News
Scaling-Up Local Stewardship: A Summer of Listening, Learning, and Advancing Freshwater Conservation in Belize
By Jaren Serano, Dermatemys (Hicatee) Social Scientist During my work as Dermatemys (Hicatee) Program Coordinator, I focused on ensuring the Conservation and Management Plan for the Hicatee turtle was finalized and approved by stakeholders including the Belize Government. Through this process, I became particularly interested in the human dimensions of the conservation program for the…
Read MoreBFREE Staff Adventure 2024!
In recognition of a successful field season, fifteen BFREE and Crioco staff members participated in an exciting two-day trip. We chartered a bus, so that we could slowly wind our way along two of Belize’s beautiful highways – the Hummingbird and the Coastal. We took our time as we searched for waterfalls, animals, caves, farms, delicious…
Read MoreBillboards installed across Belize share a very important message, Save the Hicatee.
By Robynn Phillips, BFREE Engagement and Communications Coordinator BFREE, our committed partnering organizations and this year’s Hicatee Awareness Month Planning Committee are excited to announce that two (2) billboards have been strategically installed along Belize’s Western Highway. The billboards were printed and installed by Big Signs Belize at the following locations: Mile 47, George Price…
Read MoreNew Cacao Operations Manager
Congratulations to Mr. Elmer Tzalam. He has recently taken on the new role of Cacao Operations Manager for Crioco Cacao, LLC. This is well-deserved promotion for Elmer. He has been a faithful employee to BFREE for over ten years. Elmer began working with BFREE in June 2011 as the project’s first cacao farm worker. Prior…
Read MoreDocumentarians visit BFREE
Professional photographers, videographers, and documentarians Jorge Silva Rivera and Carlos Miguel Herrera traveled from Chiapas, Mexico, to BFREE for 10-days in February 2022. Working with Zamia Media, the pair set out to document the people, facilities, wildlife, and natural beauty of BFREE. Zamia Media will then use the images and videos captured during their time to…
Read MoreFrom Seeds to Trees
A couple of years ago, the Jobillo tree next to the house where I live at BFREE, began dropping flowers. The dry season was in full force, so it must have been around May when I noticed the first bunch of delicate, perfect, pale, white blooms. I collected a few out of curiosity and asked…
Read MoreCelebrate the 5th Annual Hicatee Awareness Month!
Please join BFREE and the Hicatee Awareness Planning Committee in celebrating the 5th Annual Hicatee Awareness Month this October! The Hicatee turtle is the only living species in an ancient family dating back 65 million years. This turtle has outlived the dinosaurs! Unfortunately, the Hicatee now faces a high risk of extinction due to overhunting. …
Read MoreCongratulations Drs. James Rotenberg and Vibeke Olson on your retirement!
Congratulations to long-time BFREE supporters, field course leaders, researchers, and adventurers, Drs. Jamie Rotenberg and Vibeke Olson on their recent retirement from the University of North Carolina Wilmington. Extraordinary husband and wife team, Jamie and Vibeke, have been visiting BFREE for nearly two decades as professors bringing field courses, as researchers, with their graduate students,…
Read MoreBFREE’s Bounty of Birds
For the past three years, BFREE has had Harpy eagle visitors in late February. So that means we are spending a lot of time looking up! Scouring the tops of trees like Ceiba and Prickly Yellow where we’ve seen them previously perched in hopes that 2021 will be good to us. We’ve recorded 20 separate…
Read MoreEducational materials shared with young Belizeans across the country!
By Ms. Ornella Cadle, Hicatee Awareness Month Committee Coordinator Each October, BFREE ambassadors and partners visit schools to present on Hicatee Awareness Month. Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, outreach looked a bit different this year. While traveling to various schools for outreach wasn’t a safe option, we wanted to ensure the incredible resources still reached…
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