THE MAKENGUE PROJECT

The Makengue Project is a result of a partnership formed between American University's University College and the privately-owned Makengue Reserve in the Rio San Juan region of Nicaragua.  The class was first offered in the Spring of 2013 and students were challenged to research the best ways to carryout the reserve's mission.  Here is the proposal they developed.  Since then, the class has been offered two more times and evolved to include specific projects each semester.  These projects have included: 

• completing a BioBlitz
• installing motion censor cameras
• mapping out the property with GPS coordinates
• updating the reserve website
• creating a social media plan
• producing a variety of videos including promotional, educational and documentary films
• coordinating a community outreach event with ProJoven, a local youth group, where students learned about the environment and created public service announcements
• designing educational posters, brochures and the reserve logo
• performing ethnobiology surveys
• developing environmental lesson plans for primary and secondary teachers and hosting teachers for a professional development day

I have co-taught the course with science professors and coordinated the schedule and activities with the reserve owners since the class was first offered.  I've traveled to Nicaragua with three groups of students since 2013.  Here are some examples of the work they produced: