Students of the Grantley Adams Memorial School have been tasked with being the champions of the ocean and participating in an anti-plastic campaign for Barbados.
Minister of the Environment and National Beautification, Adrian Forde, issued the challenge to students ahead of a tour of the ocean onboard the Atlantis Submarine, as part of activities to mark World Environment Day, today.
“The importance of restoring our corals and our reefs must never be underestimated in our fight for the survival of our ocean. The next existential threat that you will be faced with is the threat as it relates to the ocean and its destruction. The importance of a blue economy must now become the focus of every single young person in Barbados,” Mr. Forde stated.
He called on the students to become the “game changers” and active participants that were needed in Barbados, by being a part of an anti-littering campaign.
“You must be able to sensitise Barbadians using various social media platforms and word-of-mouth. Talk to your classmates and friends. Say from today we will stop pollution…, illegal dumping…and the invasion of plastics. Say we will be the true champions of the anti-plastic campaign that this Government so desperately needs,” Mr. Forde challenged the students.
He explained that plastic pollution was part of the existential threat Barbados faced, as it not only caused damage to the coral reef that people were trying to rehabilitate, but it would destroy all the fish species.
Mr. Forde said the importance being placed on the restoration of the island’s ecosystems, and land-based solutions to prevent the “vagaries” of climate change and natural disasters was appreciated.
General Manager of the Atlantis Submarine, Roseann Myers, also encouraged the students to do what they could to reduce the use of plastic at home and at school.
The Atlantis Submarine staff also dedicated a “coral tree” to the Grantley Adams Memorial School, as they continue to work with the institution under a project being spearheaded by the Ministry of the Environment and National Beautification, to reverse the damage to the coral reef.
“Coral trees” are used to establish coral nurseries, which are kept in 100 feet of water, before being transplanted to the reef, after reaching a certain size.
In addition, Ms. Myers noted that the Atlantis Submarine also donated a number of fruit trees to the students to be planted at the school, in recognition of the fact that the land and marine environments were connected.
The students were accompanied by Principal, Major Andrew Skeete, and other members of the teaching staff, while Director of the Coastal Zone Management Unit, Dr. Leo Brewster; Environment Education Officer, Donna King-Brathwaite, and other Ministry officials were present.
Environment Month 2023 runs from June 1 to 30, under the theme: Living Sustainably…Reduce Plastics Pollution to Protect our Blue Economy.