Designed to study the reproductive biology and to determine if the Central American River turtle could be bred in captivity, the Hicatee Conservation & Research Center opened in 2014 and was met with immediate success when, in the summer of 2015, the first seven hatchlings emerged. This was followed by five hatchlings in 2016, 84 […]
We are wrapping up another incredibly rewarding year of hosting field courses at the BFREE Field Station. 2019 brought seven colleges and universities from the US and one from Belize. Altogether, just over 100 students and 20 instructors spent between 4-10 nights at BFREE. They could be found immersing themselves in the jungle hiking both […]
Jacob Marlin and BFREE were honored in 2017 by the Heirloom Cacao Preservation Initiative when BFREE cacao was designated as the 11th heirloom variety in the world. William Garcia, Lead Avian Tech, was selected to participate in the 2012-2014 cohort of Caribbean Emerging Wildlife Conservation Leaders program. Liberato Pop, Avian Tech, was awarded an internship […]
Day 1 Belize City/ Tropical Education Center Arrive at the International Airport in Belize City where you will be greeted by BFREE Program Director. Lunch will be at a local restaurant for your first taste of Belizean cuisine. Travel another half hour along the Western Highway to the Tropical Education Center (TEC) adjacent to […]
BFREE’s programs provide an important supplement to the curriculum and are possibly the only formal conservation message that students and teachers receive. BFREE outreach is offered in the form of classroom visits and field trips, both to the field station and to other educational facilities in Belize, like the Belize Zoo. Programs target specific conservation messages to students of all […]
BFREE offers content specific study abroad experiences called “field courses.” Designed in collaboration with the school instructor, these courses range in length from one week to three weeks and are structured to encourage participants to actively engage with and appreciate their natural environment. Learn about “Birds, Chocolates, Forests” a new field course offering in 2017! Courses are […]
In order to engage student groups in long-term educational and research projects and data sets, BFREE’s Education Committee created scientific curriculum packets. The goal has been to identify questions that are principal to BFREE’s mission – to conserve the biodiversity of Belize – and are amenable to the development of field activities and research for […]
Integrated Community-based Harpy Eagle and Avian Conservation Program Between 2006 and 2014, BFREE and the University of North Carolina at Wilmington established and implemented an intensive Harpy Eagle and avian monitoring program onsite in the BFREE private reserve and in the Bladen Nature Reserve.
BFREE is beginning to realize a long time dream; creating a multi-layered, standardized base mapping system of the entire 1,153-acre property! Under the guidance of Alexis (Lex) Thomas, Director of the GeoPlan Center at the University of Florida and the BFREE Science Committee, the project is well underway. The large-scale mapping project will culminate in […]
Author, Amy Treonis, Department of Biology, University of Richmond, Richmond, VA Introduction Leaf cutter ants are unmissable denizens of the rainforest, and a visit to BFREE is not complete without spending some time observing their activities. Leaf cutter ants live in complex, agrarian societies. They harvest leaves, bring them back to their underground nests, which […]