Press Release - January 4, 2010 - National 4-H Youth Development Center - On December 26th, 2010 twenty students and faculty from MSU College of Agriculture and Natural Resources arrived in Belize as part of the first of its kind study abroad program. The team will be in Belize up until January 9th, 2011 during which time they will be visiting several areas of interest as outlined below to learn and develop a deeper appreciation for Belize’s Culture, Agriculture and Tourism Industries. Mr. Matthew Miller of Monkey Bay Wild life Sanctuary is the local coordinator of their visit and Mrs. Dixie Sanbord is the MSU Faculty in charge of the group. The areas include:• The Belize Zoo
• The Taiwanese Farm Village/Market
• Aquaculture Tilapia farm
• TBS Citrus and Cacao farm
• Sibun River guided canoe paddle
• Spanish Lookout Farming and Food processing community
• UB Central Farm
• Chaa Creek Resort Natural History Center
• Trek Stop and Xunantunich Maya Site
• Tobacco Caye
From January 2 – 4th, 2011 they visited with Staff and Trainees of the National 4-H Youth Development Center. The main purpose of their visit was to foster positive interaction with trainees and to complete a service learning project. On the first day they were teamed up with individual trainees and facilitated a full afternoon of recreational sessions. The following day they painted five (2) of the front buildings with the official 4-H colors; renovated a green house cover structure that was destroyed by hurricane Richard and constructed 300 ft of foot path to connect the upper and lower part of the compound. On their final day with 4-H trainees they travelled to Duplooys’ Jungle Lodge and Botanical Garden for a day of educational and fun-filled activities. To conclude their visit with 4-H the group donated several board games and sporting equipment to the centre.
The team now travels to the Cave branch area and Marie Sharp. Followed by visits in the Toledo district under the guidance of Mr. Will Mehia before returning to Monkey Bay Wild Life Sanctuary to wrap up their tours and visit to Belize.
The National 4- Youth Development Centre under the Youth for the Future Secretariat and within the Ministry of Education and Youth expresses its appreciation to the MSU team for their visit and contributions.
