RESEARCH

The Rainforest is Our Laboratory

Elevate your work with an experience at BFREE.

A man and a women lean on the bed of a pick-up truck filled with cacao pods that are yellow, pink, and red in color.

ON-SITE
OPPORTUNITIES

Enhance research in Belize at BFREE, which serves as an active site for permitted researchers to conduct undergraduate, graduate level, and Ph.D projects across a wide range of research topics.

A researcher in a blue New York Aquarium shirt using a microscope in the rainforest lab at BFREE conducting research in Belize

RESEARCH
FACILITIES

BFREE provides housing, logistical support, some field equipment, and field assistants for visiting researchers and conservation workers from all over the world.

PREVIOUS
PROJECTS

Beginning with studies at the Bladen Nature Reserve on ecology and evolution, the scope of research at BFREE has expanded to regional and national scales.

ON-SITE
OPPORTUNITIES

BFREE serves as a site for permitted researchers conducting undergraduate, graduate level, and Ph.D projects across a wide range of research topics.

RESEARCH
FACILITIES

The BFREE Field Station provides housing, logistical support, some field equipment, and field assistants for visiting researchers and conservation workers from all over the world.

PREVIOUS
PROJECTS

Beginning with many studies at the Bladen Nature Reserve to address basic ecological and evolutionary questions, the scope of research at BFREE has now expanded to regional and national scales.

On-Site Opportunities

Which topics are generally researched at BFREE?

The BFREE field station in southern Belize is focused on land conservation management. The primary research conducted at BFREE centers on biodiversity, wildlife habitat, endangered species, and agroforestry.

When did BFREE start conducting research?

Almost 30 years of research has taken place at BFREE, developing a well-established body of knowledge available to base future inquiries and support new studies.

How long do visiting researchers stay at BFREE?

Research trips range from 3 days to 3 months with the typical visit lasting about a week to 10 days. Often researchers work with BFREE staff to continue a research program when they are out of the country.

Where do researchers live during their visit?

Researchers are provided a comfortable cabin to live at BFREE. Access to freshly cooked meals, hot showers, and composting toilets are included as a part of your stay. Learn more about visiting BFREE.

Interested in conducting research at BFREE?

To learn more, including details related to pricing, availability, and other logistical details, please contact Dr. Rob Klinger at rklinger@bfreebz.org.

Research Facilities

Bruce Cullerton Memorial Observation Tower

Located 800 meters from the Commons is a 112’ foot galvanized steel observation tower. It’s the perfect place to witness the forest come alive at sunrise, observe and photograph wildlife, conduct research, or just take in a sunset over the Maya Mountains.

Rainforest Science Laboratory

The 20’ X 20’ building is a dedicated space for laboratory equipment and contains bench space, storage for lab and field equipment, and specimen collections.

Classroom & Library

The Dora Weyer Natural History Library houses books and articles on a wide range of natural history topics as well as a collection of preserved specimens. It also serves as a meeting space and classroom for the field station. It houses

A pond and floating island through a chain link fence with sign that says Pond A

Hicatee Conservation & Research Center

The Hicatee Conservation and Research Center (HCRC) consists of two large breeding ponds and one rearing pond and associated infrastructure to support the captive breeding program for the critically endangered species, Dermatemys mawii. The facility is the only kind in the world dedicated to researching the reproductive biology and nesting ecology of this rare and charismatic species.

The Chocolate Lab

The Chocolate Lab is an experimental chocolate manufacturing facility equipped with a drum roaster, cracker, winnowing machine, tempering machine, refrigeration, and AC. A variety of molds are used to produce delicious organic fine flavor chocolate and chocolate products for use in the dining facility and enjoyed by visitors.

Previous Projects

BFREE has conducted a variety of research projects with a number of visiting researchers over the past almost 30 years.
The topics researched at BFREE cover a diverse spectrum and have led to nearly 500 publications and presentations.

BFREE has conducted a variety of research projects with a number of visiting researchers over the past almost 30 years. The topics researched at BFREE cover a diverse spectrum and have led to nearly 500 publications and presentations.

Specific project details

BFREE has facilitated a number of studies in the Bladen Nature Reserve that addressed basic ecological and evolutionary questions (e.g. Brewer and Rejmanek 1999, Brewer 2003, Cochran-Bierderman 2010, Klinger 2006, Klinger and Rejmanek 2009, Meyer 2006), as well as the first two books on the natural history of the reserve (Dourson 2009, 2012) including the only comprehensive text on the Bladen Nature Reserve. A banding and point-count study being led by biologists from BFREE (2006 to 2016) began the work of quantifying patterns of diversity, habitat associations, population dynamics, and demography for dozens of avian species in the Maya Mountains including the discovery of the first record of a wild Harpy eagle nest in the entire country. The scope of research-based out of BFREE has now expanded to regional and national scales.