Emma Fieldgate, an Accountant with Amcor PET Packaging in the UK, travelled to Belize to form part of the team of volunteers assisting Katherine LaComare (University of Massachusetts, Boston) and Caryn Self Sullivan, (Texas A&M University), who are conducting a baseline survey of endangered manatees and their habitat.

Everywhere they occur, manatees are endangered and the human impact on these gentle marine relatives of elephants is growing as more and more of our population gravitates toward tropical coasts. The Earthwatch volunteers help to gather basic data on manatee distribution, behaviour, habitat, travel corridors and the like, so that the nation can provide appropriate protection.

Emma filed this report on her return.

In July 2003 I took part in an Earthwatch project studying Manatees in Belize. Our research team consisted of 5 researchers and 7 volunteers based on an island 8 miles from Belize City.

We were completely isolated. All our provisions were bought in the city which was only visited once a week. The water was pumped from the sea or collected when it rained and the electricity was generated by a wind turbine. We all shared the tasks of cooking, cleaning and equipment care.

Our research consisted of surveying the local area around the mangrove islands for manatees and also collecting data on their habitat. Surveys were conducted while the boat moved along, but periodically we would stop and scan the waters for 30 minutes for any sign of a manatee. They were very difficult to spot and even more difficult to photograph. We saw between 0 and 5 manatees a day.

After each scan we recorded the air and water temperatures, the water depth, visibility and salinity and also took constant GPS readings to plot our movements. We also took samples of, and recorded data on, the Sea Grass on which the manatees feed.

The researchers are trying to build up a picture of Manatee activity in the area. We need to understand them in order to better understand how we can help them. They are ancient creatures whose existence is now threatened by humans mostly due to the effect humans have on their habitat, and increasingly due to boating accidents.

The contribution Earthwatch, and therefore Amcor, makes is essential to the project for both funding and for the time invested by the volunteers. This was a brilliant experience for me. I visited some amazing places, met new and interesting people and learnt a great deal about the Manatees and the research processes and also about living cleanly and efficiently with minimal impact on our environment.

I can now just start to imagine the amount of work and effort that goes into studying these and any other elusive creatures. We were asked at the end if we could imagine how much work goes into 1 hour of TV documentary. Take it from me, it is a lot !