Us for Bfree

EDUCATION. US for BFREE implements environmental education programs and activities for students, teachers, conservation workers, protected area managers, and staff for both Belizeans and participants from abroad. In 2023, US for BFREE hosted numerous University and College courses from the USA and Belize for many US students and some Belizeans students. We provided scholarships to several young Belizean scholars for studies in Natural Resource Management and conducted conservation education workshops for children and adults.

FIELD STATION OPERATION. US for BFREE operates a research and education facility on 1,153 acre private reserve of tropical rainforest nestled in the foothills of the Maya Mountains in Southern Belize. This property is in acquisition by the non governmental, non profit organization BFREE in BZ. US for BFREE provides funding for this acquisition process through grants and is granted rights to operate the field station in perpetuity. US for BFREE employs 20-30 Belizeans full time depending on the season and maintains buildings and equipment sufficient to host a maximum of 37 visiting students or researchers and an experimental cacao agroforestry farm. Revenue and expenses related to infrastructure are included in this FIELD STATION program whereas revenue and expenses related to hosting researchers and conducting research are included in the RESEARCH program.

RESEARCH. US for BFREE conducts and supports biological research on various organisms, including mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians, invertebrates, plants and other taxa. In 2023, US for BFREE hosted several scientific researchers from the US and and Belize. Research ranged from bird and reptile studies to plant and mammal surveys. US for BFREE continued several long-term research projects focusing on avian migration and biodiversity, wildcat research, freshwater turtles and cacao agroforestry. A successful breeding and reintroduction program for the critically endangered Central American river turtle is ongoing.