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 A
200 pound donation of school supplies was given to St. John’s Memorial
School in mid September by Mr. Gary Hunt and his friend Mr. Ken Talbert,
both of Roanoke, Virginia. The supplies include back packs, pens,
pencil, three ring binders, paper, rulers etc. These supplies came by
way of Patrick Henry High School and Hollins University of Roanoke,
Virginia. Mr. Hunt placed 48 donation boxes between the two schools
towards the end of last year’s school year with a simple plea to the
students, “If it is still good, please don’t throw it away, throw it in
one of these boxes”. The response was overwhelming – several hundred
pounds of perfectly good school supplies.
This is Mr. Hunt’s second trip to Belize this year (in total he’s been
bringing supplies to Belize for thirteen years). Just last month he and
three friends were able to bring 400 pounds of supplies in for Bladen
Village’s Fabian Cayetano Primary School, a school he found out about
through Ms. Marilyn Beckstead of the Iris Foundation for Education. Mr.
Hunt was also able to ship down a full set of encyclopedias and medical
supplies for Bladen’s school.
Why is everything in pounds? Well at this point the only way for Mr.
Hunt to bring these supplies in is as part of his luggage and the
airlines only allow 100 pounds of luggage per person. Hopefully in the
near future means of getting larger amounts of donated supplies to
Belize will be made available but until then every pound counts. Mrs.
Jodie Leslie past chair person of the Parent Teacher’s Association (PTA)
and Seaspray Hotel supported the two delivery trips. Also they received
assistance from Tropic Air.
St. John’s Memorial School wishes to thank the students of Patrick Henry
High School and Hollins University, Mr. Tolbert and especially Mr. Hunt
for the generous donation.
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 That
is so true and from the moment they can choose their manner of play they
want to be princesses. Placencia’s young ladies are no different. They
periodically get together for their princess meetings where they will
put on their pretty party dresses made from lace and chiffon and atop
their heads will be put their sparkling tiaras. Beautiful pink, purple,
blue and fuchsia dresses are the wardrobe choices.. After making a
selection the girls put the dresses on and get pinned into them. Then
they all sit down to tea and share giggles along with their biscuits and
little girl fun.
Sometimes a local boy or two will come by and dance with the girls or
don a dress just for laughs. (No names, they know who they are.)
Sometimes they visit only to share in the tea and biscuits.
Once the biscuits and tea are consumed the girls will gather to perform
their Angel Dances - steps the girls have learned either by attending
ballet classes with Miss Bianca Felcher-Barkin or watching previous
performances that had dances taught by Miss Bianca.
Whatever the dance or the group of girls, there is fun for each and
everyone. Local ladies you are welcome to come with the girls to watch
the fun. So if you see a group of little ladies all dressed in gowns,
don’t worry, they are the Princesses of Placencia. Some of the
Princesses are: Tessa Eiley, Alyssa Faux, Asia Eiley, Sabrina Eiley,
Teresa Godfrey, Jasmine Garcia, Colestra, Dana, Myra Torres, Jonelle
Dial, Joelle and Jenna Godfrey, Kaneema Rowland, Tiffany Leslie, Teesha
Mayen, and Ciara Vernon. And now that Zazie Mackenzie has returned from
her European visit she will be joining the Princesses.
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The Do's and Don'ts of Efficient Fat-Burning ... By
Dean Anderson, Fitness & Behavior Expert
If you’re reading this, chances are pretty good that you don’t have a
metabolism that lets you eat as much as you want without ever gaining an
ounce. Maybe (like me) you’re even at the other extreme, where it seems
like all you have to do is smell the foods you love to start packing on
the pounds. Does this mean you’re doomed to a lifetime of munching on
carrot sticks with fat-free dressing, while watching your hollow-legged
friends enjoy their pasta Alfredo and chocolate cheesecake? Not at all.
There are lots of things you can do to turn your body into an efficient
fat-burning machine, and they don't include depriving yourself of foods
you love, resorting to unhealthy gimmicks, or taking expensive
“fat-melting” supplements that fail to deliver what they promise. All
you have to do is avoid a few common mistakes, and include some simple
ways to boost your daily calorie burn.
Metabolism DON'TS
Don’t reduce your calorie intake too low. The fact that you gain weight
easily is proof that your body likes to shift into fat-storage mode at
the drop of a hat, and going too low on calories is one of the easiest
ways to trigger that reaction (often referred to as starvation mode).
