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Sustainability & Conservation at Turtle Inn

Sustainability & Conservation at Turtle Inn

Francis and Eleanor Coppola have always seen their role as conservators of the coast Turtle Inn sits on. That shows up in three places: how the resort runs, how it protects the reef, and how it supports the village of Placencia.

How we run

The buildings are low, made of thatch, hardwood, bamboo, and regional tile, set among native plants that need little water.

  • The pools run on saltwater instead of chlorine.
  • Haiku fans, which draw a third of the power of a standard fan, cool the dwellings, and 95% of the lighting is LED.
  • Single-use plastic is gone. Guests carry refillable steel bottles filled at filter stations around the property, and one US dollar from every bottle sold goes to Friends for Conservation. Takeaway packaging is corn-based; straws are metal or bamboo.
  • Greywater is filtered and reused to irrigate the gardens; kitchen scraps and used cooking oil become compost and biofuel.
  • The on-site organic garden supplies the kitchen. The head gardener will walk you through the beds, and you can help harvest or feed the chickens.
  • Wood comes from a supplier that replants at harvest, the furniture is built in-house, and the toiletries are local, organic, and refilled rather than thrown out.

Protecting the reef

The Belize Barrier Reef draws many of our guests, and its worst threat is the invasive lionfish, which has no predator here and eats through native reef fish.

  • Guests dive with our guides to cull lionfish off the reef, then eat the catch, a dive that leaves the reef healthier than it found it.
  • We support MarAlliance, whose research on big fish, turtles, and the reef began in Belize 24 years ago.
  • We donate annually to the Belize Wildlife Referral Clinic, which treats injured wildlife, and guests can give directly.
  • Each year before Earth Day, the team runs beach cleanups in Placencia, weighed and recorded, a tradition now more than fifteen years old.

Supporting Placencia

  • We fund full academic scholarships for local students, covering tuition, fees, and books through graduation.
  • Through Pack for a Purpose, guests bring school supplies, from notebooks to laptops, often delivering them to the schools themselves.
  • We contribute monthly to the Placencia health clinic for medicine and equipment, and support the Inspiration Center of Belize, which provides therapy and care for children with disabilities, and where our general manager, Martin Krediet, sits on the board.
  • Each week brings a local artist or musician to the resort, with painting, guitar, and Spanish classes open to guests.

The Belize Community Fund

Much of this is powered by the Belize Community Fund. A small contribution is added to each stay, pooled across our two Belize lodges and given in full to local organizations, from the village library and school projects to scholarships, the humane society, and marine research. Guests can speak to the concierge to learn more about these charities or to arrange a visit to one of the organizations they support.