By Belize Live News Staff: For Minister of Natural Resources, Petroleum and Mining Cordel Hyde, protecting Belize’s forests starts with the country’s young people.
That message was at the heart of an event at the Belize Zoo last week, where students from St Martin de Porres School learned about wildlife, forests, rivers and the people working to protect them.
The Ministry says helping young Belizeans understand the value of natural resources is a key part of safeguarding the country’s future. Keeping Belize green, it said, is about more than protecting land today. It is about raising a generation that understands what is at stake and feels responsible for protecting it.
Through partner booths and games, students saw how rangers patrol protected areas, how camera traps track wildlife, how fire threatens the forest and how sustainable farming supports healthy ecosystems.
The event was held the same day Belize celebrated adding more than 3,500 acres to the Belize Maya Forest Corridor, connecting the Labouring Creek Jaguar Corridor Wildlife Sanctuary and the Manatee Forest Preserve.
“The future of the Maya Forest Corridor belongs to the next generation, too,” the Ministry said.
