The Big Sandy Mountaineer -

All year a group of Big Sandy High School students have been working extremely hard to raise enough money for a trip of a lifetime. The students that went on the trip Bailey Gasvoda, Stacy Allderdice, Madison Terry, Jozlyn Baumann, Cameron Schwarzbach, Tyler Schwarzbach, Brady Pleninger, Dillin Geyer, Clint Darlington, Jeremiah Genereux, and Hunter Snap. These wonderful kids went on the Belize Ecology Trip June 6th through the 15th. With the help of Melanie Schwarzbach and Heather Pleninger as chaperones, the trip was a huge success.

During the trip, the students did lots of different activities! The first couple of days they went on several hikes during the day and the night. They also swam in two different waterfalls, which was a great break from the heat and humidity. The next few days after the hiking, the students went to the ocean and snorkeled. The kids then started studying seagrass while snorkeling and picking out different species in the ocean. The students also made homemade chocolate and tortillas from corn and cocoa beans. They planted trees along a damaged river, studied manatees and dolphins, and went to the zoo. All the kids and the chaperones had amazing experiences while in Belize.

Everyone learned a lot on the trip as well. The students were taught about EPI, deforestation, climate change, conservation, marine biology research, and Belize cultures. During the trip, the students had groups where they asked a question and answered it by collecting data during their trip, On the second to last day the groups gave their presentations to the whole group. All the students did a great job and graduated from the course with lots of knowledge and experiences to bring home.

Other parts of the trip that were amazing included the wonderful people in Belize and the new cultural experience. The people who cooked and cleaned for the students and chaperones went above and beyond for their comfort. The food was wonderful and different but in some ways similar to American food. The boat drivers and bus drivers were also very nice and were full of stories and lessons. Overall, the trip was a wonderful experience and leaning opportunity for all the students and chaperones!