University of Michigan (UM) School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS) 2nd-Year students and Next-Gen Scholars Sofia Jordan and Tyler Bunday shared their reflections on their Capstone project, Café Gran Batey and The Formation of an Agroecological Landscape in the Mountains of Puerto Rico. Sofia and Tyler spent the summer of 2025 in Utuado, Puerto Rico, where they worked with Instituto para la Agroecología Investigación y Acción (IALA PR) and participated in community building with Proyecto Agroecológico Campesino (PAC) in collaboration with Professor Ivette Perfecto’s agroecology lab. Students work with faculty to build bridges between the UM SEAS and project partners to strengthen and add to transformative agroecological practices, research, and networks at Finca Gran Batey. 

Sofia:

Sofia, a second-year master's candidate in Ecosystem Science and Management, shared their experience travelling and working with project partners at Gran Batey and peers in Puerto Rico. Sofia highlighted the group PAC, which organized events where information was shared, and the community gathered, as life-changing during her time there. Sofia explained that they shared knowledge not only about Puerto Rico but also about other agricultural systems in other countries, like Cuba. Members of La Via Campesina also attended the gatherings and generously shared their knowledge. Whilst there, she witnessed resilience in the community through transformative acts that led to lands being more autonomous and strengthening their farmer and community network. Sofia was struck by how the process of growing your own food creates independence from being beholden to food availability in grocery stores.

When asked which place in Puerto Rico they would return to, Sofia said they would spend all their time at the Tanamá River in Utuado. Warren, a Puerto Rican national and project collaborator who gifted the group with this memorable experience, obviously left an imprint as they explored the river and caves. Reflecting, Sofia described the journey as, “ beautiful, it felt so surreal. [It] made me feel reconnected with myself, with all the beautiful nature around me. In addition, it was wonderful to see all the biodiversity this area had.”

Enjoying the beauty of the place was challenged by the time constraints of their field work, as their surveying took up most of their time. Student work involved learning to identify damage caused by the presence of coffee plant pests, as well as the identification of the species and sex of anoles (iguanian lizards). Students had to learn how to subset a tree to examine pest damage, whilst then deciding on how many trees needed to be sampled. Sofia noted that this project helped her gain more experience in research, practice working within a timeframe, building relationships within the community and with academic partners, and expanding her ArcGIS skills. Finally, Sofia has become acquainted and knowledgeable about the many species in Gran Batey, specifically ground cover crops, anoles, coquis, and the coffee pests.

When asked how this trip changed their relationship to their work and education, Sofia thinks that she has gained more experience and learned how important it is to keep up with published papers to be able to discuss and communicate in a roundtable style. This experience helped her develop confidence to have conversations with people who might have more expertise and knowledge in the field. Additionally, she highlighted the joy in witnessing community and realized the importance of it. When they were in Utuado, located in the central mountains of Puerto Rico,  she said, “the community would organize Brigades where community members would come together to help each other's farmers, tell stories, share knowledge, dance, and eat the most delicious food made from ingredients grown across farms in the community.”

Sofia's experience is unique and serves as an inspiration for students who want to be impactful in their Capstone, connecting with communities and applying what they learned in class to the outside world. 

Tyler:

“I had one of the best experiences of my life doing my capstone research in Puerto Rico. Seeing the morning mist rise above the mogotes (hills) brought me joy every single day I was there. We followed the view with long hours in the field through the blistering sun to get our ecological data. The bulk of our time was spent doing our research, but the memories that will last forever are the times spent off of the farm. At the end of the day, coming back from the field, the majesty of a cold Medalla is something I’ll never forget. In the evenings, we had communal dinners, prepared by us on a rotating schedule, where we discussed whatever came up that day. On the weekends, we would adventure around the island, going to the highest peak, swimming in the ocean, or fighting for our lives on the river. Although those were the movie montage clips in my mind, the most heartwarming times were after our adventures when we spent long nights playing cards and laughing at nothing.”

Tyler Bunday, a master’s candidate specializing in Ecosystem Science & Management and Environmental Justice, joined Sofia in Puerto Rico, and when asked whether he had met any life-changing individuals during their trip, he said, “The Team… [who] made the experience so special. Their willingness to help and collaborate at all times helped our work move forward every day. It made the work much more enjoyable. Everyone liked to have fun, and we all had adventurous spirits that made exploring the island together amazing.” 

As Tyler found community and was able to enjoy the time abroad, it is our hope that students will find and be exposed to similar narratives within their capstone projects. When asked if Tyler could return to a place he experienced whilst there, he said he would return to the dinner table where they all shared many good meals, stories, and played games together.

Also, challenging moments exist in any new experience. Learning how to deal with them is key to overcoming and improving these skills. We asked Tyler about challenges, and he shared that he found that the prolonged distance between him and his family, in particular his partner, was something he had to overcome. Tyler also nodded to the exhaustion from long fieldwork days, which included working late into the night. However, this trip changed his relationship with his work and education. Throughout the summer, time was spent learning more about the history, geography, and cultural context of Puerto Rico, which deepened his understanding of threads of oppression across the world in relation to the United States. He appreciates how important it is to be present in a space that he could return to in the future to do research. “I learned that it is important to appreciate the place and respect the people and culture through a longer-term presence. Research is inherently extractive, but by learning about place through experience, we could hopefully make more of a positive local impact.” 

If any of these experiences inspired you, feel free to reach out to Sofia or Tyler to learn more about their work or connect over shared interests.