I feel very fortunate to be living in Belize’s Best Kept Secret, The Bacalar Chico National Park & Marine Reserve.  In 1996 the park was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of its “on-going ecological and biological processes, … superlative natural phenomena and areas of exceptional beauty and aesthetic importance, and …important and significant natural habitats for threatened species.”

On a daily basis I get to see and appreciate the beauty of this area and it’s unique biodiversity.  While walking on the beach I will have any number of National Geographic moments.  Conch feeding on the turtle grass in low tides, beached Portuguese Man-of-War to butterflies feeding on native Fisherman’s Tobacco or Wild Sage.

With a background in garden design and native gardening for wildlife habitats, I have been trying to re-establish native and beach plants where there was construction damage.  The plants we have let re-establish themselves are Bay Cedar (/Suriana maritima/), Wild Sage (/Lantana involucrata/), Sea Daisy (/Borrichia arborescens/), Fisherman Tobacco (/Tournefortia gnaphalodes/), Corkystem Passionflower (/Passiflora suberosa)/, and American Searocket (/Cakile lanceolata/) to name a few.  The effort has paid off, I am seeing an increase in butterflies and moths in just one years time.  I choose to focus on these species of plants and animals, as they are indicators of the greater biodiversity of the area.

As time goes on I hope to be able to teach and show people how they too can have wildlife habitats in their own yards and neighborhoods.

Coleen

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