Meet Anita

Many would see a rather large, hairy, eight legged creepy crawler, but we here at the Nab simply see Anita, the newest addition to our community. Jesse found her and has a particular fondness for her, insisting when we named her that “it has to be a girl name so I can have a relationship with it.”…….. whatever that means. She resides on the porch of the boys’ cottage in a lovely trashcan (a temporary home) that has been equipped with a bottle cap of water, twigs, and fresh bugs caught for her every night. Whether she’s taking naps on our hands, resting on our heads, or pooping on our arms, Anita has become the 17th member of our little family here in Belize.

Tyler Brown's Internship Report

by Tyler Brown

Kings Children Home has always been dedicated to assisting children in Belize who have lost their parents through death, have been abandoned, abused, or neglected helping them to become healthy, upright, and productive citizens.  They teach through Biblical example and instruction, fostering personal relationships between the children and God.  They hope to provide the opportunity for the children to have a meaningful life in a caring environment.   I was able to three weeks helping out at Kings which allowed me to see more of the true Belizean culture rather than just what the tourists see, it also helped me better understand the people and especially the language.  I was very amazed at the amount of order that was kept in the Home even though there were some fifty children living there.   My role while I was there was generally to help in the kitchen, preparing food or cleaning up around the place and also spending time with the children doing tutoring, having conversations, or simply playing with tem.  Since I have been there I am proud to say that I think I can cook rice from scratch and not have it be sticky or crunchy, and can understand Creole, the local language, far better than I could before. 

Erin True's Internship Report

by Erin True

During the three weeks that I spent as an intern I worked at two places.  For the first two weeks of the internship I was able to work at Mount Carmel Primary School with Mrs. Wade’s standard two class.  While I was there I spent time teaching, grading, and providing individual instruction for the students.  Form this I was able to learn how to prepare lesson plans and grow in my understanding about classroom management.  The second part of my internship was spent at Marla’s House of Hope.  This is a home for children who have been abused.  Many of the children have come out of the sex trade. Currently there are fourteen children who live at Marla’s.  While I was there I was able to help with cleaning, tutoring, and playing.  In the morning I helped clean the dishes and the floors.  Later I would help the older girls with their homework.  After that I would play with the younger children and try to keep them away from the television.  From this experience my heart for children was able to grow.  Many of my priorities were changed during this internship.  I learned that when I am gone it will not matter what kind of car I drive or what I where but if I can help a child the world may be a better place.  

Belizean Worlds Project

Environmental History uses stories to illuminate the changing relationship between people and nature.  The Belizean Worlds Project presents the stories of those who have lived in the region and experienced its pleasures and frustrations.  These people shaped, and were shaped by the contours of the landscape.  Here we present the mental and physical worlds of a few who perceived and valued the land in different ways, wrested a living from its resources, and came to understand the possibilities and limits of God’s wonderful creation.

The World of Captain Yallahs

by Jesse Borden

Sailing on the high seas, raiding, pillaging, killing, fueling the black market, hiding and dodging capture were all elements of the life of the notorious pirates that were the first European settlers in Belize. Captain Yallahs was one of these whose story captures some of the typical characteristics of the legendary pirate life. Yallahs was a Dutchman, who sailed for years as a pirate with the other British buccaneers. However in 1672 he accepted a large sum of money to switch his allegiance to the Spanish, and for many years he was employed by the Spanish to raid British ships and steal their valuable cargo of logwood and mahogany on its way back to Europe. He was a very successful pirate and captured at least a dozen different British ships for the Spanish. In fact, he was so good at his job that the British hired Captain John Wilgres to hunt him down. However Wilgres soon joined the buccaneers in their pirate ways and never went after Yallahs (www.historyhuntersinternational.org).

So what does all of this have to do with environmental history? Well, Yallahs was part of the pirate culture, in a specific time in history, and so represents a specific mindset and way of life that had direct impact on the environment of that time. The three elements of looking at him in regards to environmental history are the natural history of the environment the pirates were found in, the human modes of production being utilized, and their perceptions of the world around them (Worster, 289-307).

