Project Launch:

The House of Culture is a community organization in the town of Benque Viejo, Belize that designed and launched a gardening and environmental club for the kids of Benque to be called Amigos del Ambiente or “Friends of the Environment”. With support from World Connect’s Kids to Kids Program, the club focused on activities such as garden design and creation, composting, and the planting of vegetable, fruit, flower and medicinal plant species. Through this project, participating kids had the opportunity to learn about plants native to their environment which could be eaten or used for medicinal purposes. When the plants were ready for harvesting, the group met to learn about how to cook foods in new ways and enjoy the fruits of their labor. Students were provided with recipes and information to take home and share with their family and were able to share the harvests with family members. The group heard from local guest speakers with expertise on gardening, environmental conservation, medicinal plant uses and food nutrition. Through the Amigos del Ambiente project, kids utilized their time in a fun and recreational way, getting a unique opportunity to engage in positive, constructive, environmentally friendly activities.