In our country Belize we need to educate the people more about healthy, clean and Eco friendlier ways of living in order to have a beautiful Belize. We as proud Belizeans should stand up and let people know the proper ways to dispose garbage and other waste. We need to reuse, like reuse plastic bottles or old tires to plant different plants in. Reduce, reducing the amount of electricity you use or water, instead of using an automobile walk or ride a bike. Limit the amount of gas you use because the car exhaust is damaging the ozone layer and making more hazardous rays coming in and being trapped in our atmosphere making it hotter.

A couple years ago my father was diagnosed with Lupus, I saw how he was living by taking so much medication daily and from a strict diet and that has inspired me to someday be a herbalist and our forests are very important for me to achieve this. In order to do this, one must go into the forest and collect samples of different vegetation that are out there and bring them back to the lab for future studies. Someday I plan to play a big part in finding the cure for diseases that are affecting our society like HIV, cancer, lupus and other diseases that don’t yet have a cure.

Here at Chaa Creek, the site of an ancient Maya settlement containing over 70 recorded Maya sites including pyramids and plazas, we support and encourage further research into Maya habitation. We also welcome our guests to explore the Maya archaeology of Belize and discover this fascinating, enigmatic civilisation for themselves. Who knows? Future discoveries may well be made by someone who became interested in this fascinating culture while exploring the 365 acre Chaa Creek Nature Reserve and visiting our Natural History Centre.

After Holy Week in April, Belize has a succession of festivals. There is the Cashew Festival and the recent Cacao Festival in the month of May. Both festivals were about food and cooking. The next big celebration is the Lobsterfest in June.

The international climate change forum recently held in Belize is another sign that the small Caribbean country is serious about being part of a global solution, according to Chaa Creek GM and Environmental Initiatives Director Lucy Fleming.

It is now clear that Maya traders paddled huge dugout canoes filled with cacao, jade, obsidian, cotton and other trade items up and down the coasts of Mexico, the Yucatan, Belize and Central America. In 1502, Ferdinand Columbus, the son of Christopher, reported coming across a huge Maya canoe with 25 paddlers carrying cargo and passengers.

During the week of July 23 – July 31, 24 lucky kids aged between eight and 13 years old will get the opportunity to learn first-hand about their incredible natural heritage and, most importantly, learn how to protect and ensure its survival for their own children’s wonder and enjoyment.

Mick Fleming, organic farmer and naturalist, talks with a school teacher and a Nun from Belize City about helping them start an organic garden to grow food on a plot of land behind their school. The students had come to Chaa Creek Lodge for a tour of Chaa Creek’s Maya Organic farm and orchards, Natural History Center and the Lodge’s Blue Morpho Butterfly Farm.

Do you know how to cook red beans? Check out this Belize Recipe on how to make refried beans for breakfast.

What was amazing to me was that everything I wanted us to see, feel, live and experience on my vacation was right there in front of me, the best way I could describe it is that it looked like it was all the “Beauty of Belize” in one place.

A couple enjoying their honeymoon in Chaa Creek Eco resort. While wondering through the tropical forest, the husband, a responsible tourist reminded the wife, the not so responsible tourist, not to litter. Their first fight as married couple about being green

Belize is particularly suited to this growing trend of enriching your mind and spirit while relaxing the body with stress free, healthy activities. With one of the most diverse eco systems in the world per square mile, Belize packs lush jungle and rainforest, the Maya Mountains, beautiful rivers, the Mountain Pine Ridge and the Great Belize Barrier Reef (the second largest in the world and home a Jacques Cousteau favourite, The Blue Hole), some of the world’s biggest atolls and almost 200 small islands, known as cayes, between its borders. Known as the Heartland of the Maya, Belize’s Maya heritage can still be appreciated by exploring beautiful ancient temples such as Xunantunich or the huge metropolises of Caracol, Tikal and other cities of the old Maya Empire.

Lush, tropical air of the rainforest fills my lungs while the songs of the jungle mute life’s lingering background noise. Belize transports me from the dizzying cityscape of home to this natural world, taking control of my beleaguered soul and replenishing my spirit. Canoeing down the Macal River or biking along jungle trails near the foothills of the Mayan Mountains exhilarates my sense of responsibility for this place- a need to take care of this special land in the same …

After working so hard here at home with everyone doing their jobs, plus me helping them all while I do mine- it can be a little bit much at the end of a day. That makes me think that it would be pretty cool- just to forget all that for a few days, and escape to the beach as if I don’t have a care in the world or a pile of laundry to return home to. Sometimes, we forget when we are adults- how beautiful the life we have is!

Belize’s attitude toward the environment should be applauded. The folks at Chaa Creek are passionate about nurturing the environment “ albeit with a smile, and a chat about local customs. As a result, Belize remains at the forefront of eco-tourism. I can’t wait to go back.

After the photoshoot was done we wanted to celebrate so all 4 girls went at Chaa Creek for lunch. Here I had the best desert I have ever eat in my life: cheese cake with mango something. I don’t remember the name because the 4 of us name it at the time: OMG Cheese Cake! Seriously, you need to go to Chaa Creek and try it!

Ecotourism is a movement that respects the established culture and ecology making the temporary contact between traveller and resident a long-term winning strategy for both. However, there is no reason that responsible travel must be associated with primitive food and lodging. Chaa Creek is impressive with their emphasis on a ‘wildly civilized’ vacation opportunity. The eco-lodge offers relaxation and comfort with the assurance that a holiday in Belize is one that also respects and maintains the fragile rainforest and rich local culture.

DO NOT MONKEY AROUND – Be mindful of your actions and maintain appropriate behavior when you are the visitor. It is okay to have fun, but not at the expense of others.

There’s something about summer in Belize that fosters feelings of romance and togetherness. Maybe it’s the lush greenery after the winter dry season, or the effect of the cool Caribbean Sea breezes, the amazing summer sunsets, or the slower pace of the summertime months. Whatever the reason, amor is in the air, and here at Chaa Creek we’re declaring a Summer of Love.

Today’s grandparents seem to be a little bit more creative and adventurous than those of previous generations, and want to spend more time with their families away from the television, computers, X Boxes, PlayStations and other modern distractions to enjoy time together in nature.