BREEF pioneers post Dorian resilient Blue Bahamas Project in Grand Bahama

Approximately 472 students from Bishop Michael Eldon School, Mary Star of the Sea Academy, Lucaya International School, Freeport Gospel Chapel and Hugh Campbell Primary School participated in the Bahamas Reef Environment Educational Foundation’s (BREEF) first “Resilient Blue Bahamas” project conducted on Grand Bahama from 11 th to 13th February 2020. The curriculum based, educational module was designed to increase students’ awareness of Climate Change and the role that Coral Reefs and Mangroves play in safeguarding our islands from storms. At end of the three day school visits, eight exciting and engaging hour-long sessions were facilitated by Kevin Glinton, BREEF’s Education Coordinator and Eco-Schools Bahamas National Operator.

Unlike any other natural disaster, hurricane Dorian has tested the resiliency of our people and the Bahamian marine environment. BREEF recognizes the critical role that young people have in conserving the Bahamian marine environment and developed the “Resilient Blue Bahamas” project to support their recovery and ongoing efforts to restore and protect Bahamian coral reefs and mangrove wetlands; our first and second lines of defense against powerful tidal surges that accompany hurricanes. When asked to share her thoughts about the project, Freeport Gospel Chapel School teacher and Eco- Schools coordinator Ms. Helen P. Tynes said, “Bahamians are known as a resilient set of people and in light of what our country recently experienced with hurricane Dorian there is an urgent need to educate our children on ways to protect and preserve the earth that we have borrowed from them.”

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