Placencia Race Makes Waves for Lagoon Protection

Paddles hit the water in Placencia this weekend, but this was no ordinary race. The second annual Battle of the Paddles brought competitors, conservationists, and community members together for a cause bigger than the finish line: protecting the Placencia Lagoon. Branded as “A Race for the Environment,” the event used sport to spotlight the lagoon’s value and the ongoing work to preserve its natural resources. News Five’s Britney Gordon reports.

 

Britney Gordon, Reporting

The calm waters of the Placencia Lagoon were alive with activity this weekend as paddlers of all ages took to the water for a cause greater than competition. The second annual Battle of the Paddles brought together community members, athletes and environmental advocates to highlight the importance of preserving one of Belize’s most valuable coastal ecosystems. Organizer, Megs Yearwood says the race was founded by tour guide, Ian Yearwood, who wanted more opportunities to highlight the beauty of Belize.

 

Megs Yearwood, Organizer

“He’s an outdoors man, and he’s been all over the country. And he’s like, “Man, more people need to see and be aware of what beauty is in Belize.” I mean, we understand people like to go to, in summertime right now, people are traveling outside of Belize. But for those families don’t have the means or who want to know more about Belize, there’s beautiful places like Placencia and Placencia Lagoon, and that really was the seed for him to develop this race.”

 

The event falls under the Reef Guard Project; an initiative focused on better managing Belize’s marine protected areas and protecting the Placencia Lagoon. WWF’s Abigail Parham Garbutt says the race brings the community and conservation groups together to highlight why the lagoon must be safeguarded.

 

Abigail Parham Garbutt, Marine Conservation Officer, World Wildlife Fund

“It’s where the local community members are saying, “Listen, we understand the importance of the Placenta Lagoon, and we want to do something about it because we know that we want our children and their children to enjoy what we enjoyed in the past.”

 

Team Splash, last year’s champions, returned to defend their title. But while they had their eyes on another win, they said the day was really about having fun and paddling for a bigger cause.

 

Javier Guardado, Captain, Team Splash

“We’re proud to be here today, proud to be paddling for Team Splash, and we’re here to do our best and last year we won, but we never know what will happen today. It’s good in a part for like the community to protect the wildlife, animals and stuff.”

 

Competing in the family category was team Fast Forward. They shared their commitment to the cause of the race.

 

 

Simon August, Team Fast Forward

“The environment is very important and glad they’re bringing awareness and things like this, you know? They never used to do this in Placencia, so this is something new and actually this is the second year, no? Yeah. So we’re glad to be a part of this awareness and compete and to have fun.”

 

Beyond the competition, the event gave conservation groups a chance to bring their work directly to the public. WWF, Sea of Life, Strong Coast, the Southern Environmental Association, and Blacks in Marine Science shared projects focused on plastic pollution, mangrove restoration, and new uses for sargassum. For Darcy Regalado of the Crocodile Research Coalition, the gathering showed that protecting Belize’s coast takes more than one organization. It takes collaboration.

 

 

Darcy Regalado,  Crocodile Research Coalition

“So far we have seven, seven NGOs that are supporting the educational aspect of it. ‘Cause when we thought about like, “Who can we have at the event?” We were like, “Okay, it’s a risk for the environment, so why not have the actual NGOs that are working within the coastal communities to educate the public and the areas and the locals about the amazing work that we’re doing, and that they’re doing,” right? ‘Cause it creates an impact, and when we come together it creates greater results.”

 

Through this event, organizers hope to inspire community action to ensure the lagoon remains healthy for future generations. Britney Gordon for News Five.

 

Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.

 

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