{"id":61102,"date":"2025-09-01T15:05:30","date_gmt":"2025-09-01T21:05:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greaterbelize.com\/?p=61102"},"modified":"2025-09-01T15:19:50","modified_gmt":"2025-09-01T21:19:50","slug":"three-lagoons-eco-guardians-eight-years-of-protecting-coastlines-and-mangroves","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greaterbelize.com\/three-lagoons-eco-guardians-eight-years-of-protecting-coastlines-and-mangroves\/","title":{"rendered":"Three Lagoons Eco Guardians: Eight Years of Protecting Coastlines and Mangroves"},"content":{"rendered":"

Every piece of trash left on Belize\u2019s beaches comes at a cost, both to marine life and eventually to humans. From plastic bags tossed aside to bottles left behind, human negligence is choking wildlife and allowing microplastics to creep into the food chain.<\/span><\/p>\n

For eight years, the Three Lagoons Sustainability Program has been tackling this problem head-on. The organisation protects northern Belize\u2019s 66-foot coastal reserve, running from the high-water mark inland, through regular cleanups, mangrove restoration, and environmental education.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Three

Three Lagoons Eco Guardians: Eight Years of Protecting Coastlines and Mangroves<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

What started as a small family initiative led by Edgar De Leon Sr has grown into a community-wide movement supported<\/a> by volunteers and organisations such as the Belize Fund for a Sustainable Future.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to create stewardship within our community for us to protect the sixty-six-foot coastal reserve,\u201d De Leon said. \u201cIt\u2019s public land, but it\u2019s also ecologically rich and must be cared for.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Plastics and other debris pose serious risks to marine life<\/a>, from ingestion to entanglement. “We are not seeing the fish eating the plastic, but we know it is happening. We do not see it doing bad to our bodies. But we know that it is doing bad to our bodies,” De Leon added.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Three Lagoons Eco Guardians: Eight Years of Protecting Coastlines and Mangroves<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

His sixteen-year-old son, Edgar Jr, and a group of young \u201cEco Guardians\u201d have combed the coastline through several cleanups. The team has removed everything from plastic bags tangled in mangroves to coconut debris along the shore.<\/span><\/p>\n

“We made this Eco Guardian group to encourage teenagers out there that instead of being inside their house with technology, on their phone, laptop, or tablet, they could come out, help us clean, and make a better Belize,” Edgar Jr stated.<\/span><\/p>\n

Beyond cleanup, the programme has also focused on restoring coastal ecosystems. Over the years, Three Lagoons has planted more than fifteen thousand mangrove seeds, with a 95% survival rate.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mangroves serve as natural buffers against coastal erosion and provide critical habitats for fish nurseries. Where mangroves are missing, the shoreline is literally slipping away. “By them planting more mangroves, we are getting an opportunity. Erosion will stop,\u201d said Darnell Cruz, a Sarteneja Village Councillor.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Three

Three Lagoons Eco Guardians: Eight Years of Protecting Coastlines and Mangroves<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

“We started as five people: me, my uncle, and his wife,” said Andrea Carillo, a long-time mentor. “Now as we have grown, people feel attracted to it, and they have joined, and I am so proud of it.”<\/span><\/p>\n

After eight years, the Three Lagoons Sustainability Program has grown and inspired community members to take an active role in protecting the environment through consistent cleanups, mangrove restoration, and education.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Every piece of trash left on Belize\u2019s beaches comes at a cost, both to marine life and eventually to humans. From plastic bags tossed aside to bottles left behind, human negligence is choking wildlife and allowing microplastics to creep into the food chain. For eight […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":61108,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[484,444,475,462],"tags":[6641,6649],"class_list":["post-61102","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-breaking-news","category-latest-news","category-news","category-sponsored","tag-2025-09-01","tag-three-lagoons-eco-guardians-eight-years-of-protecting-coastlines-and-mangroves"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greaterbelize.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61102","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greaterbelize.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greaterbelize.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greaterbelize.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greaterbelize.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=61102"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.greaterbelize.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61102\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":61123,"href":"https:\/\/www.greaterbelize.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61102\/revisions\/61123"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greaterbelize.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/61108"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greaterbelize.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61102"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greaterbelize.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61102"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greaterbelize.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61102"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}