TENT is proud to announce a new partnership to support Italian bear conservation.
On 7th June, we hosted our highest ever attended event for the premiere screening of Unknown Belize. Over 350 guests from the UK, Europe and the Americas came together at the Royal Geographical Society to watch a distilled feature length film of the 4-part series. On screen, we clearly witnessed how the Belizean culture of protecting their nature is setting a new bar for global conservation. As Jamal Galves, aka Manatee Man of Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute puts it in the Unknown Belize film: 'Conservation is not a spectator sport. Everybody has to get up and do something, we need all hands on deck. It's not a job, it's not a career. You don't do conservation. You live conservation'.
We know that system-wide change is needed in how we go about our lives; that a new global consciousness, championing the real value of nature, is an essential part in protecting it; and that we need humility and togetherness as a global community to conserve the natural world. At a time when we need it most, and with a national character steeped in environmental stewardship, Belize is providing a blueprint. The question is, will we have the curiosity to listen and learn from those that have already done so much to conserve? Now, it's up to us a global community to consider our own role in the resolving the global ecological crisis, contribute, and make efforts to learn from those doing more than their fair share.
We owe a great deal of gratitude to the event sponsors and all the series donors who made the philanthropic production possible. The feedback we have received on the event has been positive. Due to unforeseen circumstances, the start of the screening was delayed which compromised the food and beverage service for some of the guests.
Please do enjoy a selection of images from the evening. You can download the full image pack for your use here (please credit Ap-Art Photography and The European Nature Trust).
Donors: Virginia Wellington Cabot Foundation, Wilsdorf Mettler Future Foundation, Teach Green Charitable Foundation, HFF Nature Trust, The European Nature Trust, Andres Toro, John Taylor, Mike Kirkham, Ganesh Ramani
Unknown Belize features Belize’s most visionary and integral Non-Governmental Organisations and conservation foundations working together to preserve Belize’s natural heritage: Belize Audubon Society, Belize Maya Forest Trust, BFREE, Clearwater Aquarium Research Institute, Community Baboon Sanctuary, Crocodile Research Coalition, Friends for Conservation and Development, Fragments of Hope, Mar Alliance, Maya Leader Alliance, Oceana, Panthera, Program for Belize, Turneffe Atoll Sustainability Association, The Foundation for Wildlife Conservation, The Nature Conservancy and Ya’axche Conservation Trust.
Unknown Belize was proudly shot by an all Belizean film crew at Feste Films, showcasing to the world their spectacular country. The production of the series was executed by OneTribe TV.
The series is currently in the hands of our distributor, and we will let you know when we have further news as things unfold. Please do subscribe to the TENT newsletter (in the page footer) to stay up to date with the latest developments.
With the generous support of our sponsors for the evening, we were able to host more than 350 guests, who came together to celebrate and raise funds for the protection and promotion of Belize's natural wealth.
Our primary sponsors: The Family Coppola Hideaways offer beautiful ecolodges that allow you to connect to Belize's healthy nature. Hamanasi Adventure and Dive Resort is an award-winning location curating diving itineraries for the budding adventurer.
Our secondary sponsors: Stanhope Capital have boldly supported TENT for a number of years. Capital Orthopaedics is a private orthopaedic clinic run by Simon Moyes, with a passion for supporting nature conservation projects. NatureTrek offer affordable and expertly-guided wildlife holidays to Belize, which you can discover here.
Drinks for the evening were kindly provided by Copalli Rum, a Belizean rum manufacturer set in the heart of the jungle. Banrock Station and Packamamma collaborate to deliver excellent wines, sustainably packaged to limit transport-related emissions.
23rd February – 2nd March 2024
We're introducing a new journey across Belize’s three outstanding biomes; from the dense jungle of Maya forest to the tropical savanna and deep coral reefs, discover Belize’s spectacular biodiversity and a national character intent on the preservation of nature.
This journey is an immersion into the vast ecological wealth of Belize’s three biomes, where environmental leaders have long been marrying biodiversity protection with social impact, to experience the ambitious conservation projects contributing to Belize’s vast ecological wealth. This exclusive, specially curated itinerary features a significant contribution to the four Belizean NGOs that you’ll encounter along the way.
We'd like to share an extract from a May 15 Essay in the New York Times: Graduates, My Generation Wrecked So Much That’s Precious. How Can I Offer You Advice? by Margaret Renkl.
"We are, all of us, creatures. We belong to this gorgeousworld in all the same ways that the coyotes in the cove belong to this world. In all the same ways that the fog-shrouded trees belong to this world. You may come someday to feel trapped in asphalt and concrete, but you are not trapped. When you are restless or lonely or afraid, go for a walk in the park or a hike in the woods. Plant a little garden, if only in pots on the sidewalk. Being in the wild world will make you feel better. Get your hands dirty. I promise you will feel better.
And merely by falling in love with the world, you will begin to make it better. Human beings will work to their dying breath to save something they love. Fall in love with the wild world, and you are taking the first step toward saving it.
The world is beautiful. People are good. If you can remember those two things, you will find your way to understanding that nothing ever came of despair, that change happened only because good people worked together to make an unfair world better."
TENT is proud to announce a new partnership to support Italian bear conservation.
How can rewilding help Scotland's nature, people, and climate resilience?
An amazing attendance at the RGS to celebrate Belizean conservation!
