General Health and Safety Guidance

Welcome to Ya’axché Institute for Conservation Education (YICE). We are deeply committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of our guests, staff, and community. Our top priority is to provide a secure and enjoyable environment for all our eco-tourism activities. We adhere to strict safety protocols and continuously review our practices to maintain the highest standards of safety and care. Below, please review our general safety guidelines to help you enjoy your experience responsibly.

Wildlife

  • Separate briefings have been prepared to help with the identification, prevention and basic treatment of bites and stings from insects, spiders, scorpions and snakes.
  • Jaguars, Tapirs and Peccaries are potentially dangerous but they are mainly active at night. They will generally see, smell or hear you before you see them.

Exposure to Sun

  • Wear sun screen with a high SPF, hats and eye protection (especially when on the water).
  • Avoid mid-day sun or cover up.
  • To avoid dehydration, carry and drink lots of water (at least 2 litres a day).
  • Avoid heavy exertion at the hottest part of the day.
  • Loose lightweight clothing is best for staying cool.
  • Heat exhaustion is where a person experiences extreme tiredness. It’s caused by a loss of body fluids and salts after being exposed to heat for a prolonged period of time. Symptoms can occur rapidly and include: Very hot and clammy skin, headache, tiredness, nausea, a rapid heartbeat, dizziness and confusion.  You will urinate less often and urine will be darker.
  • If you then stop sweating and your skin remains very hot but is dry, this is because you are dehydrated and your body is overheating. This is a warning sign of heat stroke, which is a serious medical condition.  Other symptoms additional to above are lack of coordination, fits, hallucinations and ultimately loss of consciousness.
  • If you or anyone else displays any of the symptoms associated with heat exhaustion or heat stroke, inform a member of staff immediately.

Camp Fire Safety

  • Camp fires must be made with staff’s permission, in specified areas only and must be well contained.
  • No flammable materials/liquids close to fires.
  • Never leave a burning fire unattended.
  • Last person(s) to bed are responsible for extinguishing fires. Use water or cover it with sand.
  • Do not wear loose clothing that may catch alight.

Fire General

  • No smoking inside the field station or on the veranda, bunkhouse, toilets or showers. Properly extinguish and dispose of cigarette butts.
  • Do not smoke near any flammable materials or substances.
  • Unplug all electrical items when not in use and at night (excluding fridge and fans).
  • No naked flames (e.g. candles) inside buildings.
  • In the event of fire:
    • Raise the alarm. Yell “FIRE”.
    • Leave the building by the quickest route.
    • Assemble at the Fire Meeting place – one will be identified at each location for you.
    • Do not stop, or re-enter the building, to collect belongings.
    • Guest and volunteers must not tackle fires. Staff should only tackle small fires if is safe to do so.

Electrical Safety

  • Never touch a switch/cable/power outlet with wet hands.
  • Unplug electrical items if there is a local thunderstorm.
  • Unplug all electrical items when not in use.
  • Don’t leave any electrical items outside in case it rains.

Miscellaneous

  • Take care on the Field Station stairs when they are wet as they can be slippery.
  • Do not leave trailing electrical cables where they can trip people.
  • Everyone sweats in Belize. Practice good personal hygiene; wash yourself, your clothes and your bedding.  Failure to do so can result in infections (ear), spreadable fungal infections (ringworm) and more.
  • You are encouraged to eat well to maintain high energy levels for the tour schedule.

Contact Us

If you have any questions about our safety guidelines and practices, you can contact us at:

Email: info@ecotourismbelize.com
Phone: +501 722-0108