School children work for manatees
When a Belizean manatee crosses the border north into Chetumal Bay, he doesn’t check in at customs. Likewise for Mexican manatees heading south. That simple example is just another way to remind us that in nature political boundaries are meaningless. Today an activity in Belize City provided the same message. Patrick Jones reports.
Patrick Jones, Reporting
Put a group of standard four children in a room with an ample amount of paint and paper, and it’s usually a recipe for chaos; but these St. Ignatius Primary School students are getting a hands-on lesson in manatee conservation. Consul at the Mexican Embassy Fernando Torres says it’s a good way to spread the word about environmental consciousness.
Fernando Torres, Consul, Mexican Embassy
“Environmental issues are becoming more important each day all over the world and what better effort to let our kids know what are the problems now in order that they too can handle them tomorrow and preserve all the environment tomorrow. Children are a precious part of this effort of the conservation of nature.”
Under the watchful eyes of Cecilia Elizondo, Public Relations Officer for the Mexican conservation group, ECOSUR, the children spent a couple of hours away from the classroom this morning. And by the time they left the Mexican Cultural Institute, they had made their mark on a photographic exhibition, and hopefully understood more about these gentle creatures.
Cecilia Elizondo, Public Relations Officer, ECOSUR
“Here they are painting and the idea is that we are going to have a big art, that we are going to hang it in the background of the exposition. It’s going to be here for two weeks and we have also photographs from manatees and everything. And they are painting the Chetumal Bay and Corozal Bay, and the idea is to show how the manatees in Chetumal and the manatees here in Corozal Bay have a relation because of the environment because of everything.”
Torres says today’s field trip for the St. Ignatius students and the two-week exhibition, stem from the almost simultaneous rescue of baby manatees a few months ago in Belize and Mexico. Conservationists in both countries are now working to save the lives of not only the two infant mammals, but the rest of the species that populate the coastal waters of Belize and Mexico.
Fernando Torres
“It’s very important, not only in the case of manatees. We have a lot of species in danger of extinction. Several varieties of turtles for example that we are trying to preserve in special kinds of like sea lions in Baja, California in the Gulf of Mexico and several other species of the jungle or tropical forest that we are trying to protect. Manatee is one important part of those efforts.”
By letting the children get hands on involvement in creating the centre piece of the exhibition, Elizondo says will make them feel more a part of the effort to protect these sea-going mammals.
Cecilia Elizondo
“The things they are writing is: our commitment is to protect the environment. So they understand that the only way for the manatees to survive is to have a clear environment, a good environment.”
And with that message implanted in the minds of these energetic young people, organisers of the exhibition hope that the children will play and important role in influencing behaviour that will make the discovery of mangled manatees a thing of the past. Patrick Jones, for News 5.
The photographic exhibition on manatees opens tonight at seven o’clock at the Mexican Cultural Institute.
