On August 3, 2026, residents of Belize’s Independence Village came together to unveil a new community-created mural that stands as both a tribute to the ecologically rich Placencia Lagoon and a public call for urgent local conservation action. The unveiling marks the official launch of a targeted conservation awareness campaign spearheaded by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), designed to build widespread grassroots support for protecting the critical coastal waterbody.
This mural project is just the first phase of a larger outreach effort: additional community murals are already scheduled for installation in nearby Placencia and Stann Creek districts, each designed to highlight the unique regional histories, cultural traditions and daily livelihoods that are inextricably tied to the lagoon’s health.
Abigail Parham Garbutt, a marine conservation officer working on the initiative, explained that the collaborative artwork does more than decorate a public space: it weaves together decades of personal memories and lived experiences of local residents, while making explicit the lagoon’s non-negotiable role in sustaining the local way of life. The entire project falls under the umbrella of WWF’s larger Reef Guard Project: Sustaining Life and Livelihoods, a program that works to improve management practices across four key marine protected areas in the region, with a specific focus on centering local community leadership in Placencia Lagoon conservation efforts.
More than 20 local residents, ranging from young schoolchildren to long-time environmental advocates, contributed hours of work to paint the mural, turning the project into a truly community-owned effort. Lead artist Anton Leslie shared that the mural’s design intentionally incorporates the lagoon’s iconic mangrove habitats, vulnerable native manatee populations, traditional local transportation and depictions of childhood moments spent along the water, all to visualize the deep, intergenerational connection local people have to the lagoon.
Organizers behind the campaign emphasize that the mural is intended to act as a permanent, public reminder: long-term protection of the Placencia Lagoon can only succeed when the community members who rely on its resources every day take a leading role in conservation. A full, in-depth report on the project and the community’s response will air on News 5 Live at 6 p.m. local time the same day.