Eco Kids Summer Camp 2019 Day 2: Biodiversity & Conservation

Day 2 – Biodiversity And Conservation

Day two of the Belize Eco Kids Camp was a fun filled day of activities based around teaching the kids about the importance of protecting Biodiversity. The eco kids woke up at around 6:30 a.m. to the chirping of the birds and the bright sunlight peering through the canopy of the rain forest above. The first activity of the morning was the daily morning muster, this is where the campers gathered around in a circle to sing songs and play games; making sure everyone was fully awake and ready for the long day ahead. Mr. Levi explained to the children the day’s activities and made sure they all had the necessary clothes and items for the day’s activities.

Following the morning muster, at around 7:30 a.m. the little troopers jumped right into Bird watching with Mr Alex and Mr Mishack, two of Chaa Creek’s wildlife tour guides. Equipped with them they had a telescope and many pairs of binoculars. The eco kids took took turns watching through lenses of the telescope as Mr Mishack spotted humming birds, toucans, a collard aracaris, and motmots. Mr Alex explained the importance of protecting the different species of birds and their habitat to have healthy thriving rainforests in the future..

After going birding the troopers marched back to camp and sat at the dining hall to have breakfast. The first meal of the day consisted of fried bacon and eggs with soft flour tortillas all prepared with love by talented cooks at the camp’s kitchen. After everyone had finished their delicious meals, the campers gathered with their respective groups for arts and crafts. For this activity they created journal books decorating them with fossil leaves and other little items collected from Mother Nature.

With arts and crafts scratched of the list of the day’s activities, the eco campers gathered their necessary belongings and snacks for the next activity that required lots walking up and down steep hills. In a single line formation the eco kids walked along in amazement of the steepness of the hills and the large tree roots that lay across the trail as obstacles on their way to the natural history museum. Many of them eagerly kept asking “Are we there yet?”

Arriving at the top of the hill where the natural history museum sits, the campers had their break time; and ate snacks that consisted of a juice, biscuits and peanuts. Shortly after they were split into two groups, where one walked into the museum with Mr Alex and the other went down to the butterfly farm with Mr Mishack. At the natural history museum Mr Alex displayed a collection of skulls consisting of a crocodile, opossum, ant eater, gibnut and other small mammals. There after they moved to the history of Belize section where they learned about the first inhabitants of Belize, the Maya. Many stone artifacts such as pottery and flint knives and jewelry were in display. The last section inside the natural history museum was the snake section, where Mr Alex explained the different snakes species and the venomous and dangerous ones such as the coral and fer de lance.

The next stop was a few minutes walk down to the Butterfly Farm, where the kids learnt about the life cycle of the butterfly. Inside the farm they were delighted by the great amount Blue Morphos flying around showing off their beautiful iridescent blue edged with black wings. Mr Alex gave them a quick pop test to recap on the material he explained, which resulted in laughters as some had already forgotten since they were too caught up admiring the Blue Morphos.

Lunch time came around and the campers all had their happy meals which consisted of a tasty beef burger and a tres leches pudding dessert, all courtesy of Chaa Creek’s restaurant.

With their energy levels recovered, the troopers marched along forested trails until reaching the Eco swimming pool where they were instructed by Mr Levi on water safety procedures. There after the eco kids jumped in the water one by one, splashing at each other as they got in. The reminder of the afternoon was lots of fun in the sun, playing games such as “The water is Lava.” Where they all rushed to get out of the pool; whereby the last one out lost.

At around 3:30 p.m. the little troopers picked up all their belongings and marched along the river trail back to camp. Lots of fun awaited at camp as Mr Levi had prepared games such as John Wayne, where there are three to four acting as police officers and the rest as bad guys. The police officers chased after the bad guys tagging them with rubber balls in an attempt to lock them all behind bars. Other games were the Butterfly that required each group (Monkeys, Howler Monkey, Toucans and Tapirs) to run together in a caterpillar fashion, then wrapping themselves around as cocoons and finally dressing like a butterfly. The first team that properly finished all the steps and cross the finish line won. This was a good way to apply the knowledge gathered from the butter fly farm activity.

After all the excitement and fun the campers went to their cabins to grab their essentials before taking turns at the showers. Soon after around 5:30 p.m. everyone gathered at the dining hall to have supper which consisted of stewed pork chops and mash potatoes, which they all enjoyed. Shortly after dinner they all formed a circle inside the dining hall to act out skits and to play fun games. Much joy and laughter was observed until it was finally time to call it a day. All the eco kids said their good nights and the lights were turned off, with much expectation of what the next day’s adventures had in store.

 

More photos of Day 2:

Photos courtesy of Nadir Price Photography