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Do you know what the number 350 is all about?
Right now there are 387 parts per million (ppm) of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere. To reduce the negative effects of climate change we HAVE TO get this number to 350ppm.
An organization called 350 is asking for actions to be taken all over the world to raise awareness for the need to reach this goal. Belize Botanic Gardens were contacted by Nathaly from 350 to ask if we could put the 350 idea into our environmental education message, so we decided it was a great project for our summer high-school programme Conservation Certificate.
Suseli Macu, Isael Mai and Marielita Tzib created the work of art seen here from found objects in the garden. This beautiful work of art was made from leaves, fallen flowers, seeds and vines collected from around the Belize Botanic Gardens.
Creating natural art is a wonderful activity to engage in and contemplate the effects of climate change, BUT nothing will change unless we change our ways. Change the way that you use your world, today!
Need ideas?
Search for climate change. Two sites that I found are: http://www.worldwildlife.org/climate/item3796.html and http://www.wecansolveit.org/content/solutions
Monday, February 18, 2008
3rd Caribbean Botanic Gardens for Conservation Conference in Havana, Cuba.
The 3rd CBGC Conference was held March 24-28 at the National Botanic Garden of Cuba. Dr. Angela Leiva Sánchez (see photo left), who is the General Director, Ing. Madelaine Vázquez Gálvez, the Executive Secretary and all the JBN staff conducted a useful and enjoyable conference. The highlights of the agenda being tours of the garden and a trip to Pinar del Rio to see many Cuban plants in situ.Representatives from gardens of Caribbean destinations such as the Dominican Republic, Belize, Cayman Islands, Trinidad & Tobago, Venezuela, Colombia, Mexico and Cuba attended as well as gardens from as far as Spain, England, Ireland and New York. As always, the conference was attended and assisted by the Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI).
The major outcome from the Steering Committee meeting held at the end of the conference was the decision to link Caribbean botanic gardens through a project that focuses on Target 8 of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC).
All the targets of the GSPC are relevant to the work of botanic gardens, but none more so than Target 8, which aims to have 60% of threatened plant species in accessible ex situ collections, preferably in the country of origin, and 10% of them included in recovery and restoration programs.CBGC hopes to achieve this through a 3 part project. First, access the progress Caribbean gardens have made as a region in fulfilling the GSPC. Second, develop regional Red Lists. And last, enable Caribbean botanic gardens to better care for their conservation collections by training garden staff in horticulture techniques with a particular focus on propagation of threatened species.
The GSPC was adopted under the Conservation on Biological Diversity (CBD). If you are unfamiliar with the GSPC and CBD, I urge you to follow the links and learn more!
4th CBGC Conference scheduled to be held in the Dominican Republic at the Jardín Botánico Nacional,Dr. Rafael Ma. Moscoso in 2011.
We hope to see you there!
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Mickey the Clown and Art in the Park
Yesterday BBG took seeds, leaves and art supplies to the Macal River Park for kids to create plant-iful puppets, masks and cards of their own design. Joining us was Mickey the Clown who came all the way down from California to entertain the kids with songs and dances. Mickey the Clown represents the Save the Earth Foundation and his songs include conservation messages such as Creeko the Frog who wants developers to consider that what might good for frogs might be good for people too, a song about what rivers might say and encouraging kids to eat all the food on their plate. This was Mickey's third show in San Ignacio as he put on free shows for the lucky students of St. Andrew's Primary. At the park Mickey even got the grown ups in on the act, Gene Prigge from Wisconsin amused kids with his impromptu fitness routine.
Thanks, to Mickey the Clown and Save the Earth Foundation for bringing your act to San Ignacio!
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Puzzled about Belize Botanic Gardens.
People who want to help Belize Botanic Gardens grow can help put us together piece by piece. Supporters buy a piece of a puzzle that was painted by local artist Yvonne Dignard. The puzzle is located at the deck at duPlooy's Jungle Lodge where you can purchase a piece of the puzzle and put your name on the donor board. When the puzzle is complete BBG will have $5,000.00US to build a (much needed!) new orchid nursery that will allow us to better care for our most important conservation collection and redesign the native orchid house.
$3,000.00US To our environmental education program at Belize Botanic Gardens to fund local school field trips to the garden and lets us take our education program on the road to schools and public events, such as the annual Agricultural Show.
$2,175.00US for repairs and improvements in the botanic gardens as part of our work towards our masterplan (roads, paths, benches, signs, a mixed border below the orchid house).
You can contribute by purchasing a puzzle piece for US$25, $50, $250 or $500.
