Audubon holds environmental summer camps

There is no shortage of activities to occupy children during the summer months and so organizations have had to get creative in order to capture children’s imagination. One organisation has come up with a new approach to summer camps. News Five’s Jose Sanchez reports.

Jose Sanchez, Reporting
Kids, exhausted from the classroom, are unleashing their energies onto neighbourhoods. But the free time has become an issue for parents who are worried about young minds idling at home. But don’t fear, the Audubon Society is one of many groups determined to occupy the youths’ summer holiday by taking them on constructive eco-friendly adventures. Whether they choose to attend a camp at St. Herman’s Cave Blue Hole National Park or deep in the country at the Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary, the Audubon guarantees an unforgettable experience.

Dirk Francisco, Publicity Coordinator
“The camp is entitled “Lights, Camera, Action” and the purpose of the camp is for kids to get into environmental journalism. It is something that is unheard of in Belize but it’s an opportunity for Audubon to foster journalism among young kids but more focusing on the environment. Because if the media was to look at the environment more. There would be more focus on conservation in Belize.”

The Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary is an overnight camp that kids are sure to love.

Dirk Francisco
“You get to go hiking, birding, if you spot a jaguar you get to be the luckiest person on earth, but there is that opportunity too since you’re at the Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary, the well renowned jaguar reserve.”

Jose Sanchez
“Are you sure it’s not the jaguar that would be the luckiest animal on earth to find a child?”

Dirk Francisco
“No, no. There is no danger and all of our camps are supervised by well qualified naturalists, our guides and our wardens at Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary.”

So instead of sitting at home, your child can learn how nature, development and people interact for better or for worse.

Dirk Francisco
“It’s an opportunity for kids to become scientists within the wetlands of Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary. A lot of people don’t recognize the importance of wetlands to the country of Belize. One of the first crucial importance of a wetland is that it absorbs water. Whenever a river floods, wetlands hold back that water. So it reduces flooding in other areas. Recently you would realize that a lot of places in Belize is being flooded. One of the main factor is the loss of natural vegetation. So, we would educate kids about this and have them see firsthand how the Crooked Tree Lagoon System helps to alleviate flooding in the Belize District.”

The Belize Audubon Society is also sponsoring a camp to Half-moon Caye and Blue Hole Natural Monument to explore the reef system off the shores of Belize. Spaces are limited so you need so get your child registered quickly. Reporting for News Five, Jose Sanchez.

The camps run from mid July to August. Please contact Dirk Francisco at the Belize Audubon Society for registration details.