Operation Wallacea teams have been gathering data sets from 150 sites across the Cusuco National Park on woody plant, dung beetle, moth, amphibian, reptile, bird, small mammal and bat communities. These data are used to monitor changes in biodiversity and abundance of key taxa and are being used by the Park authorities to establish biodiversity performance criteria. The Reduction in Emissions of greenhouse gases from Deforestation in Developing countries (REDD) funding mechanism is targeting forests most at risk of deforestation to conserve their carbon sequestration value as well as protect their biodiversity. However, there are very few forests where sufficient biodiversity data are available to demonstrate whether the biodiversity is being protected adequately so the data sets now held by Cusuco puts them at the top of the list of forests to be protected. The data gathered by the students is therefore not just of value for scientific publications but should also be linked to payments to the Park and local communities through the REDD scheme. Whilst some of the data on forest structure can be gathered from satellite imagery, there are some aspects (eg numbers of cut stumps, light penetration as a measure of canopy openness) where only data gathered from foot based surveys can be used. The repeated measurement of these attributes allows changes in the forests over time to be quantified. Such time-consuming measurements on such a large number of remote sites are beyond the resources of most research surveys, but with the help of General Surveyor groups it is proving possible to gather such data on all the Operation Wallacea survey sites in Cusuco National Park. Over the last four years, the general surveyors have completed the first two surveys of all 150 sampling sites and in 2011 the target is to complete a third round.

Hammock living in one of the satellite forest camps - Michelle Ross

In week 2, after the exertions of working in remote forest areas, General Surveyor groups have the opportunity to spend a week learning to dive or doing a reef ecology training course by diving or snorkelling. Groups can choose between Utila or Rio Esteban/Cayo Menor. Utila has the advantage of hotel accommodation, in shared rooms with air conditioning or fans and an on-site swimming pool for the confined-water dive training. Utila is a very comfortable and friendly site with the research centre used by Opwall run by a local family. The Rio Esteban/Cayo Menor option means that the students spend the first part of the week in local Garifuna houses in the picturesque village of Rio Esteban. A new dive centre with swimming pool has been built on the white sand beaches of Rio Esteban and this is where the theory and confined-water training elements of the PADI dive course are taught or the first lectures of the Reef Ecology course given. The group is then transferred to Cayo Menor in the Cayos Cochinos Marine Protected Area (MPA) for the second part of the week where they do their Open Water dives or finish the reef ecology course. Note for this option if the group arrive having already done the theory and pool training before joining the expedition, then they would transfer straight away to Cayo Menor. There are limited spaces available in Rio Esteban so when these spaces have been filled further groups will have to complete their training on Cayo Menor.

 There are three options available to the school groups: 

· Dive training to PADI Open Water level 
· Reef Ecology Course (this is for previously qualified divers or those who only wish to snorkel) 
· Referral dive training and the Reef Ecology Course. 

If the school completes the theory and confined-water training before they join the Opwall expedition, then on site they can complete the Open Water dives to gain their qualification in three days and spend the rest of their time on the reef ecology course, diving and learning how to identify various reef organisms.

When booking, school groups need to consider the fitness levels of each participant and what each of them would like to do for the marine options. The group should also decide whether to go to Cayo Menor or Utila and identify any preferences they have for forest camps. Having appropriate fitness levels is very important, as lack of fitness seriously limits what you can do in the forest and greatly reduces your enjoyment of the expedition. In general, while different forest camps pose different demands, even the easiest require good levels of fitness.