Belize

I (Aaron) went with a group of 11 adults on a scouting expedition for a potential middle school trip. The emphasis of the trip is to compare global climate change between Colorado and Belize and look at similarities between the two areas. Both have significant problems with pine beetle, regional temperature fluctuation and changes in precipitation distribution and intensity. The World Leadership School based in Denver and operating in several countries in Latin America is organizing the logistics and my school would partner with a Belizean school. The students would correspond with Belizean students through online video conferencing and email prior to the trip to Belize. I have to weigh all the options before determining whether I will sponsor a trip to Belize.

We spent over a week in the mountain region near the Guatemalan border, in a La Democracia village in the center of the country and then spent some beautiful days on a nearby island called Tobacco Caye. We explored the scientific evidence of global climate change in the region and anecdotal evidence from locals. We hiked to some local waterfalls, swimming pools and viewed many gorgeous wildflowers. I spent two nights with a local family and explored their lives and heard many stories of unprecedented floods and later wet seasons and longer dry seasons. The Belizean people are giving and hospitable. As we closed the week, we took a water taxi to Tobacco Caye and spent a few days on the small island surrounded by coral reefs. We snorkeled throughout the cayes and enjoyed seeing beautiful fish and exploring the mangrove islands and visited a few sea bird rookeries.

It was a great week and I am looking forward to bringing Graland students together with Belizean students. It is an innovative idea.