Backyard Beauty Amazes Belizean Kids
11/1/97
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Headline: Backyard Beauty Amazes Belizean Kids
Source: This article is provided from the Rainforest Alliance's Conservation
Media Center, based in San Jose,Costa Rica. For more information, contact Diane
Jukofsky or Chris Wille, Rainforest Alliance, Apdo. 138-2150, Moravia, San
Jose, Costa Rica; Phone: 506-240-9383; Fax: 506-240-2543; Email:
infotrop@sol.racsa.co.cr
Date: 11/1/97
Toledo, the southernmost district in Belize, is the least populated and,
not coincidentally, holds most of the nation's natural bounty. The steep,
forested slopes of the Maya Mountains, which straddle the border with
Guatemala, encompass a third of the region. South and east of the
mountains' limestone foothills are farmlands cultivated by the Maya for
most of the 20th century. Off Toledo's Caribbean coast are mangroves,
scattered islets called cayes, and unspoiled coral reef.
The district is a melting pot of Belizean ethnic groups: Mopan Maya, Kekchi
Maya, Gar'funa, Creole, and Hispanic. The Maya make up some 60 percent of
the population, and that number is growing, as more and more immigrants
cross over from Guatemala in search of land to farm.
Ecologist Wil Maheia is a Toledo native who is determined to reach his
neighbors with the message that they should understand, appreciate, and
safeguard the region's beauty and natural riches. Since 65 percent of
Belizeans are under the age of 18, he focuses on the next generation of
custodians, teaching them about their diverse environment.
"The youths from the upland towns have no idea what's happening in the
coastal areas, and coastal community youths don't know how upland people
live," he says. "If our youth are exposed to the natural and cultural
environments, they will appreciate them even more."
Last summer, as part of a Belize Center for Environmental Studies program,
Maheia led three field trips for young Toledo residents, bringing kids from
coastal towns to upland villages and vice-versa. With support from the
Ministry of Tourism and the Environment, the Ministry of Natural Resources,
and the Human Resources Department of Belize and The Nature Conservancy in
the United States, more than 60 youngsters had a chance to explore their
neighbors' backyards.
Outing destinations were two coastal fishing communities and a third site
upland, near Deep River Forest Reserve. "We took them on side trips to
different villages, where the community leaders talked to them about their
ways of life," recalls Maheia. "We ate with local families, which was
interesting for the youths from Punta Gorda, the largest town in the
district, who had never before eaten in a Maya home. And the young Maya who
visited the coastal villages had never eaten in the home of a fisherman."
Local residents met with the young visitors in the evenings, while Maheia
led discussions "about everything from slash-and-burn farming to fishing,
from macaws to manatees."
At a logging site in the Deep River Forest Reserve, the youngsters had an
on-the-ground lesson in economics and forestry management. Maheia reports
that one girl, upon examining a felled, 100-year-old ceiba tree protested,
"Do you mean that the government gets only $13 on a tree like this? I
totally disagree with this logging business." Maheia hopes to make the
field trips annual events.
Meanwhile, working with the Toledo Institute for Development and the
Environment, he continues to preach civic pride and environmental
awareness, holding meetings in community centers and taking youngsters with
him when he patrols the cayes for manatee poachers.
He recounts a comment made by one of his campers, who wrote in his journal:
"I never thought we had such beautiful cayes. I thought only the Bahamas
had like this."
Contact: Wil Maheia, PO Box 150, Punta Gorda, Belize, tel/fax 501/72-2111