Dear Friends,
There is a new tree in our midst as we close the year!
Exciting news comes to us out of Belize from our colleague and very talented botanist Steven W. Brewer, who has discovered a new tree species – Spathelia belizensis. It is named for Belize, as the only country where the species is known to occur.
New to science, Spathelia belizensis is found only on rich limestone hills in Belize’s Golden Stream Corridor Preserve and the adjacent Columbia River Forest Reserve. Both are critical areas of the biodiverse Maya Golden Landscape that our partner, Ya’axché Conservation Trust, works to protect.
This new tree discovery underscores the importance of Ya’axché’s work to protect these forests from further loss.
To support strong field work like this, please consider a year-end contribution to Wild Earth Allies. Through December 31, your contribution will also help us leverage the generous Newman’s Own Foundation Challenge Grant.
With this new discovery, and your support, we feel optimistic heading into 2017.
Happy New Year!
Katie Frohardt
Executive Director