PACT TO DEVELOP AN ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATIONAL STRATEGY

January 05, 2007

The Protected Areas Conservation Trust, PACT has solicited the assistance of two entities for the development of an environmental education strategy. University of Belize’s Doctor Vincent Palacio and the Belize Audubon Society are working together to develop the strategy. We spoke with Belize Audubon Society’s Anna Hoare.

Anna Hoare:

“The Environmental Education Strategy will really provide the direction for Protected Areas Conservation Trust to finance environmental education in the country that is one of the objectives. As you know Protected Areas Conservation Trust finance conservation in Belize and they also finance environmental education.  Basically the strategy will provide the guidance and the guidance for them to fund activities that are truly reflective of environmental education in the country.  We are working with the stakeholders of the various groups, from NGO’s to the formal sectors such as pre-schools, primary schools secondary schools, and tertiary institutions as well as other groups such as community based organizations, the churches, private sectors. So we are consulting with them to ensure that an environmental education strategy is very comprehensive and covers all aspects of environmental education.” 

Hoare says the Belize Audubon Society has had environmental education as one of its main objectives since its inception.

Anna Hoare:

“The Belize Audubon Society is one of the formal environmental education organizations.  We have been doing environmental education even before environmental education was really started in the country, you know, even before environmental education was a field per say. Really one of the objectives of the Belize Audubon Society was to do environmental education and that started way back in the sixties when you look at environmental education when you look at environmental education all around the world you will see that a formal tradition was not provided until about the early eighties. So if you see, an organization like us – the Belize Audubon Society – has been doing work in that area for a long time and it continues.One of the pillars of the organizations is that we aim at educating Belizeans in general and we will continue to do that.

Anna Hoare, of the Belize Audubon Society. A workshop has been planned for next Wednesday in which those who attend will go over the guidelines of good environmental education programs. nyone interested in environmental education is invited to attend. The Workshop will take place at the Coastal Zone Management Conference Room in Belize City.

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