It would be a privilege to visit another land that has taken the time to put the ecosystem before the financial gain of tourism. I have visited home a few times since I moved up north and Key West is not like it was 21 years ago when I was fifteen years old. Many corporations and chain restaurants moved in slowly and changed the vibe of the island and along with it they have tampered with the nature of the island.

I want to be an eco-kid for many reasons first of all I want to experience the outdoors and most of the activities you listed in your letter and secondly I am a kid and we kids like to run around and try new things, well some of us like it.

I really love nature and everything there is in nature like the birds when they sing, the rushing waters in rivers, creeks and lakes, the noise of the wind, and all the little animals you can find in the wild. I especially like the colourful attracting birds like the scarlet macaws, blue jays, toucans, and parrots.

Then the bird spoke to me, saying, “I was in Belize this winter and I am going there from now on!” Instead of saying, “You can talk!” I asked, “Why do you say that?”He said, “I found a nice place to go where there was sparkly water and bright, beautiful flowers. There were humans there, too, but I hardly noticed them as I flew around. They sometimes came in groups, but they only looked at me through some kind of round things. I think you do that, too!”

Belize Eco Tourism Vacation Sweepstakes
On my return flight home from San Ignacio, Belize I was already trying to calculate my finances to go back. I, along with twelve others, was working with ProBelize to build a homeless shelter for teenage girls. This project, and the town, opened my eyes to a whole new world, to say the least. In the ten days I was there, I learned to appreciate the world around me more than I ever had in …

News Americas
Belize’s ecology-economy balance

Belize is known throughout Central America for its progressive environmental conservation programmes, but with few exports, the small nation’s economy also depends heavily on tourism.

And the large volume of tourists – many drawn to the world’s second largest barrier reef that is home to a huge variety of marine life – has some experts worried that potentially irreversible harm is being done to the country’s treasured environment.

As Al Jazeera’s David Mercer explains, finding a balance between the environment and the economy can be a challenge.