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Title	Little Treasures
Country	Belize
Geographic Location	Belize City
Photographer	Lin, Patty
Program	Creation Care Study Program (CCSP)
Contest Category	Nature
Description/Reflection	We spent a week at Glover’s Atoll for our marine ecology class. More than once I’d stop in my tracks, look down at the hermit crabs scampering over the white sand, look up at the abundance of coconuts dangling from the palm trees, look around at the ocean secluding us, and remind myself “I live here!” (for the week, at least). Glover’s Atoll is a world heritage site and marine reserve off the east coast of mainland Belize. It was wonderful being able to study there, where – after a lecture on the intimate relationship between sea grass beds and coral reefs – we’d get in the water and snorkel to see for ourselves until the sun went down. The opportunity to have such a hands-on experience, where we saw the things we were learning first hand, impacted me greatly. One afternoon our professor took us on a Rubble Walk (we were walking along the reef crest – the part of the coral reef that rises above the water and is therefore dead). We came upon many little treasures including a variety of brittle sea stars, sea cucumbers, and a Magnificent Urchin (yes, that’s its name). One of my favorite finds was this Slate Pencil Urchin (Eucidaris tribuloides), which clearly screamed “God made me special!”
Date Created	2010-04-29
Term of Study Abroad	2010 Spring
Award Date	2010-11-18
Subject	Sea urchins Coral reef animals Coral reef ecology Marine parks and reserves
Keywords	Marine Reserve; Slate Pencil Urchin; Reef Crest; Glover’s Atoll
Bethel Affiliation	Student
Photo Scene	Close-up Single
Resource Type	image/still image
Format	image/jpeg
Copyright Statement	Images and metadata in the Bethel University Study Abroad Collection are provided with permission by the Office of Off-Campus Programs/International Studies. Content for this collection is licensed under a Creative Commons license 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ for attributed, non-commercial, non-derivative works. Any exceptions to this must be approved by Melanie Eslinger at m-eslinger@bethel.edu.
Publisher	Bethel University
Source	Office of Off-Campus Programs/International Studies
Language	English
Filename	2010fLinPLit.jpg
Geographic Coordinates	17.4833, -88.1667
Contributing Institution	Bethel University

Little Treasures

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