Don’t fall for the mistaken idea that the less you eat, the more you’ll
lose—that’s just not how your body works. Staying within your
recommended calorie range will keep your internal furnace stoked so that
you have more capacity to burn stored fat.
Don’t skip meals. Going too long between meals affects your body
chemistry in ways that can make weight loss more difficult. Most people
can manage their hunger and avoid cravings and overeating by spreading
out their calories into four to five small, well-balanced meals or
snacks during the day. Try not to go more than four to five hours
without eating something.
Don’t short yourself on shut eye. More research is showing that chronic
sleep deprivation plays a significant role in weight gain. Your body
needs plenty of “downtime” for the internal housekeeping that keeps your
metabolism in good working order. The occasional late night won’t hurt
you, but consistently sleeping just one hour less than you need may slow
down your weight loss considerably.
Metabolism DO'S
Build muscle! This is the most important action you can take to maintain
a high metabolic rate while trying to lose weight. Strength training
prevents you from losing a lot of muscle along with the fat you lose
when dieting. If you don’t strength train regularly, up to 30% of the
weight you lose could be muscle tissue. Considering that a pound of
muscle burns about 50 more calories per day than a pound of fat (even
when you’re sitting still), you can see the problems this can cause. If
you lose 20 pounds of weight (and 30% of that weight loss is
muscle—seven pounds), you’ll burn about 350 fewer calories every day
without any change in your activity. A simple strength training program
twice a week can limit your muscle loss to almost zero, and keep your
metabolism running high.
Stay as active as possible. The more you use your muscles, the more
calories you will burn. Moderate exercise like walking can burn three to
six times more calories per minute than sitting still, and high
intensity exercise like interval training can burn more than 12 times as
much. Likewise, the more you vary your daily activity and exercise, the
more you keep your body on its fat-burning toes.
Don’t just sit there. If you’re watching TV or sitting at your desk, get
up frequently to do a few exercises. Keep those resistance bands and
dumbbells nearby at all times—you can fit a complete strength training
workout into the commercial breaks of a one-hour TV show. Ditch your
chair and sit on a stability ball (or a stationary bike) instead—even
fidgeting can help!
Exercise in the morning or in frequent bouts. Both strength and cardio
exercises boost metabolism by increasing your calorie burn even AFTER
your session is done. You can get the most out of this perk by starting
your day with a workout or by incorporating multiple exercise sessions
into your day. Longer or intense workouts have a greater "after burn”
but even a 15-minute walk will make a difference.
Try interval training. The harder you work, the more calories you will
burn both during and after exercise—plus your fitness level will really
improve. Studies show that exercising as intensely as you can, for at
least 10 minutes per day, produces the best results. Interval training
is an effective way to increase the intensity and duration of your
workouts without running yourself into the ground or risking injury.
Include mental exercises. One of the most important (but least
recognized) factors in keeping your metabolic fires well stoked is
managing stress effectively. Chronic stress disrupts the hormones that
regulate everything from appetite to fat storage, and can defeat even
the best exercise and eating plans. The more effort you put into
recognizing and handling stress, the better off you’ll be. Include some
time in your schedule every day for relaxation exercises, yoga,
journaling, and other stress management activities.
And Most Importantly… Make exercise and healthy eating FUN! Experiment
frequently with new exercises and recipes, or anything that keeps you
interested and adds some spice to your program. Well, don’t stop there.
The more variety you can put in your diet and your exercise routine, the
more stimulating it will be. That makes it easy to put your best efforts
forward, and get a major metabolic return on your investment
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A Peninsula Industry &
Community Lead Project Through the ICRAN MAR
workshops earlier this year a project was formed to put in mooring buoys
to protect the reef from anchor damage. On the peninsula we are used to
seeing conservation groups spearhead most conservation projects; this
project is special because it is lead by marine industry stakeholders
within the community, i.e. tour guides, dive/snorkel operators & sailing
charter operators.† The steering committee was formed from those
attending the last workshop, they elected to name the project the
“Placencia Mooring Masters”, working in conjunction with Placencia
Tourism Center as financial manager, they applied for a grant to start
the project from Coral Reef Alliance & WWF who hosted the ICRANMAR
workshop.
