Turneffe+Atoll,+Belize+-+Marine+Reserve+Stakeholders+Activity

Before becoming a teacher, I was a marine biologist studying wild populations of dolphins and manatees. During my tenure working with marine mammals, I lived in Belize for several years, half of it being spent on Turneffe Atoll. Turneffe is a highly biodiverse area and had limited protection. It had not had any status as a marine reserve when I was living there. The organization I had worked for, Oceanic Society, was involved as a stakeholder in meetings to discuss the establishment of a marine reserve at Turneffe. I knew, through them, some of the different steps being undertaken in Belize to try to meet this goal. I recognized the potential of using a real-world current happening to teach my students about coastal zones, marine ecosystems, protected areas, and the complexities of developing protected areas.

The students role-played different stakeholders and presented their points-of-view and needs during a series of 'stakeholder meetings' in class. The kids were trying to work together to develop a sustainable management plan for Turneffe while meeting their own needs.

Students were presented with a slideshow and discussion on the history and significance of Turneffe, as well as videos on a community effort in Belize to establish the Laughing Bird Caye National Park. They were also provided with a series of primary source papers, web links to a variety of stakeholders, and in certain cases, the email contacts for actual stakeholders. After the students held their own meetings and decided the measures they were going to take in setting up protected areas in Turneffe, I was lucky enough to be able to share the actual results of the effort which had been signed by the Minister in Belize two weeks prior to the student meeting.


 * Assignment**:


 * Assessment Rubric**:

=**Videos of the meetings**:=

**Period 4**:
To be added after they have had minor editing...

**Period 7**:
To be added after they have had minor editing...