The puzzle was created by San Ignacio artist Yvonne Dignard.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
The Grow Native project at Belize Botanic Gardens is now complete. Come and see our 3 new gardens: the fabulous new native entrance garden, the colourful butterfly garden and the wild bat and bird garden. All chock full of gorgeous native plants, many of which are available for sale at Belize Botanic Gardens!
educational material about growing native plants: a brochure that explains why it is good to include native plants in your garden and a booklet (Grow Native Belize, A gardener's guide to growing with natives) with suggested native plants and growing tips. If you would like a brochure or booklet, just call Heather at 824 - 3101.
All of these wonderful accomplishments are thanks to funding that was provided by the Stanley Smith Horticultural Trust. We express our heartfelt thanks to the trust and to all the staff at Belize Botanic Gardens that made this project such a success.Saturday, August 25, 2007
Belize Botanic Gardens has a masterplan!
Thanks to Craig Houston and Utah State University, Belize Botanic Gardens finally has its very own masterplan. We are really excited about this accomplishment because having a masterplan means that we are able to move forward and develop in a more organized fashion with a collective goal that everyone can access. This should make planning and planting the garden a lot easier and far more clear.
Peter Kumble and Elizabeth Brabec USU's Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning visited Belize Botanic Gardens in August of 2006 with USU students including Craig Houston. At that time Craig was looking for a masters thesis project and by the end of the visit he agreed to make it BBG.
We can't thank Craig (pictured at right) enough for all the hard work he put into creating the BBG Masterplan. Craig was easy to work with, patiently listened to the opinions, ideas and dreams of all the staff, adapted the design to our needs and limitation and was all around professional and great person to meet.We are especially grateful that he created the masterplan design in tune with our vision for the garden. The final result was officially presented July 2007 and we look forward to implementing one step at a time.
Friday, April 06, 2007
BBG says farewell to the Xate Project with a Palm-stravaganza
Saturday, March 31, 2007 marked the final day of the 4-year Darwin Initiative funded Xate Project and it went out with a bang!
The Palm Fair included a miniature house with crafts and products made from palms, information on xate and its cultivation, tamales made from Peach Palms (home grown at Teakettle Enterprises), coconut water (fresh from the garden), products for sale by the San Antonio Women's Group and a table where children could pot their very own xate palm to take home.
There were also tables of plant materials set up for kids to make a lot of crafts (and a big, fun mess!).
But, the best part of the day was the Xate Display Contest. Primary to High School students competed to make the best floral display using xate leaves, flowers, seeds and other plant materials.
We were amazed at the results! Not only were the creations attractive, they were immensely creative. There were flying fish, heliconia birds and even a tiny plant person laying in a garden bed. Judging was hard as everyone deserved prize for coming up their unique display.
But, we had to chose and the winners were as follows:
3rd Prize: Melissa Canton, a standard four student from United Pentecostal in San Antonio. Melissa was awarded a $50. 00 gift certificate for books and school supplies, a $10.00 gift certificate for ice cream and a BBG t-shirt.
2nd Prize: Merlin Mendez, a standard four student from Santa Elena Primary School. Merlin was awarded a $150. 00 gift certificate for books and school supplies, a trip for four to “Tropical Wings”, and a BBG t-shirt.
1st Place: The grand prize winner who came to register bright and early and stunned the judges with his originality Eric Mazin, a standard six student from Howard Smith in Benque. Eric was awarded a $200. gift certificate for school supplies and books, a $50.00 gift certificate to “Back to My Roots,” an all expenses paid field trip for his class to BBG and a tree planting for his school!
On behalf of the Belize Botanic Gardens, congratulations to all of the students who participated in the contest and thanks to the teachers, parents, volunteers, and staff who made it possible. We knew plants are necessary for our survival providing us shelter, food, medicines and the very air we breathe; but who knew they could inspire creative works of art and be so much fun!
What's all this xate talk, anyway?The Darwin Initiative xate project focused on Chamaedorea palms known as xate. The species Chamaedorea ernestii-augusti is currently unsustainably harvested from Belize's forests. Learn more about it here.
Natural History Museum (NHM) of London was responsible for the Belize xate project. NHM worked with the Belize Forest Department doing the serious science. Their job was to figure out how much xate there is in Belize's forests, where it is and how healthy the populations. They provided much needed data and recommendations on the situation of fishtail in Belize and the effects of illegal harvest.
Meanwhile, at BBG, our xate work was focused on education and sustainable cultivation of xate in Belize. As part of the project we worked with Ya'axche Conservation Trust to produce the xate cultivation manual, we developed interpretative plots in the garden and just beside the botanic garden set up demonstration plots of organically grown xate.
