As part of Reef Week, celebrated under the theme “Our Reef needs our protections for future generations,” several activities were held from May 11th to the 17th. The events were organized by Hol Chan Marine Reserve and included the participation of several stakeholders, environmental and wildlife organizations during the seven days of activities that were prepared for both residents and students on Ambergris Caye and Caye Caulker.
On Sunday May 11th, a Triathlon competition took place to coincide with the ending of the 10th Annual Lagoon-Reef Kayak Eco Challenge.
On Wednesday May 14th, Hol Chan Marine Reserve hosted their annual Trivia Competition. Two students from each school in Caye Caulker and San Pedro Town competed in three regular rounds and one tie-breaker. In the end, Veldeth Molina and Chelsea Rodriguez of Caye Caulker Roman Catholic School took first and second place respectively, meanwhile Kemra Rippon of The Island Academy settled for third. Veldeth won an iPad mini and a round trip ticket to Belize City via Tropic Air, Chelsea won an Andriod Tablet and a $50 gift certificate, while Kemra won a $100 savings account at Atlantic Bank and a school bag filled with school supplies.
The following day, primary school students and community members were invited to join Hol Chan Marine Reserve at the Annual Reef Fair held at the Central Park. Various environmental and wildlife organizations had the opportunity to showcase some of the work they do in the community. On display was art made from trash, a touch tank with living marine animals, a turtle nesting display area, and many fun games and educational booths.
Activities concluded with a beach cleanup of the turtle nesting sites on Saturday May 17th in the Robles and Rocky Point areas just in time for the 2014/2015 turtle nesting season. The cleanup was timely since the Ambergris Caye Marine Turtle Monitoring Program is reporting that in the first week of the nesting season, they have found two turtles.
The staff at Hol Chan Marine Reserve would like to thank all those schools, students, residents, businesses and stakeholders who helped in making Reef Week 2014 a huge success.
