appreciate any possible donation and thank you for sharing your holiday cheer!
Hocking College is at Forfar Field Station!
Our current visiting group at Forfar Field Station is Hocking College's Bahamas Ecotourism Adventure Travel (BEAT) class. Each year a group of knowledge-hungry college students come for a 6-week course at Forfar Field Station. This past Saturday, BEAT and Bahamas National Trust (BNT) took a trip to Andros West Side National Park for a fantastic educational experience.
Come join us!
IFS will be at the upcoming National Science Teacher Association (NSTA) Area Conference held at the Greater Columbus Convention Center, December 1-3, 2016. Feel free to stop by and learn about our programming for 2017! Know local teachers that might be interested in a Field Study experience abroad, encourage them to attend and visit our booth! Additionally, we are available to come and give a presentation at your school in a department staff meeting or other appropriate meetings. Contact Matt at office@intlfieldstudies.org for more information.
That's right, IFS' Holiday Wish List is for a new vehicle at Forfar Field Station!
With your help we can purchase a new vehicle! It's no easy task getting a vehicle to Forfar from the USA. In fact, it's extremely expensive. IFS not only pays for the vehicle, but also for the transportation to Andros, a 70% duty on the vehicle, and 7.5% value added tax. All of those costs add up and make purchasing new vehicles a pricey and tricky endeavor.
By donating to IFS, you will help us continue to provide quality education and field experiences to hundreds to students from the US and Bahamas annually. With a new reliable vehicle, we can continue to help educate students, facilitate researchers in the work, and promote conservation with our on-island partners.
Please give by December 31, 2016. All donations are tax-deductible.
Thank you to everyone who has donated their time and money to help Forfar with Hurricane Repairs! Specifically, we would like to thank recent donors Rachel Marschner, Kathleen Hughes, Jessica Pyle, Alan Curtis, Barbara Sadovnic, Connie McCardle, Seth Ransohoff, Marie Trudeau, Maya Wilson, Rachel Stewart, Gene and Royal Mapes, and Christine Rhuel.
Forfar Field Station was without water for 13 days after the hurricane. Additionally, it had no power for 23 days. IFS volunteers and staff had to replace the roof on the work/dive shop, make roof repairs to the lodge, and cabin 4. In total, Forfar lost 50+ trees on the property. Thank you again to friends and staff of IFS for helping bring it back to tip-top shape!
The November Work Week crew did a fantastic job of cleaning up and restoring Forfar Field Station after Hurricane Matthew's visit.
IFS sends a grateful thank you to volunteers Alan and Pamela Curtis, Joe Starzynski, William Donato, Willie Zamora, Annah Ellingston, Jonisha Cartwright, Marlin and Cynthia White, and Nina Sanchez.
What did our hardworking volunteers accomplish?
Nina and Jonisha from BREEF (Bahamas Reef Environmental Education Foundation) are shown in the photo above cleaning out one of the vans. Additional tasks accomplished: restored many of the garden beds, cleaned the bonfire area, added sand to the volleyball court, and fixed the shutters on the buildings damaged by the hurricane. Volunteers painted Big Boat, chainsawed and cleared trees, did trail maintenance on Calabash, installed a new shower in Cabin 1, and cleaned the workshop. Lastly, they sorted through unneeded items from the laundry and kitchen areas to donate to Lowe Sound (most affected by the hurricane).
Interested in joining Work Weeks in the future?
Anyone able-bodied and willing to work hard to improve the field station can join! Our December Work Week is completely full and closed to additional registrations. Stay tuned for our upcoming Work Week opportunities in 2017!
“My time at Forfar Field Station was truly incredible and I will never forget the memories I made and the people I met!”
“IFS gave me the opportunity to explore and appreciate a truly unique part of our planet. Every day was a new adventure. I saw plants and animals that can’t be found anywhere else in the world. The staff was amazing and the experience was educational, fun and memorable.”
“Forfar is a well-kept secret from the rest of the world. The rustic experience of living on the beach in a community with experts in their field was absolutely amazing. I learned so much about conservation, and about the flora and fauna of The Bahamas.”
