Over the past 4 years, Dr. Mark Brenner, director of the University of Florida’s Land Use and Environmental Change Institute, and Department of Geological Sciences at Gainsville, and professor Roger Medina from the Autonomous University of Yucatán’s Departament of Ecology, have taken their students to the reserve as part of their program in Yucatan. This year, Mark sent our reserve director the following.

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I wanted to take the opportunity to thank you again for hosting our University of Florida/Universidad Autonoma de Yucatan student group in July at the Helen Moyers Biocultural Reserve (Kaxil Kiuic). As always, the students had a fabulous time and they specifically asked me to convey their appreciation. Over the past few years, Kiuic has served us well for both the NSF-sponsored graduate program on “Working Forests in the Tropics,” and in our summer undergraduate program in Tropical Ecology. It is wonderful that students can see mature dry tropical forest and view the vestiges of dense Maya settlement that once characterized the region. We try to emphasize the intimate linkages among climate, environment, and human culture, and Kiuic provides a beautiful example of these relations down through the millennia.

I particularly appreciate you taking the time to guide the students through the Reserve and explain the long and complex history of land use in the region. Your passion for the project is infectious and students come away both inspired and hopeful. It is also interesting for them to consider the role of private reserves in conservation, as well as the fact that you are protecting both biological and cultural patrimony in Yucatan. I should add that we thoroughly enjoyed the delicious meal. I am amazed at how the facilities have expanded in just a few years. It is my hope that some of our students will choose to do their graduate research at Kiuic in the future. Clearly the Reserve provides fantastic opportunities. In any event, we are very grateful to have been able to visit again this year, and we definitely plan to put Kiuic on our itinerary for next summer. Best wishes to all at Kiuic.

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