Audubon Society Recognizes Retiring Board Members

Former board members Lascelle Tillett and Mike Heusner, pioneers in the ecotourism industry, were honored on Saturday by the Belize Audubon Society.  During a ceremony held at the Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary, the advocates for the conservation of Belize’s natural resources were formally recognized by the organization. The occasion was also used to announce the work of the Sarita Tillett Legacy Grant which was donated by friends of the Tillett family. Executive Director Amanda Acosta tells us more.

Amanda Acosta

Amanda Acosta, Executive Director, Belize Audubon Society

“This weekend, on Saturday, we went down to Cockscomb and we had, in a sense, what we call a celebratory event.  During COVID, we had two longstanding members: Mr. Mike Heusner from the Belize River Lodge and Mr. Lascelle Tillett from S&L Tours. They retired from our board during the time of COVID.  They’re longstanding members since the seventies and they had served on and off on our boards for like twenty years, so we just wanted to openly acknowledge and recognize them. The main reason though [that] it was held in Cockscomb is because we received a legacy grant in the name of Mrs. Sarita Tillett.  For those of you who knew Mrs. Sarita, she was one of the founders of S&L Tours, Sarita and Lascelle Tillett, one of the stalwarts of conservation, sustainable tourism in Belize. The grant allowed us to retrofit a trail for what we’re calling Golden Citizens so that they could access one of the low-lying trails.  So where there were serious elevations we put in steps and rest benches and bridges and covering some of the higher risk for that age group. So it was a really special event, we had her plaque and a recognition for Mrs. Sarita.”