The natural environment of these pirates was the coast of Belize. Belize’s coastline is made up of a limestone shelf, which is very porous. This allows the water from the ocean and land to travel and remain underground and thus not flood the land (Sutherland, 1-2). This landscape also means that the coastline is made up of lagoons, mangroves and intricate mazes of rivers between these things. In fact mangroves are found in Belize up to thirty miles inland (Sutherland, 3). These bays, lagoons, and river channels provided an excellent hideout for the pirates ambushing other ships of running from them. These rivers and lagoons were lined by thick forests, which were the source of the valuable logwood and mahogany being exported to Europe.

These forests, as the source for the timber being exported, play right into the modes of production that surrounded the pirates during this time. The primary structure for production and money making was the logwood industry between Britain and Honduras. Though the triangle trade was certainly a part of this system of trade, the logwood industry, “unlike the triangle trade…sailed directly back and forth across the Atlantic” (Finamore, 40). And this back and forth trade was the main means of production that the pirates were part of. However, though this legitimate business was the foundation of the pirates work, they then took this already established mode of production and used it to engage in trade on the black market. They did this by raiding ships already full of valuable cargo, and selling the cargo they found on the black market, often in Jamaica. So they were engaged in the illegal mode of production that was a branch off of the logwood industry.

All of this then adds up to give the perception of value that the pirates had for the natural world. I think that the primary characteristic of Yallahs', and other pirates, perception of the natural world would be selfishness. Their entire view of nature was from a place of selfishness. Nothing was valued for its beauty, but purely for how it could help them get rich. Their drive was simply to gain money however possible. This is seen so clearly in the fact that Yallahs had no loyalty to any one nation, but just worked wherever he could make the most money. Thus, nature was something to be used and taken advantage. The forest was only worth anything because it was the source of logs that they could then sell for money. The lagoons, mangroves and rivers were not valuable watersheds that contributed to the bigger ecosystem, but were simply good places to hide or transport goods. So pirates in general had a very anthropocentric view of the environment. Thus they did not really care about protecting it, or using it in moderation. Yallahs, and most pirates, operated in a mentality that was about using whatever you could to benefit oneself in the moment. So, these wild-sea-faring pirates were very much a part of environmental history, as are all peoples and cultures and civilizations. All of us are in some way or another connected to the environment and dependant on it.

A Belizean lagoon, a possible hiding place for pirates like Yallahs.

A typical buccaneer (pirate).

Pirates engaging in raiding another boat.

Sources:

Finamore, Daniel. Pirate Water, Sailing to Belize in the mahogany trade.The Boydell Press in association with the National Maritime Museum

Sutherland, Anne. The Making of Belize Globalization in the Margins. Westport: An Imprint of Greenwood Publishing Group, 1998. 1-150

Worster, Donald. Doing Environmental History. 289-307

www.historyhuntersinternational.org

The World of Thomas Potts

by Christine Prins

Thomas Potts was born in 1740 in England.  In his 20’s, he moved to Belize (then British Honduras) in hopes of becoming a successful logwood cutter¹.  He arrived on St. George’s Caye, Belize in time to sign Burnaby’s laws.  This was a set of codes outlining the rules for owning logwood, and later mahogany, works².  Within a few years of faithfully cutting logwood for England, Potts and 11 other rich white men owned 4/5 of the loggable land in Belize³.  He then became a magistrate for the local government of St. George’s Caye in 1790.  During his service as a magistrate, the Battle of St. George’s Caye broke out between the British settlers and the ruling Spanish government⁴.  Potts encouraged the settlers to abandon the Caye, but he instead was ousted from his position on panel.  He continued his logwood operations and obtained much wealth until his death in 1806.

Logwood is a skinny tree of no more than a foot around and is armed with sharp thorns on its branches.  The branches grow entwined in each other create a scraggly mess that is difficult to pass through.  The bark is a light blue-gray color and the leaves are quite small and round.  It is located along the banks of rivers, lakes, and lagoons and also in any wetlands.  It requires squishy, damp soil and thrives in brackish waters.  The swampy Northern Belize has ample amounts of logwood, but there also some available in south along rivers such as the Sibun.  The heartwood of the tree is removed and used as an extract for clothing dyes.

