GREENWOOD
Journey offers new view of planet
Area engineer got to see wildlife in Belize as part of Alcoa Earthwatch Fellows program

By Aldrich M. Tan
aldrich.tan@indystar.com

Bruce Croissant was snorkeling in the clear blue waters off the coast of Belize when he spotted a large, grayish object moving toward him.

"My first thought was, 'Wow. This is huge!' " said Croissant, 41, who lives in White River Township.

It was a manatee, and just one of the 44 he would study for two weeks through the Alcoa Earthwatch Fellows program.

Croissant is an application engineer in Alcoa's Greenwood office. Each year, the company sends 15 employees from around the world on environmental research trips through the Earthwatch Institute.

He read diary entries written by other employees and applied twice unsuccessfully. Last September, Croissant finally was selected for the program.

On his expedition, Croissant worked with scientist Caryn Self Sullivan, from Texas A&M University-Galveston, at the Spanish Bay Marine Research Station. They observed the West Indian manatee.

Others were selected this year to observe dolphins in New Zealand, study climate change in the Arctic and research the ecology of Maine.

The employees' trips are free. They use their vacation time to take off for up to two weeks.

Croissant arrived in Belize City on June 1 and explored several islands, including San Pedro, for two days before the expedition began.

"I've seen farmers' runways bigger than the airport that we landed on," Croissant said.

He saw his first manatee just before the expedition began.

"It was bobbing its head up and down and paddling with its tail out of the water.''

On June 3, Croissant met up with Sullivan, Chip Crowley of HSBC Bank's San Diego branch and Dany Pleau, an Alcoa employee in Quebec. They traveled to the Drowned Cayes, eight miles off the mainland.

The crew slept in 14-foot cabana huts on stilts, Croissant said. Each day, they woke at 8:30 a.m. and went out on the Caribbean Sea in a 25-foot boat to observe the mammals.
At night, Croissant said, his view of the pristine and cloudless sky -- without the glare of city lights -- was phenomenal.
"It was hard to see the Big Dipper because the sky was full of stars.''
Sometimes, the crew visited the conservation area's dolphin sanctuary. There, Croissant befriended Bill, a dolphin raised in captivity.
At first, he said, "Bill was still a little skittish around me."
The trainers showed Croissant how to hold the dolphins properly. Bill became so comfortable that the dolphin let Croissant carry him on the water.
The Earthwatch team also took time off to see ancient Mayan ruins at Xunantunich. The main temple is 136 feet tall, one of the tallest buildings in Belize.
"I felt really small standing next to these pyramids," Croissant said.
He left the island June 16 and greeted his family about midnight back in Indianapolis. He hugged his wife, Susan, 35, and drowsy children, Andrew, 6, and Lauren, 8.
Croissant said his experiences had taught him to better value the environment.
"Belize is doing a great job balancing nature and development," he said. "It's really possible to develop land without damaging the area's eco-structure."
It's a lesson all Alcoa employees learn from their experiences, said company spokesman Kevin Lowery.
"We are one of the most environmentally conscious companies in the world," he said. "Our employees need to understand the impact of development on our environment in order to develop sustainable programs and practices."

Call Star reporter Aldrich M. Tan at (317) 444-6309.