The Holbrook Explorer
Holbrook in the Field
Photo Essay: Family Rainforest Camp
Over the summer, Florida Museum of Natural History staff led the inaugural Family Rainforest Camp at Selva Verde Lodge, joined by young campers and their families from the US. Campers took part in workshops and a BioBlitz, and they used technology to share their experiences with museum campers back...
Madagascar: A Photo Essay by Sandy Doss
In June 2018, Holbrook Specialty Travel Consultant Sandy Doss set out on a two-week exploration of Madagascar, "the Eighth Continent." Renowned for its spectacular biodiversity and endemism, Madagascar is home to dancing lemurs, colorful chameleons, towering baobabs, and sprawling scenery. Sandy...
Colombia: A Must-See Destination for Birders
From the Field: Report by Christopher Bensley Media reports are beginning to put Colombia in the “must see” category now that the Peace Accord is over a year old. CNN listed Colombia #3 on its Best Places to Visit in 2017. Birders have long known Colombia as a mecca for birding. Over the last...
Video: Migration of the Monarchs
Holbrook's VP of Product Development, Pelin Karaca, just returned from Mexico, where she scaled Teotihuacan and went birding in Cozumel—but the real highlight was observing millions of monarch butterflies at their mountainous wintering grounds. Her short video offers a glimpse into this amazing...
Trip report: The Incas and the Amazon
Holbrook's Elizabeth Sanders recounts her trip to Peru, where she experienced the Amazon rainforest and the ancient Inca ruins of Machu Picchu. The first day of my adventure started early, but I was so happy to be traveling to Peru on the first running of our program, The Incas and the Amazon, an...
Exploring Cuba with Penn State Lehigh Valley
Holbrook's Sandy Doss recently joined the Penn State Lehigh Valley CHANCE Program during a field practicum to Cuba: "Environmental Protection, Conservation, and Sustainability of Cuban Ecosystems." Below, she shares her experience: This month, working in partnership with Penn State Lehigh Valley...
Galapagos: An Unexpected Journey
Guest post by Ryan Dunleavy At the start of 2017, I had the feeling that the year was going to be an uneventful one. However, I am very thankful I was wrong. Near the end of January I received a notification from my management that I would be traveling to the Galápagos Islands. Despite my lack of...
A Taste of Cuba, Tradition and Conservation on the Christmas Bird Count
I made my first journey to Cuba on December 14, 2016 to support the annual Christmas Bird Count (CBC). Dr. Robert Norton conducted the first CBC in Cuba in 2012 and has worked with Dr. Hiram Gonzalez of Cuba every year to document this important work. In 2016, Mark Davis replaced Dr. Norton in...
Trip Report: Historical Cuba and Botanical Countryside Gardens Tour
Sandy Schmidt, Holbrook’s garden tours director and specialty travel consultant, took a trip to Cuba to soak in some history of the country and tour botanical gardens in the countryside. Here’s part 1 of her trip report: This wonderful tour was put together with members of the American Public...
Trip Report: Historical Cuba and Botanical Countryside Gardens Tour | Part Two
Enjoy part two of garden tours director Sandy Schmidt’s trip report of her time in Cuba. (Missed Part 1? Find it here.) During these six days of the trip, Sandy saw beautiful views of the area, visited an orchid garden, toured a national park, visited a world-renowned artist, and much more... ...
Trip Report: America’s Biggest Week in Birding
Debbie Sturdivant Jordan, one of our dedicated travel consultants, recently went on a trip to Toledo, Ohio for America’s Biggest Week in Birding this past May. With her return to Florida, she brought back photos from her trip and field notes to share before her well-deserved three-month sabbatical...
Photo of the Month: March 2016
My colleague, Steve Kaye, and I took 12 students from Red Rocks Community College to northern Tanzania as part of our BIO 228: Field Biology course. In advance of the trip, our students decided to collect school supplies and soccer equipment to donate to two local schools in Tanzania. Playing...