Another operation similar logwood that settlers like Potts also endeavored is the extraction of Mahogany.  Once the supply of logwood exceeded demand, the price dropped so much that there was no longer much profit.  The settlers shifted to a more difficult but more profitable industry of Mahogany cutting.  Mahogany is a tree prized for its beauty in furniture and is shipped in whole log form instead of in pieces.  Mahogany grows deeper in the forest and requires more scouting to locate trees in the interior.  

Logwood is cut from the tree.  The small trunk size makes it easy to remove.  The white sapwood is stripped from the deep red heartwood.  The pieces of heartwood are then put on to trucks to haul to the river banks.  On the river, the logs are put into cradles that are buoyant enough to float down the river and prevent the logwood from getting wet.  When the river meets the ocean, the logwood is loaded onto large ships headed towards England.

Mahogany trees are cut down with more effort as the trunks are much larger. Because the trees are located deeper in the forest, transport is more difficult.  The logs are carried by truck from the cutting site to the river.  When conditions are too wet for the truck the logs are put onto skids that drag the logs through the over the mud.  On the banks of the river the logs are squared off and sent floating down the river.  At the mouth of the river, the mahogany is loaded onto a ship bound for England⁵.

Settlers like Thomas Potts came to Belize for one purpose:  profit.  They wanted to set up operations to remove what they saw as a precious commodity and then move on to the next plot of land.  A quote from Miller’s An Environmental History of Latin America sums up the values of these English settlers:

However, one European response was universal.  Above al else, humans want to know nature’s utility.  The first question regarded what was edible…The second question was whether or not nature could be packaged, processed, traded, shipped, and turned a profit.⁶

These people were simply consumers of the land.  They didn’t understand the cultures surrounding them or the history of the land they were on.  All they thought about was their hopeful profit and whatever means it took to get it.  They had a method of taking over land, stripping it of its precious commodities, and then moving on without care or concern about what it did to the environment or the people who still had to live on the land. These men really did have dollar signs over their eyes.

An example of prime logwood growing location.  The New River Lagoon, Orange Walk, Belize.

A map used to map out the logwood Territory.  Also displays the idea of land us for a profit.

The logwood processing:  removing the heartwood from the Sapwood.

Thomas Potts

¹www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1g1-146215368.html.  27 March 2008.

²Burdon, John Alder.  Archives of British Honduras. Sifton Praed and CO, London.  1931. Pp 100-107

³Bolland, Nigel and Assad Shoman.  Land in Belize 1765-1871.  University of the West Indies, Jamaica.  1977.  Pp 15, 19

⁴ambergriscaye.com/forum.  27 March 2008

⁵Morris, D..  The Colony of British Honduras.  London, 1883.  Pp 47-49

⁶Miller, Shawn William.  An Environmental History of Latin America.  Cambridge University Press.  Pg. 67

The World of Maria the Slave

By Brindley Beckwith

Maria was a female slave convicted of murder and sentenced to death, she was later commuted to transportation in 1826. Although, regarding history, her story is familiar to some, it is more important to understand the background of slavery in Belize and the way of life for people like Maria. The main reason that slavery became a big part of Belize was because of the logging economy. This started in the 18^th Century and went on up until the late 19^th Century.

Slavery in Belize was very different from other parts of the world, even the Caribbean because the slaves in Belize were used mostly for logging, instead of sugar production and work on plantations.[1] This meant that slaves in Belize worked in scattered gangs in the forests, separated from their families in Belize City. The interesting thing about Maria's life is that because slavery was so distinctive in Belize, the roles of males and females were entirely different.

As described by Bolland[2], Maria would have been left behind in Belize city to live with a family, her role could be a variety of these mentioned washerwomen, housemaids, servants, chambermaids, cooks, seamstresses, nurses, or bakers. Women were more subject to violence and punishment by their owner because they were always around and vulnerable to abuse without their men around. While Maria would be taking care of the domestic work and being under close watch of her master, the men would most likely be out in the forests.

Bolland[3] mentions how the experience of slaves in Belize was different from others because their role was timber extraction. This meant a continual shifting of location, smaller groups of men working with each other, and the masters treated them very differently. They did not need to supervise as much because of the smaller groups and he had less authority and no need to use much coercive power, which is a drastic difference to the role of masters in a plantation setting.

