As our guests can confirm, walking through the lovely garden grounds gives you the impression that everything was perfectly designed by nature. Little would you know, that behind the lush garden setting is a quiet group of young dedicated gardeners who make it look the way it does! Everyday each CB garden staff member has a role to play in this tiny corner of the jungle.
It is important to note here that Caves Branch Botanical Garden is one of two Botanical gardens in Belize and is the only garden that maintains a collection of native epiphytes (air plants or plants that grow on other plants) as well as bromeliads and orchids and has the largest collection of these plants in the country.
Immediately noticeable is the fact that each team member is assigned to a set of daily tasks -from providing fresh flowers to the lodge dining room & guest rooms, to removing garbage and transporting it to the compost area, to picking up broken limbs, dead plants or even covering holes dug by native wildlife overnight… Everything functions as a well-oiled operation!
Each of the guides have been part of expeditions into some of Belize’s most remote areas; searching for rare plants and studying ways to best preserve the flora of our beloved country. It is important that each staff member take an active role in caring for the plants in their care and maintaining the plants is at times painstaking & back breaking work, but as you visit with the team, you realize that their love for nature exceeds anything else. While they work, you can hear and experience the giggles of delight or their funny jokes that give energy to their tasks.
One of the interesting facts about the botanical team is that they don’t waste time – not a moment goes by that they are not learning something new and passing it on to each member of their team. Their morning training was the “All Senses” project- where they blinded folded each other and someone would lead the group through the garden where they would STOP, smell, taste and feel different plants. This heightened sense test allows them to know simple things such as- when a flower is about the bloom!
Each person is then able to quickly identify various plants just by smell or different stages of a plant life just by touching. In another area of the garden, someone was taking pictures & putting up color coded tags and writing stuff down. Junior was recording data on the plant; photographing the flower that was getting ready to bloom.
The team eats lunch together daily, sharing their tales of adventure or rehearsing different projects they are involved with. They also set their afternoon goals and return to their posts with new found energy.
Immediately after lunch there was a bit of excitement- a school group was arriving for a scheduled afternoon tour and each of the guides was looking forward to a fun time with the kids and sharing their knowledge of the beautiful plants of Belize. Each guide was neatly dressed in uniform and presented themselves at the Welcome Center with full smiles!
The group arrives with a total of 23 persons – 21 young students and 2 instructors. After signing in, they are directed to the conference area of the Welcome Center for a short seated presentation – as a formal introduction of visitors to the Caves Branch Botanical Garden and the team. The presentation highlights the projects that the team is involved with and most importantly, the inventory of Epiphytes of Belize-in collaboration with the Marie Selby Botanical Garden in Sarasota, Florida.
The presentation speaks to the extensive work that the gardens’ have done in terms of research and the various expeditions made throughout Belize. The slide show is interesting and educational with a question and answer segment at the end. Once the presentation was completed, the group was divided into small groups and each is led by one Botanical guide and an assistant.
The tour was interactive – allowing the students to actually smell plants, learn about Epiphytes & Bromeliads and even tasted the Begonia plant- it has this little sour taste to it but with a little salt added – it was like piece of green mango. The lemon grass had this great smell to it and of course it is used for making delicious & savoury tea. Strolling through the maze of different plant families the group learns what makes each plant so unique to the flora & fauna of Belize. We soon came to a plant everyone was familiar with – the pineapple. We learned about their growth patterns and how they can be replanted. Did you know that the pineapple actually originated in Brazil and was cultivated by both the Mayas and Aztecs in Central America & Mexico?
The guides also spoke about the collection of data from a Herbarium (a systematically arranged collection of dried plants). They showed the group how to prepare a specimen and then place it into the heating system to start the drying process. This was really fun to watch and learn about and the students had lots of fun!
Finally, the group was led to the on-site nursery area, where young plants are nurtured and replanted back into the area. At this spot we found the magic to everything growing in the garden – the Compost Pile. The system of garbage collection at Caves Branch is more of a recycling facility- refuse is separated at the lodge and then re-separated at the nursery. Decomposing materials are placed in their storage boxes to breakdown and then mixed with soil, wood chippings & cardboard to make a very rich dark soil that is then used for the plants throughout the grounds. Botanical Garden work is tough and requires dedication as well as attention to the details but the rewards are obvious! Lush & healthy plants & flowers can be seen throughout the property and anyone can tell that thoughtful care was put into their maintenance. The tour took about an hour and a half and ended with each student taking away new found knowledge & appreciation of our plant life in Belize.
It is days like this that mean the most to the Botanical team…. they are aware of how much their hard work pays off when they can see the smiles on the faces of visitors who have just learned something new! Each flower the blooms and each vibrant leaf is a reminder that they have done something very special in their part of the world.
For more information about the Caves Branch Botanical Garden and the work that they are involved in, please visit our website: www.cavesbranch.com/belize-botanical-gardens. Complimentary tours are available for Caves Branch guests as well as local schools & organizations. Spend a day in the garden for yourself and see what all the excitement is about!