BELIZE’S TURTLES EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES
BFREE and the Hicatee Awareness Month Planning Committee are pleased to announce this year’s theme for October is “Hicatee and Friends.” We hope you enjoy our collection of fun and engaging educational resources for educators, parents, and hicatee heroes everywhere! Educational materials have been created by scientists, filmmakers, students, educators, and passionate advocates. We encourage the use of these materials in your classrooms and homes! Our goal in sharing these materials is to inspire teachers and students to learn more about Belize’s national treasure, the Hicatee turtle, and the other freshwater turtles that share these lands and waters. With your help, we can inspire future generations and leaders to recognize the significant cultural and historical value of Belize’s turtles.
BFREE, with support from Turtle Survival Alliance, launched Hicatee Awareness Month in 2017. Celebrated every October, this month-long campaign highlights Belize’s national treasure, the hicatee turtle, as well as the other turtle species that call Belize home. Now in its eighth year, we encourage everyone to appreciate and protect all of Belize’s turtles.
Educational Resources for Belize’s Inland and Freshwater Turtles
INFO SHEETS ON BELIZE’S INLAND TURTLES
Learn more about five of Belize’s nine inland turtles. These info pages feature beautiful drawings by Belizario Gian Carballo as well as interesting information on each species of turtle.
BELIZE’S TURTLES FACT SHEET
Want to share some fun facts with your friends and family? This year’s Hicatee Awareness Month is themed “Hicatee and Friends” and focuses on all of Belize’s amazing inland turtles.
BELIZE’S TURTLES COLORING SHEETS
What better way to learn about the difference between Belize’s turtles than by coloring them yourself? These resources are great tools for your students.
Turtles of Belize Identification Card
Want to learn how to identify the different inland turtles of Belize? Click here to download this useful resource for your classroom!
Learn About Belize’s Mud Turtles
Learn about Belize’s three mud turtles including what makes them both similar to one another and distinct. Turn it into a reading assignment and quiz for the kids in your class!
Let’s Talk Turtles
In this nine-episode series, you will learn about Belize’s inland and freshwater turtles from field biologists, conservation professionals and students. Thanks to a 10-year turtle survey of the BFREE Reserve in southern Belize, our knowledge on these turtles species is rapidly growing.
BFREE & HCRC Flyer
Want to learn more about BFREE and the Hicatee Conservation and Research Center? Click here to download a helpful flyer for your classroom!
Power Point Presentation
Are you looking for a great presentation to share with your students? Look no more! Click here to download the Hicatee Awareness Month power point presentation created for classrooms across Belize.
Guide to the Power Point
Click here to download these helpful talking points that will lead you through the Hicatee Awareness Month Power Point presentation. You can start with these notes and add your own content as your knowledge of Hicatee turtles grows!
TAKE ACTION
Are you a Hicatee Hero? Click here to learn more about what you can do to take action and make the promise to be a Hicatee Hero every day! Celebrate National Hicatee Day, follow the laws of Belize, and share what you learn with your friends and family!
HICATEE FACT SHEET
The Hicatee Fact Sheet is a great resource for students of all ages. The fact sheet includes a list of 12 facts about the species covering everything from what they eat, where they live, how big they can grow to be, and the species’ biggest threat.
HICATEE QUIZ
Did you read the Hicatee Fact Sheet and learn lots of new and interesting things about this incredible turtle? Take the Hicatee Quiz with this fill-in-the-blanks quiz based on information on the Fact Sheet!
Community Poster
Created by Hicatee Awareness Month Committee member, Celi Gongora, the community poster highlights the need for hicatee conservation. The posters are being shared in communities across Belize. If you spot one, share a selfie with the poster with us on social media for a chance to win a prize!
SCIENTIFIC REPORT
The plight of the planet’s tortoises and freshwater turtles are highlighted in the newly released report entitled “Turtles in Trouble: The World’s 25+ Most Endangered Tortoises and Freshwater Turtles — 2018.” Released by the Turtle Survival Alliance and fellow turtle conservation organizations collectively known as the Turtle Conservation Coalition, the report highlights the Hicatee Turtle on Page 31.
HICATEE TURTLE PICTURES
These fully aquatic turtles live in deep rivers, lagoons, and other freshwater bodies. Unlike many reptiles, hicatee do not bask in the sun. This makes them very difficult to see in the wild. We have created an album with photos of hicatee turtles of all ages at the Hicatee Conservation and Research Center located at the BFREE Biological Research Station.
TOUR THE HCRC
The Hicatee Conservation & Research Center (HCRC) located at BFREE is home to a captive breeding facility for the critically endangered Hicatee. Watch this short tour of the facilities and meet some of the resident turtles.
SING-ALONG VIDEO
Which turtle Belize to the bone? Hicatee! Hicatee! Hicatee! Join Mr. Hicatee and Damien and sing-along to this fun and educational song!
Written by: Ike Phillips & Jonathan Dubon. Produced by: Janskii. Visuals by: Belizario Gian Carballo
HOPE FOR BELIZE’S HICATEE
‘Hope for Belize’s Hicatee: Central American River Turtle,’ features the critically endangered hicatee. This film highlights the cultural significance of the hicatee in Belize, the environmental pressures propelling it toward extinction, and work being done to save the species.
HICATEE HERO VIDEO
In honor of the 4th Annual National Hicatee Day, we are releasing a very special video highlighting young Hicatee Heroes from across all six districts of Belize! Belize’s next generation are Hicatee Heroes! Are you?
We invite educators to develop their own materials to promote the conservation of endangered wildlife like the Hicatee turtle. If you have any questions or if you would like to share materials or curricula that BFREE could help distribute during Hicatee Awareness Month, please email them to us at contact@bfreebz.org.
BFREE would like to thank all 2024 Hicatee Awareness Month Planning Committee members, Andrew Choco, Samih Young, Heston Castillo, Jaren Serano, Rocento Pau, Bridget Nelson and Heather Barrett.
The Hicatee is critically endangered and in need of greater protection and innovative conservation actions. Click below to learn about more ways you can take action and be a part of Team Hicatee!
During Hicatee Awareness Month, we promote our various activities and events by submitting information to the Belize news media. View all 2024 Hicatee Awareness Month Press Releases here.