Because slaves had some control and power in numbers they became fairly confident at times and did stage numerous revolts. Bolland mentions that slaves would go as far abortion, suicide, murder, desertion, and revolt to escape from slavery. Maria was one of those, she just wanted to be free and felt like there were no other options.

This is an example of logging in the 1800s. It is a long, hard process with a lot of different jobs. This picture shows the axe men’s job, which is to cut down the trees. This job was not easy and fairly dangerous and the axe used was heavy. The axe men stood on a springy platform a "barbecue" about 12 or 15 feet high. 

This image shows slaves being auctioned off upon arrival in Belize City. The majority of them came from Africa, but there was also a mix from West Indies and others that came through Jamaica. Especially in Belize, when working in the timber industries families were split up. Women and Children would go with families to do domestic work, while Men would be grouped with a few others to work primarily on logging, with occasional agriculture work.

[1] O. Nigel Bolland, Assad Shoman, “Land in Belize 1765-1871” The Foundation of Settlement, ch.1,p. 25-27

[2]  O. Nigel Bolland, “Slavery without Sugar” Diversity in Caribbean Economy and Society Since the 17^th Century, Ch.2, p.44-45

[3] O. Nigel Bolland, “Slavery without Sugar” Diversity in Caribbean Economy and Society Since the 17^th Century,Ch.2, p.36,39

The World of Cole Chamberlain

By Liz Thaete

            After being “discovered” in the late 15^th century, the New World became host to a procession of European immigrants ready to impose their ideologies onto the native way of life.  Come the second half of the 19^th century, the Latin American coastline was now receiving a multitude of immigrant ships not only from Europe but also from the now established States as well. These immigrants flocked to the foreign coast with plans of harvesting and cultivating the rich environment for the end means of a hefty profit1. Cole Chamberlain, a confederate immigrant of the 1860s who tried to start a sugar plantation, was one such hopeful.

            One of the overarching truths of the invasion of the New World was that humans were curious about the newfound utility of nature, and were determined to turn a profit from it.2 The disunity from nature that ran prominent in the mindset of Cole Chamberlain’s world stood in stark contrast to the Native Americans whose culture ran deep with reverence for and unity with nature. Where the Mayas saw sacred land that was to be used only as necessary, the Chamberlains saw a perfect strip of dirt that would suffice perfectly for a logwood or sugarcane stand. 

The then British province of Belize became home to many such logwood and sugarcane harvesters, and the New River was at the heart of the despoliation. Running NS along the forested wetlands of Northern Belize, the New River was first home to the flourishing Maya city of Lamanai. However, with the 19^th century came the flood of immigrants such as Cole Chamberlain. Setting up mills along the river’s edge and enlisting the labor forces of the natives, sugarcane became a bountiful profit for the money-hound immigrants.It is easy to perceive such immigrants as villains; however, it can also be said that they were merely a product of their world around them. With fellow confederate immigrants such as Charles Swett sending back success stories of a profitable land3, and with no cultural upbringing that would elicit a unity with the land, it is no wonder so many hopefuls carelessly exploited the lush environment for their own gain.

Figure 1. The New River that runs through Northern Belize, as seen above, provided rich soil for harvesting sugarcane along the banks as well as a means of transportation for exporting the cane.

Figure 2. This sugar mill found at Lamanai, which was a primary means of processing sugar out of cane from 1860-1880, has since been overtaken by a Strangler Fig.

1 Swett, Charles. A Trip to British Honduras and to San Pedro, Republic of Honduras.1869

2 Miller, Shawn, W. An Environmental History of Latin America.Ch.2: Nature’s Conquest

3 Swett, Charles. A Trip to British Honduras and to San Pedro, Republic of Honduras.1869

The World of Heinrich H. Dueck

by Stephen Cupery

         So how after all did the Mennonites, in their varieties of communes come to the small out-of-the-way country of Belize – or British Honduras, as it was know then?  And how have they kept so unique and intrinsically distinct religiously and culturally, despite certain societal modifications?

         The current settlement of Spanish Lookout just only a few miles north and east of our campus here began with sixteen venture dairy farmers and families (mostly from Canada or Pennsylvania) coming to the Cayo District with intentions to plant a business for commercial agriculture in addition to finding adequate space to practice their Christian faith. 

