Chan Chich: Belize Jungle Lodge and Nature Reserve

Gallon Jug Community School - Chan Chich Lodge
The 2007-2008 Raffle winner is......

GJCS School President Adelia Cermenio with the winning ticket Ms. Sivan Ritz from San Diego, California, USA. Upon winning the raffle Ms. Sivan exclaimed "We loved our time in Chan Chich, and so I'm thrilled about this! It's funny, but we had intended to donate to the local school even before we knew about the raffle, which makes this even more amazing." Congratulations! We look forward to seeing you in the upcoming year!

Each year, in a considerable effort to raise money for the Gallon Jug Community School Scholarship Fund, Chan Chich Lodge raffles a great prize in the name of education: a round trip ticket for 2 from Belize City with a 4-night double occupancy all-inclusive stay at the Lodge, including room, meals, beverages and daytime activities.

For further information on Gallon Jug Community School and the scholarship fund please visit:

http://gallonjugschool.googlepages.com/home

On behalf of the Scholarship Committee, the students currently attending High School and Jr. College, and the Gallon Jug Community School graduates hoping to attend High School this fall, we thank all of you who contributed to helping to give these children the opportunity to succeed.

kids in classroom

History of the Bird Count

The annual Christmas Bird Count originated in 1900 to protest the traditional bird shoot held on that day in the USA. Today volunteers from all 50 U.S. states, Canada, parts of Central and South America, Bermuda, the West Indies, and Pacific islands count every individual bird and bird species encountered during one calendar day. Each count group has a designated circle 15 miles in diameter (about 177 square miles) where they try to cover as much ground as possible during a 24-hour period. The data collected by each group are then sent to National Audubon Society headquarters in New York for tabulation http://www.audubon.org/bird/cbc/. Belize City began its Christmas Count in 1969 followed by Belmopan a few years later and then Gallon Jug. Besides being a fun social and sporting event for participants, Christmas bird counts help track trends in bird populations over time revealing interesting and scientifically useful information.

December 31, 2007 will mark the 18th CBC here in Gallon Jug Estate. We normally have participation with excellent birding teams from Belize City and Belmopan and we invite guests at Chan Chich to join us. You don't need to be an expert birder, everyone is welcome. We never know exactly what we'll see in the way of birds, but normally we average around 200 species for the day. Please join us.

A Conference on Belize.