A group of students from Bard College in the United States of America was on the island researching different species 
of animals and plants. The 5 students and 2 faculty member team was on the island for 2 weeks and spent most of their time in Montserrat’s forest and guts.
The Montserrat Reporter caught up with the team at the Government House during Sujue Davis (wife of the Governor Adrian Davis) Monthly Coffee Mornings on Wednesday, January 20, 2015. Robert Schmidt, retired faculty member at the college said, “what we are doing is looking for plants and animals in the forest; telling the students some things about what the islands are alike and what the tropics are like; the different plants and animals that we can see here; that kind of activity”. Rob said they believe they found some different kinds of fishes and snails that nobody knows are in Montserrat.
Another faculty member Erin McMullen, said, “they worked with the samples brought back by Bob Schmidt’s trip in 2014 with the fishes that are found in the gut and streams and they are trying to find out if they are the same or different species from those found on other islands, and so far they are expanding the species ranges; comparing the species to others found on other islands”.
The students will continue their exploration into the forest and guts before leaving to return to the USA at the end of January.