         Among those was a gentleman by the name of Heinrich (pronounced Henry) H. Dueck who took the active role as manager for their newly created entrepreneur enterprise simply named “Western Dairy”.  It has always been an important part of Mennonite farming history. Farmers in Spanish Lookout, a now Progressive-Order, got more and more the idea, that dairying should be tried here in Belize as well. But how is that possible in this tropical country?

         Interestingly enough, their company evolved, expanded and adjusted fittingly to the demand and economic pace of western Belize and beyond.  This progressiveness was found dissatisfactory to some though, as persons such as Henry Friesian left the Lookout heading south to found the community of Barton Creek Mennonites, who practice a more traditional ascetic, simpler and socialistic commune.

         Heinrich and his “modern Mennonite” entourage nonetheless kept growing not only in health of community but also in prosperity.  They acquired used machinery from the U.S for increasing efficiency and productivity of farming, began and develop a cheese and ice cream factory, among other business-enhancing methods.  To this day, Spanish Lookout is seen for its westernized techniques and appearances, if not slightly eccentric albeit respectful practices in lifestyle and religion.  

The World of W. A. Bowman

by Autumn Brown

            W. A. Bowman was a banana plantation owner and supporter of United Fruit Company in the first decades of the 1900s.  Bowman and his contemporaries would have thought of the natural world only in so far as it could benefit them; it was a purely utilitarian relationship. They used the land in order to make a profit and had no concern for the ecological consequences of their actions. 

            As a banana plantation owner, Bowman would have bought a plot of land in Belize, clear cut and burned the forest there, and planted 170 banana trees per acre.  He would have had paid laborers to help him in this task; they would have likely been West Indian creoles, Mayans, “coolies” from the East Indies, or Caribs, a group that resulted from the intermarriages of Africans and Carib Indians.  These people would have been paid to clear the land, plant banana trees, and harvest their fruit.

            Bowman was a supporter of the United Fruit Company.  This multinational corporation’s rather blatant tactics helped it to form a strong monopoly on banana exports in the Caribbean.  They owned the boats that carried the bananas to the United States and used price cuts to force all competitors’ from that market.  They eventually got into growing bananas themselves, bought huge tracts of land, and forced small farmers out of the business by controlling prices.  The company bribed and intimidated government officials to ensure their company interests were not threatened (Moberg, “Crown Colony as Banana Republic”).  They had no respect for the land.  When Panama disease began to wipe out entire plantations of banana trees and no cure could be found, United Fruit used their considerable means to run from the fungus.  They would clear tracts of land, grow bananas there until the Panama fungus arrived (usually within five to ten years), and then move on, destroying whatever infrastructure they had made for their plantations before they left to prevent other farmers from using it (Tropical Determinism). 

          Bowman himself was forced out of the banana industry by Panama disease and moved on to citrus, ensuring that the land still gave him a profit.

    

 Figure 1: Bananas growing on the Nabitunich campus.  These are not the same species of banana that Bowman or the United Fruit Company would have grown.  American consumers during the 1920s demanded the exceptionally sweet and slow ripening Gros Michael and therefore the United Fruit Company grew only this type.  The monoculture of this particular species was a dangerous endeavor; it turned out to be particularly susceptible to the Panama disease that ravaged banana plantations across the Caribbean.  The bananas we typically buy today in the United States are the Cavendish species, which is highly resistant to the fungus that causes Panama disease.  (Miller, Tropical Determinism)

The World of C. Hummel

by Nick Voss

             The Forests in Belize, along with their precious Mahogany and Logwood have been long sought after items in the history of Belize. As the quest for these resources stretch back to the 1700s, it continued until the 20^th century. The social and political structures from the start of the logging exhibitions shaped the environment of Belize and would later result in the actions taken in consequence almost two hundred years later.  The actions of course, are conservation measures. From the 1700s, the land was viewed solely for its production, while English settlers continued to stretch their logging operations, they also gained economic and political power over British Honduras. While the Spanish also had their own logging operations, private ownership of the English eventually overpowered the Spanish, and took measures to hold their social status, as well as the land that they logged. The environmental consequences of the growth of this political system later on, in the 20^th century, led to near exhaustion of forest resources.1    

