Eco Kids Summer Camp 2019 Day 7: Belizean Wildlife & Final Farewell
Eco Kids Camp Day 7: Belizean Wildlife & Final Farewell We’ve made to the last day of camp. It felt like just yesterday the eco … Read more
Eco Kids Camp Day 7: Belizean Wildlife & Final Farewell We’ve made to the last day of camp. It felt like just yesterday the eco … Read more
Eco Kids Camp Day 6: Solid Waste Management & Sustainability It’s been a successful week with so much to be grateful for. How amazing that … Read more
Day 5 of the Eco Kids Summer Camp Focused on Land Conservation With high spirits and energy, we’ve made it to day five at the … Read more
Day 3: Learning About The Ancient Maya Another day, another happy camper at the 2019 Belize Eco Kids Camp. Day three turned out to be … Read more
The 2019 Belize Eco-Kids Summer Camp Is Off! Well hello there, if you’re reading this, then you’re probably a concerned parent who’s naturally worried about … Read more
This year’s winners for Chaa Creek’s 2019 Eco-Kids Environmental Education Summer Camp have been selected Once again this year, twenty-four young Belizean students are set … Read more
Eco Kids Camp Day 6: Solid Waste Management & Sustainability Going to a summer camp is something EVERY child should get the opportunity to do. Apart … Read more
How often can you brag about waking up to the sounds of howler monkey’s swinging above your heads? Well… we sure can! Bright and early, … Read more
Maya Traditional Healing at Chaa Creek’s 2018 Eco Kids Summer Camp You know what’s sad? Realizing you’re now officially halfway through camp. Yup, we’re half … Read more
Day 3: Learning About The Ancient Maya Wow, can you believe it’s already been 3 days? I’m not sure how time feels like back at … Read more
Day 2 – Biodiversity and Conservation A wet but joyful hello from the banks of the Macal river. Yes, for those of you who didn’t … Read more
Friday – Sustainable Tourism We all woke up with a buzz of energy today, very probably from the huge amount of food we’ve been eating … Read more
Last day of camp. There’s always a feeling – of release, of relief, of ending, of starting over. Suddenly, going home doesn’t seem so fun … Read more
The morning started off cold and fresh, and as the campers awoke they pulled on sweaters and made their way up to the campfire. After … Read more
The sun was breaking out over the golden clouds as the camp stirred to life, and as the camper rose and trudged up to the … Read more
A weeklong summer camp that teaches Belizean children to be stewards of their environment and instills memorable values that will have an impact on the way children conduct their lives, their relationship with our fragile Earth, and the sustainable development of our future.
Today’s theme of Solid Waste Management meant that the day was not as hectic as previous days. Campers had a leisurely breakfast, and a couple games of “Wink Assassin” before diving straight into Arts and Crafts, recycling plastic water bottles to use as stylish bracelets. Some campers decorated their bracelets with the colors of the Belizean flag, while others went with more colorful heart stickers.
While preparations for the hike were underway, the campers sat down at the arts and crafts tables to make their very own wallets. Tastes in wallet decoration varied widely, with some campers using stickers, some drawing, some using leaves and sticks, and several using magazine cutouts
Mrs Salome’s presentation on medicinal plants highlighted several popular Belizean herbs, such as serosee, thyme, and aloe vera, and allowed campers got to practice their bush medicine skills. A couple lucky volunteers pretended to have earaches, and they were cured by using thyme. From the excellent bedside manner displayed by some campers, it would seem there are some future doctors in the group!
Once we arrived back at Chaa Creek, Mr. Awe gave a presentation on the history and culture of the Maya, from their origins as hunter-gatherers crossing the Bering Straits, to the decline of their civilization thousands of years ago. And just to make sure the campers were paying attention, he split boys and girls into two teams and gave a pop quiz at the end. It was a close call, but the girls scored higher by one point!
The first day at Chaa Creek Eco Kids summer camp began a little earlier
than expected for some campers. After all, it’s quite difficult to sleep
when a howler monkey troop comes roaring through at the crack of dawn!
“The winners were selected by Lucy Fleming (Chaa Creek co-founder) & Eco Kids organizer Roberto Harrison, categorized by districts and organized to meet at central points to be picked up by a Chaa Creek shuttle and transferred to the Macal River Camp,” said Mr. Harrison.
According to Chaa Creek founder and general manager Lucy Fleming, the innovative annual event gives Belizean youth an opportunity to learn about their natural world through a mix of adventure, social interaction, fun and hands-on education aimed at instilling a sense of wonder and responsibility for the environment.
You find all sorts of things when you Google “Belize”, and today’s discovery was a blog by a Kevin Edmunds, posted on the North American Congress on Latin America website.
The eco-campers had a chance to tour the operation and recognize many local plants, trees, herbs, and produce. They were also treated to some live action as we met the sheep, goats, chickens, turkeys, heifers, and even the bull. To top off the farm adventure, the kids had a chance to stick their entire arms into the compost piles, as Mr. Mick explained to them how everything in an organic farm is connected, right down to the animals’ feces! No wonder they all washed their hands so well before lunch. An afternoon filled with swimming, canoeing, and lots of fun in the sun has left this blogger’s brain on empty so we will let the pictures tell the rest of the tale.
After a delicious breakfast, the eco-campers began to collect leaves, plants, and many other interesting natural things they could use to create a unique cover for their jungle journal. These journals were not merely for presentation value as campers immediately began using them to write down contact information for their new friends, thoughts on the camp so far, and enlightening facts that they learned throughout the day, during their other fun experiences.
We are stewards of our home, Earth. Planet Earth is the greatest treasure God created and we need to appreciate it as our own kingdom of happiness. As guardians of our planet, everyone of us needs to make it our goal to protect and preserve all that our Earth encompasses. The forest, it’s flora and fauna, our rivers and seas, our atmosphere all depend on us, it’s inhabitant, to let it remain for our future generations. Becoming an Eco kid will give more reasons to want to care for our environment.
My name is Adreano Finnetty. I am currently a Standard 6 student attending Holy Redeemer Primary School in Belize City. Since I was born, I realized how fascinated I am with nature and the Earth itself. I have taken time and effort to learn as much as possible about nature: from the simplest of organisms, like flowers with the power of pollination; and, bugs which lay millions of eggs every single day; to animals of brute strength like lions and sharks.
Chaa Creek has had a rich past as an ancient, bustling ancient Maya community and trade centre, as a vibrant part of the early British Honduras chicle and logging industry and as one of the many farms supplying San Ignacio town before becoming home to Belize’s first eco-resort. As part of our commitment to Green sustainability, all of us at Chaa Creek are continually promoting greater environmental awareness and respect for the things that make Belize so special.
I want to be an eco kid because I love nature and would like to help protect the rainforest. When I visit the rainforest, the shade from the canopy of trees refreshes me, the smell of green trees relaxes me and the songs of the birds inspire me. I hope and pray that I might find and follow a jaguar’s paw prints on a trail or I may look up high above and see an owl staring back at me. I am lucky to have seen soldier ants carrying leaves to build their homes, pigs grunting by and howler monkeys hanging on tree branches, sounding like thunder. It’s amazing how the rainforest makes such a positive impact on little me.