Mark's Internship at Bocawina Mayflower

Mark at Bocawina
Originally uploaded by Creation Care Study Program.

Over the past two weeks I spent my internship at the extremely beautiful Mayflower Bocawina National Park in the Stann Creek District. At the park I was asked to create a plant exhibit which would be used for educating school children on the importance of the rainforest and the need to protect it. I also was given the opportunity to work with the two wardens at the park over the two weeks. My time with them was spent maintaining a few of their trails and creating some new ones. As well, the wardens taught me a lot about how the Mayans used many of the plants in the rainforest. During my internship I also had the opportunity to do a home stay with a Garifuna family in the community of Silk Grass. This was a really great learning experience. The people were very hospitable and welcoming. Even though I was an outsider they wanted me to participate and get to know the people within the community. My internship experience was a very enjoyable time to really get to know some of the local people in Belize. It also was a great time to learn more about conservation and environmental issues that face the country.

Mark van der Woerd
Redeemer College