Five Belizean students turn sargassum crisis into agricultural opportunity, win STEAM award

By Ingrid Ferlo

A summer camp that five Orange Walk high-school students almost skipped has produced an award-winning idea aimed at turning one of Belize’s most persistent coastal problems into a resource for agriculture.

The students developed a concept to collect and process sargassum into agricultural fertilizer, earning their team the “Best Use of STEAM” award at a national festival held in San Ignacio, Cayo, on July 18, 2026.

The five Bishop Martin High School students — Linda Escalante, Ideleen Monzon, Vivian Martinez, Yasmin Minjangos and Marceline Locario — developed the project after attending a Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) summer camp at their school in July.

Their concept, titled “The Reborn of Sargassum,” proposes using a specially designed boat to collect, compress and process large quantities of sargassum before converting the seaweed into fertilizer for agricultural use.

The students researched the nutrients contained in sargassum and their potential benefits for crop production, including applications aimed at combating common fungal diseases. Their proposal also sought to address the environmental and tourism effects of decomposing sargassum by reducing the amount of seaweed accumulating along Belize’s beaches and coastline.

The team presented its project at a STEAM Festival in San Ignacio, where 31 teams from six secondary schools across Belize showcased projects before school communities, business leaders, education authorities, families and peers as part of an innovation competition.

The Bishop Martin High School students entered the competition uncertain about their chances, but their research became important when judges questioned them about the chemical treatment required to make sargassum suitable for agricultural use. The students had examined approaches being used in Mexico and incorporated that research into their presentation.

Their project ultimately received the Festival’s “Best Use of STEAM” recognition. Other projects were also recognized, including entries from Bishop Martin High School, Corozal Community College and Ecumenical High School.

The achievement followed a summer experience the five students initially had little interest in attending.

After completing a long school year, some wanted to rest, while others were reluctant to spend their afternoons at another educational programme. Encouragement from their mothers eventually persuaded them to participate.

The camp introduced the students to ways that science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics could be combined to address community and national problems.

Facilitator Wilson Mendoza used interactive teaching activities to encourage participants to examine environmental challenges facing Belize and develop possible solutions. The students worked collaboratively, applying concepts from different STEAM disciplines as their projects developed.

Industry professionals from ASR Group also participated in the programme, reinforcing engineering concepts and explaining how women technicians within their companies use engineering principles to solve problems and improve sugar production and processing.

The students also visited Orange Walk ITVET, where AutoCAD demonstrations showed how mathematics supports modern design and construction.

During the final days of the camp, participants worked in teams to identify community challenges and develop innovative solutions using what they had learned. Linda, Ideleen, Vivian, Yasmin and Marceline divided their responsibilities according to their individual strengths, assigning research, model construction and presentation duties as they developed their sargassum project.

The summer camp forms part of the extracurricular Skills for the Future initiative supported by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Science and Technology, the Inter-American Development Bank and the Global Partnership for Education and implemented by Education Development Center.

The initiative seeks to increase the participation of girls and women in education and careers associated with STEAM and the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

For the five Bishop Martin High School students, the competition may not mark the end of their project. They hope to develop a working prototype of their sargassum-processing concept but have identified financing as the principal obstacle to taking the idea beyond its current stage.

The students believe support from private-sector partners could allow them to further develop and test the concept, potentially moving an idea conceived during a summer camp towards practical application.

Their experience has also changed how they view opportunities that initially appear unfamiliar or uncomfortable.

A programme they almost chose not to attend ultimately gave them national recognition and an opportunity to explore a possible solution to one of Belize’s most visible environmental challenges.

Ingrid Ferlo is a Communications Consultant with the Education Development Center.