With the remnants of English private landowners now being major corporations, they owned half the lands in the colony in the early 20^th century. These were also the best forestlands in Mahogany, Logwood, and Sapodilla trees.1 The Government had to persuade the private companies to establish new logging methods in order to conserve the forest resources, as well as their source of economic stability, which is stretched overseas. Here, C. Hummel was appointed the first conservator of forests. He had experience in foresting from Britain, and now must interact with private companies developing new ways to go about their business to prevent the exhaustion and destruction of the resources altogether.2    

These new methods were based on scientific research, in knowing the nature of the forest, when and where to cut, instead of simply stripping the trees and shipping them away. Rather than continually expanding and invading new forests for Mahogany, which was the most expensive and valuable wood, loggers now had to remain within their land and manage it in a way that trees could also grow back, keeping a healthy ecosystem that will sustain trees that could continue to be used for logging in later years. One important question that was asked was, which trees absolutely needed to be taken from Belize, and what could instead be taken from within Britain, saving valuable resources and energy.3  

This aided the economic conservation as well as forest conservation. The biggest aspect was that of control. Control over destructive and limitless logging and tapping methods. Mr. Hummel later went from working for the forest department of British Honduras to being manager of the BEC. The BEC was the first company to actively make changes in their foresting, pioneering the way for many other private organizations. They also showed that its possible to maintain commercial interest while practicing sustainable forestry.  

The land of British Honduras was first perceived forests heavily in modes of production, ignoring the natural environment’s history, and ignoring all other values of the land, except for profit. The conservation efforts of Mr. Hummel led a change in these perceptions of the forest, including the history and values of the forest, but still retaining the mode of production as the main source of motivation. The forest industry and people of the English colony British Honduras still saw their production and profit most important, but with conservation efforts they applied it in a new way, creating an ideology that sustained the forest’s ecosystem, not for its own sake, but for future production possibilities and continued economic growth. However, This could also be seen as steps towards other conservation measures today, which conserve forests without logging intentions.

---

1 Boland, Nigel and Shoman, Assad. Land in Belize 1765-1851

2 Oliphant, J.N. Development of Forestry in British Honduras.

3 Oliver, J.W. The Indian Forester: Forestry, Agriculture, Shikar & Travel. Vol 23, 6.

1. Forests in Belize today are cut for logging, as well as cattle grazing (Pictured center) and agriculture. Forest conservation today serves economic and intrinsic value purposes through ecotourism.

2. Logs on the Belize River show how logging shipped Mahogany from forest to seaport in the 18^th century by English settlers.1. Foreign and Privately owned logging industries still exist today in Belize.

 

3. Foreign and Privately owned logging industries still exist today in Belize.

The World of Sharon Matola

by Kandice O'Grady

                 Sharon Matola was American born but is now a proud citizen of Belize. Matola is known for a variety of issues surrounding her passion for animals and the Belizean environment. Matola’s many noteworthy efforts to save the endangered Scarlet Macaw (including her book  “The Last Flight of the Scarlet Macaw”) her influential part in the Belize radio station, creating of the only zoo in Belize, and her strong opinion on the Chaillilo dam are only a few of the things that shape the character of ms. Matola. Sharon Matola is a strong out spoken women, so there are a few issues in Belize that really push her buttons.

     There is a plunder of controversy surrounding the economic and environmental impacts of the Chaillilo dam and being the biocentric women that ms. Matola is, her first arguments against the dam would be based on her passion for the environment. The environmental impacts of the Chaillio dam are devastating they include: hindering of reproduction and life cycles of reproduction and feeding of stream dwelling organisms, the chemistry of the stream is also greatly affected with the methane, hydrogen sulfide released into the water from the decomposing organic matter that isn’t able to receive oxygen. The dam does far more than just hinder the life of stream dwelling organisms but it has a whole other world of destruction for the creatures inhabited near the stream. The site of the Chaillilo dam that was flooded was the only known nesting site for the Scarlet Macaw. So this is where is gets personal for Sharon. The magnificent Scarlet Macaw that Ms. Matola is so passionate about may disappear due to the raping of its habitat. The dam also flooded an environment that a plethora of other creatures were dependent upon the stream area for food and for a place to call home.