But, the best part of our work was the outreach and education. We got to work with other community organizations like the Itzamna Society of San Antonio. Amigos de El Pilar in Bullet Tree and YCT in Toledo. BBG visited many schools in the Cayo area, had many classes visit us at the gardens to learn about xate as well as all kinds of wonderful plants. BBG also participated in education events around the Cayo district, like National Agriculture Show (where we will be again later this month, come see us!).Though the project is over, BBG will continue to be available for advice on sustainably growing xate and hope that this method soon replaces the current unsustainable harvesting of our forest products.
So long, and thanks for all the fishtail!
This was the first large project BBG was involved in and it was a great experience. We learned a lot enjoyed getting to work with and know people from the organizations named above. As we sign off on the project we would like to dedicate two rounds of applause in thanks. One to Dr. Nancy Garwood, for including us and another extra special round to Dr. Sam Bridgewater for coordinating the project and encouraging the BBG at every turn! Thank you!
Monday, March 19, 2007
Keeping Traditions Alive at Belize Botanic Gardens
Belize Botanic Gardens is proud to present Traditional Knowledge Tours.
Lloyd Chan and Leonila Mai, both of San Antonio, Cayo, run the tours and share what they know about vanishing arts such as roof and broom making using only plant materials, weaving with sabal palm leaves, plastering with lime as well making popular food items like recado from achiote, cohune oil and tamales.
Doing things 'the old-fashioned' way often takes a little more time and a lot more elbow grease and so many traditional methods are abandoned with each passing generation. But, it is important to keep this knowledge alive because languages and local knowledge are becoming lost amidst the homogeneity of globalization.
People all over the world hold a wealth of unrecorded information that has been passed on through the generations. It can help research of useful plants, help us understand plant properties and cultivation, help local communities improve their well-being through the use of plants and enrich our lives with diversity.
If you would like to join us, contact duPlooy's Jungle Lodge at 824 -3101. Visitors are charged $70Bz per person, which includes lunch, transportation to and from San Ignacio as well as the tour. Members of the local communities of Primavera, Corozalito, Cristo Rey and San Antonio are able to join us at no cost.
Belize Botanic Gardens was able to start this program as part of the Darwin Initiative funding, which funded the first 3 tours. After March the tours will be run by duPlooy's Jungle Lodge at BBG.
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
BBG is for the Birds (and Bats)
2007 has started out with a bang, for the birds, at the Belize Botanic Gardens. Martin Meadows reports the following unusual sightings all occurring before the first month of the new year was even over:
On the bird list but not your everyday birding fare were a male Pachyramphus major: Gray-collared Becard and a female Trogon collaris: Collared Trogon.
New feathered friends were a Brown Violet Ear Hummingbird, Colibri delphinae which was seen enjoying feeding on the flowers of the Dombeya (Pink Ball, Tropical Snowball) bush. The 'Birds of Belize' book map shows that this hummingbird has a restricted range in the Maya Mountains with two outside sightings, one at Hillbank and one for Southern Lagoon B.E. The text '...suggest that this species is prone to wander seasonally...' which this sighting would confirm.
We are very excited about two big birds which may be returning to the area the first sighting of Crax rubra: Great Currasow and the first of the year for Meleogris ocellata: Ocellated Turkey this year. A male Ocellated Turkey originally appeared in early of 2006 followed by 9 juveniles in July and 6 juveniles in October! We hope to see a lot more of these guys.
We know it is a mammal and not a bird but we are throwing in some fun bat news for kicks. Tent bats have set up residence off the duPlooy's deck making themselves a cozy abode by creating a fold in the leaves of a Give and Take palm [a fabulous palm with nasty thorns that take our blood if we grab it wrong, but give us leaves for brooms (as seen in the Plants of the Maya display) as well as a cottony substance that can staunch our blood (for instance when we foolishly grab a give and take thorn)].
Thursday, November 30, 2006
It is time to....Grow Native, Belize!
Every day more and more natural habitat is replaced by development and birds, butterflies and animals lose food plants and safe places to live. But we can all make a difference by making the garden in our home, school or business a place that is beautiful for people and provides for wildlife. We can do this by growing native plants (such as the lovely Asterogyne palm to the left).
Belize Botanic Gardens can teach you how to do just that, thanks to funding of the Grow Native, Belize project by the Stanley Smith Horticultural Trust. Among other things the project increase the number of native plants available in the nursery at BBG and print and distribute a brochure promoting the use of native plants and a booklet about which native plants to use and how to grow them well. The project begins January so keep checking the website for updates and more information on how you can grow natives!
Thank you, Stanley Smith Horticultural Trust!
