BELIZE
Climate Change Program

About Belize

Belize is English-speaking, peaceful and easy to navigate. But, most of all, Belize is beautiful. Wedged between the jungles of Guatemala and the mint-green waters of the Caribbean, Belize begins up high with mountain rain forests and streams that tumble down to drier coastal savanna. These bio-rich forests are a key part of Central America’s wildlife corridor. They are home to thousands of species, including scarlet macaw, kinkajou, howler monkey, tapir and puma. Nearly 40 percent of Belize’s land area is protected as wilderness.

Palm beaches and mangrove swamps line Belize’s coast along with thousands of white, sandy cayes. These diminutive islands, often no larger than a tennis court, are the launching point for exploring the most important barrier reef system in the Western Hemisphere. Belize’s reefs teem with yellowtail snappers, sergeant majors and 300 other fish species. As a dive destination, they are second only to Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.

Issues

Few countries are being hit harder by climate change than Belize. Changes in temperature and rainfall patterns are altering Belize’s watersheds and affecting the forest ecosystems. Certain animal species like lizards and frogs are dying off and, scientists say, may be signs of larger problems to come.

Belize’s world-famous barrier reefs are also struggling. Over the last 15 years, nearly half of the reefs have withered to skeletons of white, lifeless rock. This phenomenon, known as “bleaching,” is caused by rising ocean temperatures, increased exposure to sunlight and a greater frequency of violent storms – all of which are symptoms of climate change.

Belize is a laboratory not only for climate change’s problems, but also its solutions. Two of the world’s leading climate change research centers have been recently established in Belize. The country’s forests, which absorb millions of tons of carbon dioxide each year, serve an important role in mitigating climate change. U.S. energy companies are investing millions of dollars to preserve Belize’s forests and offset their own carbon dioxide emissions.

But Belize’s potential to clean the world’s atmosphere is undermined by another problem: poverty and “slash-and-burn” farming. More than a third of Belize’s population lives under the poverty line and often in isolated, rural areas that are ignored by Belize’s government. There are few funds for schools or clinics and even fewer jobs. As a result, farmers cut down trees, burn undergrowth, and plant subsistence crops to feed their families. Children have little chance of becoming educated or finding a job. Under these circumstances, they seem likely to continue the circle of poverty and forest destruction.

Read some recent trip blogs here...

Solutions

The World Leadership School Belize Climate Change Program takes a multi-faceted approach to understanding climate change. We study climate change around the world and see its specific effects in Belize’s three main ecosystems – rain forest, coastal savanna and barrier reef. We also meet with climate change scientists at two of the world’s leading climate change research centers, the Caribbean Community Climate Center and the Smithsonian Institute's Western Caribbean Marine Research Station.

Finally, we work and live in a Belizean community (see below, Community Case Study: Democracia) in order to understand how one community is struggling to overcome poverty and, at the same time, preserve their local environment. Our service project will be designed and coordinated by local students and financed by money we raise before the trip.

As with all World Leadership School programs, there is an important leadership element. Local leaders from the town will work with our group and provide valuable models of leadership. We study how they lead and also use self-assessment tools to help us become more aware of our own communication styles and how we interact with others. Our goal is to become more aware as leaders, understand what we need to work on, and begin articulating a set of personal leadership goals.

During the program we explore Belize from its mountain watersheds to the mint-green waters of the Caribbean. We canoe part way down the Sibun watershed, snorkel over coral reefs, and spot for macaws and tapirs in the rain forest. Our final few days are spent exploring the tropical scenery of a remote Belizean caye.

Requirements

There is no language requirement for Belize, as English is the country’s official language.
We require that students have a satisfactory level of physical fitness in order to hike, snorkel and perform light manual labor for service work.
Students are also required to fill out an application expressing their reasons for wanting to go on this trip and a detailed medical questionnaire.
We ask that students understand that the exact nature of their volunteer work will be decided according to the needs of the community when the trip is in Belize. Students should remain flexible to changing circumstances, delays and other hurdles that are common in Belize.
We believe that students get more out of service learning trip when they are prepared and feel a sense of personal investment. We work with schools to prepare students in a series of pre-trip orientations. We also ask each student to raise a minimum amount of money, to be decided with the school, which will be donated directly to the student’s volunteer project.

Community Case Study: Democracia

The village of La Democracia is located 30 miles west of Belize City and 20 miles east of Belmopan on Belize’s Western Highway. This rural Creole community was established in the early 1960s as logging camp to rebuild Belize City after the Category 5 Hurricane Hattie. Today there are 40 families (around 250 people) living in Democracia. Local industries include citrus agriculture, tilapia fish aquaculture, logging, and gravel mining. Some Democracia residents commute to office jobs in Belize City and Belmopan. 

Democracia’s elementary school serves 100 students, mostly from Democracia and the neighboring community of Mahogany Heights. The school is under-funded but thriving because of a dynamic and hard-working principal, Dyann Garnett. She is committed to improving the learning environment and upgrading the school's infrastructure. She has applied for and received grants for school projects. She plans and orchestrates fund-raising events involving parents and local businesses and arranges student field trips to other parts of the country. 

Garnett's vision for improving the school involves constructing a multi-purpose building that will serve first as a kitchen to supply meals for students who cannot afford lunch. This kitchen will eventually be staffed by volunteer parents and supported by local businesses. She also wants to set up a computer lab and library building, which will require internet-connected computers. Students need to be trained on how to use computers and the library will need shelves, books and a catalog system. The school also needs a playground, sports field, secure fencing and lighting.

When not in schools, local kids play soccer and basketball, ride bikes around town, and swim and fish in the nearby Sibun River. There are two active youth groups in the village, Roots 4H (modeled after the 4H clubs in the U.S.) and Guardians of the Jewel, an environmental group aimed at protecting and managing natural areas and natural systems in and around Democracia. We will be planning our service projects with these youth groups.

Sample Itinerary: Belize Forests to Reefs Program

Day 1: Arrive in Belize City. Transfer to rain forest sanctuary and settle into lodging. Orientation. Special night tour of Belize zoo.

Day 2: Transfer to rain forest retreat near the Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve. Hike to Big Rock Falls for Climate Change I discussion. Evening visit to Francis Ford Coppola’s Blancaneaux Lodge.

Day 3: Explore Mayan caves and river pools for Climate Change II discussion. Complete leadership self-assessments.

Day 4: Visit Caribbean Climate Change Center and speak with local scientists. Arrive in host community to begin service work. Play sports with local students. Begin home stays.

Day 5: Service work, day 2. Descend Sibun River by canoe and identify wildlife. Discuss local leaders and leadership styles.

Day 6: Service work, day 3. Community dinner and Sambai drumming-and-dance workshop.

Day 7: Boat transfer to South Water Caye Marine Reserve. Snorkeling lessons. Visit barrier reef for Climate Change IV discussion.

Day 8: Visit Smithsonian’s Western Caribbean Marine Research Station and speak with local scientists. Snorkel and explore lagoon in search of dolphins.

Day 9: Rest and relax on beach. Snorkel. Leadership wrap-up and goal setting.

Day 10: One-on-one evaluations between students and teachers. Transfer to Belize City for flight home.