Last week we made a surprise visit to Bishop Martin R.C. School in the Santiago Juan Layout, San Ignacio Cayo. Principal Abimael Waight, teachers and 468 students happily welcomed the pack-a-pound program team.
Although the 2015 Eco-Kids SummerCamp is officially over, the lessons learned and the knowledge obtained about how to be ecologically sustainable and responsible will never leave the campers. But, more importantly, the bonds these campers made with each other, the counselors, and the Chaa Creek staff are now well molded!
The journey of knowledge continued on Thursday at the Eco-Kids Camp as the campers learned about land conservation. After breakfast and arts and crafts, when the kids constructed their own wallets made of reused cardboard and recycled tape, they were summoned to the Chaa Creek Maya Organic Farm for a tour with big boss himself Mr. Mick!
Today the campers went for a guided tour of the Ixchel Medicine Trail here at Chaa Creek with some of our naturalist experts. Before the tour started, the naturalists gave a short presentation and show and tell on the importance of medicinal plants, how to use them, and how they help make medicine today.
For arts and crafts time today, the campers focused on the definition of the three R’s of conservation: reduce, reuse, and recycle. With used bed cloth and recycled plastic bottles, they learned that they were reducing the number of bottle huggers and bags that people buy, as they made their own packs to carry water bottles and other small trinkets they may want! More importantly though, they had fun designing their own articles of fashion with their team mates and counselors.
The eco-kids campers started the first full day of camp early Monday morning around the campfire singing traditional Belizean songs. Under the guidance of the resident expert eco-artist Miss Lilly Jones, each camper made their own “jungle journal” from recycled materials, which they will use to take personal notes on each day’s activities.
Upon arrival at the camp grounds the Eco-Kids were assigned to both their cabins and their teams for the week. The Tapirs, Toucans, Jaguars, and last but not least, the Howler Monkeys. Then they were all assembled in the dining area to design their team flags with paint and markers. Most of the campers were ecstatic when they learned that their hand and footprints were eligible to go on their team flags!
Our Pack-a-Pound initiative gives our guests an opportunity to donate school supplies to classrooms in Belize. The procedure to donate to this cause entails substituting one pound of luggage for one pound of school supplies or by sending school supplies to Chaa Creek via mail. Chaa Creek would gather school supplies, pack them off by pound and then distribute to the schools and students who need it most.
The month of May is known to be education month in Belize, so with that in mind and as part of our community outreach and education programs Chaa Creek’s Naturalist Guides set out on a journey to conduct the annual “Butterflies on the Road” program.
The holidays are over, you’re stressed out and the winter blues have set in. It’s time to get away. As you start to plan your vacation, do you consider how much good your trip could do for others? Some of the world’s most breathtaking destinations are now being managed sustainably, which means that in addition to benefiting your own mental health, your next trip could also benefit the environment and local communities. Here are 10 reasons to travel sustainably:
Although they’re far to the north, the Canadian newspaper the Globe and Mail sounds close to Chaa Creek in Green philosophy, so we’re happy that they gave us special mention in a feature entitled: “Did you just book a green hotel (or was it green-washed)?”The article warns travellers to be discerning when booking a “Green” hotel; as for some it’s just a marketing ploy and doesn’t show a real commitment to sustainability.
The steady rise of eco-tourism as opposed to the more traditional model is just the tip of an iceberg of a rising service industry geared towards satisfying customer demands to “do the right thing”, according to the owner of Belize’s first eco-resort.
The owner of the Lodge at Chaa Creek said that the eco resort’s inclusion in a recent USA Today travel guide “bucket list” is good news for the nascent Belizean tourism industry, and further proves that environmentally sustainable, Green tourism can provide a high quality travel experience. Lucy Fleming, who with her husband Mick started Chaa Creek by accepting guests at their small family farm in a remote part of Belize in 1981, said that recognition such as USA Today’s provides an important boost to the Belizean tourism industry, which since it’s relatively recent inception has struggled to achieve name recognition in the highly competitive Caribbean travel industry.