Ecorana Environmental ltd., Blog at it's partner field staiton at the T.R.E.E.S

We are Ecorana Environmental, an eco-travel and environmental education company that specializes in creating and planning applied learning holidays for students, researchers, and ecotourists alike. Our team consists of travel and outreach specialists as well as research biologists and teachers who specialize in environmental education and conservation. We are well-versed in providing comfortable, safe, and exciting learning and travel opportunities to a range of clientele interested in environmentally and culturally conscious travel.Ecorana is poised to offer travel and education abroad opportunities in the diverse tropical country of Belize. Ecorana employs biologists who are well-trained in tropical ecology, herpetology, and ornithology, and as such, studies in tropical biology are the primary focus of our educational holidays. However, our team’s diverse interests and expertise allow us to plan all types of holidays ranging from wildlife ecotours to yoga retreats to West African drumming courses to ecological field technique courses. Wherever your interests lie, you can be guaranteed that Ecorana will be right there with you.Ecorana maintains values of environmental and cultural conservation and stewardship, hands-on education, and inclusive learning, and seeks to instill those values in all visitors to Belize. We work with many field stations and educational centers, scientists, educators, tour companies, tour guides, eco-lodges, and parks, both on the mainland and on the islands of Belize, to make sure you go exactly where you want to go and see exactly what you want to see and more!

One of our main partners is the Toucan Ridge Ecology and Education Society (T.R.E.E.S) and their field station in Belize. The objectives of this environmental education center are to host various cultural and environmental based student courses, workshops and event hosting in the heart of the beautiful Maya Mountains of Belize. We plan on providing our services to international students as well as providing opportunities for Belizean students.

For more information see our website at www.ecorana.ca, or send us and email at info@ecorana.ca or to go directly to the T.R.E.E.S website www.treesociety.org

Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Summer internship at T.R.E.E.S

We are now into full swing into the summer internships at T.R.E.E.S. We currently have a variety of projects running at the station for the summer including; a wetland creation project, turtle tracking project, small mammal diversity project, bird point-counts surveys, a flowering plant botanist project and the creation of a public library project, just to name a few. Lot's of summer fun at the station.

The following pictures are from the spring herpetology interns at the station.

Interns at T.R.E.E.S swimming hole

At Xunantunich Maya ruins Belize

View from Xunantunich Maya ruins Belize

Xunantunich Maya ruins Belize

Yucatan Banded Gecko

Intern in lab

Blue-spotted tree frog

Interns playing games at T.R.E.E.S

Intern and Yucatan Banded Gecko

Scorpion mud turtle

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Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Bird banding

We have started our bird banding training at T.R.E.E.S. We have Tony and Dorothy Diamond here to train Mathieu, Vanessa and Brandee Diner for a few weeks. We are catching a variety of species that we have not yet observed in the field. This is a very promising banding site!

Brandee with Crimson collared tanager

Indigo bunting

Setting up nets

The banding station


The banding station

Blue winged Warbler
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Monday, February 10, 2014

Botany Internships

TREE fern, a common plant found at the T.R.E.E.S Hosting Center
Our 2014 internship program is currently underway. Our interns platforms, and communal kitchen are now complete and we are receiving interns. The intern platforms, or Toucanet Camp is situation in the lime orchard a little secluded from the main T.R.E.E.S building, it has it own outhouse, picknick tables and it is close to the swimming hole and trails. There are currently 4 raised platforms that are covered with palapa style roofs for traditional Belizean comfort.



Intern, Daniel, identifying trees at T.R.E.E.S

David Tzul teaching the medicinal properties of the plants found at T.R.E.E.S

 The communal kitchen, which is a 24 feet x 12 feet building, offers a screened in cooking area, which can host up to two groups cooking at the same time

Intern, Rosemin, planting custard-apple tree sapplings
 At present we have 2 interns from Cegep Vanier that are doing their botany internships. We have hired a couple of profesional botanists from Belize and from Guatemala to get the students started on the huge tasks are starting to identify the plants and trees at T.R.E.E.S. We now have access to the National Herbarium of Belize thanks to the Belize Forestry Department and have visited a few sites in Belize such as the Belize Botanical gardens to get more insight on the amazing variety of Belizean flora. Their internships are going really well but they are finding that the diversity in the Belizean Jungle to be a little overwhelming at times. For their internships, one is doing ecosystem mapping of the station, the other identifying plants and creating a educational plant trail for guests.
2014 winter internship program

We are having another intern from CEGEP vanier in the spring. If you or know anybody that would be interested in our great internship programs please visit us at www.ecorana.ca/internships/




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Saturday, January 11, 2014

Groups and the new year

Sorry for the long wait between postings, we are postings more and more of our updates on facebook at we are getting a much higher reader reach. We had a very successful winter so far with 3 back to back groups in December January. The hard work is finally paying off! We still need to find sometime to do more all important marketing, particularly to Belize Tour Companies and Canadian ecotour companies that are looking for somewhere fun and safe to bring their groups. We have more and more activities being offered at T.R.E.E.S including river tubing, waterfall rappelling, night walks, birding tours. We have also completed our internship programs and our currently hosting a few interns at the station.

These are some pictures of the last group we had from I.S.I.S! This was a Marine Biology course that Vanessa and I currently teaching. We took the group out around the station but also at Five Blues Lake National Park. The students had never experienced the jungle before and where a little overwhelmed at first but by the end of it, everyone was very happy.

The small ISIS group and Mat

Emmeth and his band came down to do a New Year's Eve Sambai at the station

Students checking out invert samples

the gang

Student a Gulf Coast Toad

Students and Gulf Coast Toad

Students at Five Blues Lake
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