    Just this information alone would be enough certainly for Ms. Matola and for many other people to reject the Chaillilo dam, however the economic incentives the Chaillilo dam brings to Belize do not even come close to justifying it’s terrorizing of the environment.

  Before touching on this issue it would first be important to point out the frustration that Sharon Matola encounters when arguing against the Chaillio dam. Sharon, being a Caucasian, American born woman Sharon faces the typical argument of “She doesn’t care about the people of Belize, she just a gringa interested in keeping the animals around to attract tourism.” Such a viewpoint towards Caucasians can be captured in the texts “New Missionaries” and “The Tourists are Coming,” by Trapasso. Belize history and present day life has been manipulated by eco tourism and the “environmentalists,” also sarcastically referred to as the “new missionaries.” Present day San Pedro has become so engulfed in tourism that the people who once called it home were displaced because of the sky rocketing standard of living. Through the “New Missionaries” text there is also an example of the Belizean people being displaced in light of environmental reasons. The Cockscomb jaguar preserve was created in 1984 in order to “save” the jaguars. This ultimately led to the displacing of the Maya people inhabiting the area, and ironically enough all the jaguars that were captured for the preserve died or were killed during that time. So economically speaking the Chaillilo dam was initially to be built in order that the citizens of Belize have cheaper energy, and in order that they would not be depending on Mexico for the entirety or their energy needs. Turns out that the dam is actually increasing the monthly energy bill for Belizeans, so now the people of Belize are left with billion of dollars on loans from the world bank (interest at 12%) a hurting river ecosystem, and a heavier monthly energy bill. Given all of this clearly Sharon Matola has a heavy heart, but even amongst the dark outlook of the Chaillio dam Sharon is still frustrated, but nonetheless is still outspoken about her passion for making life better for both the animals, and people of Belize.             

Here you see the Chaillilo dam  which flooded Belize's only known nesting site for the Scarlet Macaw. 

Sharon Matola pictured here in the Belize zoo. 

God and Nature 1

Do you know your place, ecologically speaking?  This is the question Steve Bouma-Prediger posed during God and Nature I.  To test our ecological perception of place, we took a quiz.  Here’s a sampling of the questions. See how you do.

 

1.      How many days until the moon is full?

2.      Describe the soil around your home.

3.      Trace the water you drink from precipitation to tap.

4.      Name five edible wild plants and five agricultural plants in your bioregion.

5.      From what direction do winter storms generally come in your region?

6.      Where does your garbage go?

7.      Name five trees in your area.

8.      Name five resident and migratory birds.

9.      What primary geological event or process influenced the land where you live?

10.    From where you are reading this, point north?

 

How did you do?  If we can’t answer these questions, we’re ecologically illiterate, despite of (or perhaps because of) our education.  Being good earthkeepers, however, requires that we not only know our place intimately, but that we also have ears to hear the “groaning of creation”.  The earth’s vital signs are not good.  Try this quiz.  No cheating…

 

1.      There were half as many people in the world today in the year

a)     1800

b)     1930

c)     1960

2.      If the number of hungry people in the world today were lined up shoulder to shoulder, the line would stretch

a)     from LA to New York

b)     around the world once at the equator

c)     around the earth 18 times at the equator

3.      Another species of plant or animal life become extinct

a)     every year

b)     every week

c)     every 8 hours

4.      Tropical forests are destroyed at the rate of 25 million acres each year, an area the size of

      a) metropolitan Chicago

      b) Rhode Island

      c) Indiana

       5.  The percent of people in so-called developing countries without adequate drinking water is

                  a) 10%

                  b) 25%

                  c) 50%

 

The answers are all C. Scary, eh?  Thoroughly depressing as these statistics are, as Christians we are called to hope not despair, and signs of hope abound. The Bible itself has a lot to say about caring for creation and more and more Christians are starting to cultivate an “earthy” faith.  Yes, there is bad theology out there but it is being countered by good theology, a theology that affirms that humans are called to serve and protect the earth; that God, not humans, is at the center of things; that the earth will be renewed, not destroyed; that the earth is our eternal home, not heaven.   There’s a lot of work to be done.  May God shape us to be people who have the patience, courage, and compassion to live as agents of His shalom in a world of wounds.  Amen.