Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Welcome to Hugh Parkey Foundation new Blogspot

Dear All:

The Hugh Parkey Foundation for Marine Awareness and Education (HPF) was founded in January 2003, in honor of the late Hugh Parkey, Belize’s beloved Ambassador of the Sea.

Hugh’s passion for nature, conservation and the ocean was contagious. He had an uncanny ability to make people feel at ease and his ability to share what he loved with others was a remarkable gift. He understood that Marine Awareness and Education could not be taught solely in the classroom. Hugh not only believed, but demonstrated that given the opportunity to experience the beauty of the marine environment firsthand, people would fall in love with the ocean and then find ways to protect it.

The goals of the Hugh Parkey Foundation are:

· To provide Marine Awareness and Educational Programs to every Standard 5 (Primary) and 2nd Form (Secondary) students in Belize at no cost to the student, parent, teacher, or school.

· To provide Research Opportunity and Facilities to Belizeans pursuing advanced degrees at no cost (B.S., M.S., Ph.D)

· To provide internship opportunities to Tertiary Level Belizean students at no cost.

· To establish a sustainable, self –supporting research, conservation, and education outreach program that will survive in perpetuity.

Accomplishments:
Since August 2005, the Hugh Parkey Foundation has established a Marine Science Educational Outreach Program obtaining the following accomplishements:
1. Training over 60 primary and secondary school teachers,
2. Printing and dessiminating over 2,000 Marine Science Student Workbooks,
3. Compiling and dessiminating over 70 Teachers Toolboxes,
4. Conducting field trips for over 2,000 primary and secondary students, and
5. Conducting 2 Marine Science Quiz Bowls with over 175 primary school students participating.

Moreover, the foundation has hosted other educational activities such as the Hugh Parkey Foundation's Marine Science Film Festivals, Marine Science Poster Art Competitions, and Marine Science Symposium. This in addition to SCUBA certifying youths from the YMCA and Youth for the Future during the summers vacations.

Our website is currently under construction, therefore we are using this temporary blog site. But if you are interested in learning more about us or helping to sponsor us, please contact us at

P.O. Box 1818
Spanish Lookout Caye
Belize City
Belize C.A.
Tel: (501) 671-4526
Fax: (501) 220-4024
E-mail: ed_officer@hpfoundation.org

Welcome to the Foundation


This is where we will keep you posted of everything the Hugh Parkey Foundation for Marine Awareness and Education is involved in. We appreciate any feedback and suggestions you have to improve our blog and projects around Belize.