As our last days come in strides at Monkey Bay Wildlife Sanctuary, we began discussing Robert J. Brulle’s “From Environmental Campaigns to Advancing the Public Dialog: Environmental Communication for Civic Engagement”. This was the concluding piece to our class for Monkey Bay.

It is an essential essay to our classroom, because it outlines the environmental communication process needed to obtain civic engagement.

During these last days, we toured the Belize Zoo, which is only home to native Belizean animals. These animals were typically at risk and needed to be taken in. Later that night, we went on a nighttime guided canoe trip in a lagoon in search for crocodiles. We ended up eating dinner on the river too! Although it downpoured on us, we saw numerous crocodiles and even got to hold a baby crocodile. It seemed like a nightmare to be surrounded by hundreds of crocodiles at night in a canoe while it’s raining. Yet, it was one of the coolest adventures I have ever done! The next day, we took a boat to the Lamani Mayan ruins, and then had our last day free.

Civic engagement is necessary for the sustainability of our environment. Belize, specifically, faces many environmental challenges due to tourism. It is the reason our class does so many tourist activities. We need civic engagement to be focused on environment-friendly practices, especially in tourism. This is why our night on the lagoon was such a special experience. It was the epitome of ecotourism, because we experienced nature without harming it.

Hopefully, we can change the rhetoric of our society to move our environment as a priority.

Until next time when we are in San Pedro!