Earlier this summer, our students took an educational trip with Miss Heidi Wilkinson to Belize. This science-related trip gave the students a unique look at the climate, culture, and wildlife of Belize. Here are some recounts of their experiences...
See photos from the trip on our Facebook page.
Yesterday we traveled to a local organization and everyone planted two fruit trees. We stopped at a local restaurant for lunch then headed to pelican beach resort, which is a beautiful place. We topped off the night with some cultural dancing and drumming.
Last night we attended drumming school, ate a traditional meal of fish cooked over the fire and saw a beautiful sunset!
Yesterday, we spent most of the day on the beautiful, Crystal clear water! We took a 45 minute boat ride out to the islands, swam, snorkeled, and observed sea life. Snorkeling was amazing! We went to Punta Negra for lunch on the beach and to visit a small school with only 2 students on a remote area with no road. We then went out again on the water and were able to spot some wild manatee before heading back to shore!
Making chocolate butter directly from the tree! Delicious!
Eating coconut from the tree at the cacao farm.
My favorite so far! We visited a remote Mayan farm where we drank coconut juice and saw cocoa trees. Then we headed to a remote Mayan chocolate making farm where we ate delicious tamales. Then we got a taste of Mayan culture by making tortillas, grinding chocolate, making fans out of plants, and participating in a traditional Mayan dance. We finished out the day with a walk to the store, a swim, a delicious dinner, and a group game. Tomorrow will be our first day on the sea!
Visiting the Ya’axche’ Conservation Trust.
Swimming in the ocean at sunset!
Visiting the Mayan ruins
After lunch we surveyed our insect finds (and the eel), learned about bats, had dinner, and went back down to the river where bats had been collected to play echolocation games in the dark and observe the bats!
We spent the rest of the day at TREES. These are apple bananas - sweet like an apple but texture of banana. Best I’ve ever had! We learned about turtle telemetry and surveyed the types of insects in the river. One of the boys from another school in our tour found this tiny frog and let us hold it! We didn’t see the turtles but we did track them. They were buried in the mud! We had lunch and dinner here, washed our own dishes, and observed the local organic farming of tropical plants.
We are with a group of a total 36 travelers, with groups from Utah, Missouri, Colorado, and Indiana. The trail is 8 different zip lines with mountain hikes in between. They views were amazing! They all did a great job!
Visit the Belize Zoo.
Everything is going well! After a good breakfast we hiked into the jungle for some zip lining. Everyone participated, and the views were great!! After lunch we help with a river study by looking for turtles and collecting river specimens. We even caught an eel! After diner we observed the bat studies and got to see/touch one up close. Pics coming when I have better reception! Tomorrow we head to our new hotel and will get to experience some Mayan culture.
We started off today with a nice breakfast and zip lining through the jungle. Everyone participated, and the views were great! After lunch we did some river studies. We looked for turtles, and collected big samples. We even captured an eel! After dinner we observed their bat studies and got to see/touch a bat up close! Then we wrapped up the night with a swim. More pics coming when I have better reception!
We had a great first day between the zoo, great local food, and checking in to our little oasis. Pictures are having a hard time loading now but more later!