How do mooring buoys help save the reef you ask? Dropped & dragged
anchors create great damage to corals & sea grass beds, the damage often
can take decades to recover if at all. In severe cases of anchor damage
the corals can die or become susceptible to infection. Our coral reef
including all the reefs that surrounds cayes are homes for juvenile fish
& a vast variety of marine life, it also protects the coastline from the
worst ravages of hurricane damage, wave surges would be a lot higher &
stronger. From lobster & fish harvested from the sea to recreational
snorkeling & diving all are dependent on a healthy coral reef. One of
the most effective and immediate ways to prevent coral damage from
anchors is to use mooring buoys as alternative anchorage.
The project plans to install 15 buoys at the most frequently visited
dive & snorkel sites, including 2 buoys at wall dives locations, also
and 15 mooring buoys primarily for charter & sailing boats.
The project also includes a maintenance & monitoring program to run in
tangent, as this is just as important as installing the buoys. One of
the criteria for the ICRANMAR grant & the project is that it be
voluntary & non-profit. The steering committee have all donated their
time, knowledge & where possible, resources, to make this project a
reality. We will need support from not just the dive & charter operators
but also the community, to ensure this project is not just successful
but also sustainable. It is an ambitious project but we believe the
Placencia peninsula is up to the task. We have already been given
support for the project from most of the resort & marine recreational
operators on the peninsula, Dept. of Fisheries & Placencia Village
Council.
It has been estimated by the committee that it will take approx 15 days
to install the 30 buoys. The Maintenance program will need to start at
least one month after installation to ensure all are still intact. From
this point a 3-6 monthly (quarterly) inspection will be carried out
which is expected to be approx 3 days duration, during this time buoys
will be cleaned & any repairs made. The dive operators have been asked
if they will assist in the frequent monitoring of the dive site buoys,
with any problems spotted reported back to the steering committee, so
that a team if its urgent can be sent out to repair the problem buoys.
The charter operators have agreed to do the same in regard to the
mooring buoys they will be using.
Even though this is a voluntary based program it will not be cheap; the
equipment in itself is expensive, most parts have to come from the USA.
We anticipate the installation costs to be over US$20,000, with the
maintenance costs to be approx US$10,000 per year. This is based on
spares for mooring buoys as in addition to general replacements, every 6
months they should have the lines replaced, gasoline, food & minimal
wages for crews. Various dive operators have already pledged their boats
& gear for the crew for inspection runs, which will be rotated between
those dive operators.
We are fortunate to have Erwin Westby, who has extensive experience
installing mooring buoys, on the steering committee. He is volunteering
his services to train those dive masters who volunteer, in installation
& maintenance techniques, including rope splicing. Installation of
mooring buoys requires divers to be experienced at diving depths of 60
feet, have full buoyancy control & be used to making multiple dives. We
hope that each dive operator in the area will send at least one
volunteer experienced dive master to be trained, ensuring that each dive
shop has one member of staff who knows what to look for when monitoring
mooring buoys & their lines. Lisa Carne has also volunteered her
services as consultant Marine Biologist helping us to ensure the mooring
buoys are placed in the appropriate substrate or bottom type.
We are pleased to announce that we have been successful in being awarded
an ICRANMAR micro grant to start the project from Coral Reef Alliance &
WWF. Additional pledges of money & in kind donations – such as food
supplies, gasoline, boats, dive gear and installation equipment which
have already been made in support of the project are from TMM Charters,
Splash Dive Shop, Seahorse Dive Shop, Joy Tours, South Belize Reef &
Jungle, Erwin Westby, Friends of Nature, Wallen’s Market, Placencia
Waste System, The Crow’s Nest Cafe, Bar & Grill & Placencia Village
Council.
If you can splice rope, paint lettering, can’t dive but want to
volunteer we will need your help as we prepare the buoys for
installation. If you would like to help by donating money or in kind
supplies to assist the project please contact Marion Carr 523 3563 or
Elysia Dial at PTC 523 4045. Please help us to save the reef.
The PPM steering committee consists of Paul Steel (TMM Charters), Erwin
Westby (Dive Instructor & Captain), Patti Ramirez (Splash Dive Shop),
Arthur Westby Jr (South Belize Reef & Jungle), Louis Godfrey† (Dive
Master), Ed Carr (Snorkel Tour Guide & Captain), Marion Carr (project
coordinator) , Lisa Carne (Consultant Marine Biologist), Elysia Dial (PTC
as financial manager).
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The
road to Placencia
Flat
tires are found