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Last Updated: Feb 13, 2017 - 1:45:37 AM |
Sandyport Beaches Resort Front Desk Manager Cheralda Arnett (far left) and Front Desk Attendant Tonya Newry (far right) show campers and chaperones from the Bahamas National Trust Eco Camp the resort’s mural of local wildlife, painted by
Abaconian artist Attila Feszt.
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Nassau, Bahamas - Forty high school students got the chance to
explore the natural environment and ecosystems of the country this summer with the Bahamas National Trust’s (BNT) Eco-Camp. With the support of Sandyport Beaches Resort, who provided the camp with free accommodations for its family-island campers, the annual BNT youth programme expanded attendees horizons under its leadership theme.
Of the 40 campers, 27 were from the family islands and required accommodations in Nassau before and after the field activities in Andros. A long-time supporter of the Bahamas National Trust, Sandyport Beaches Resort didn’t hesitate to offer rooms for the children and their chaperones at the 72-room hotel in the Sandyport Marina Village on West Bay Street.
“We recognise the opportunity the BNT is providing these young students, immersing them in the beautiful environment that surrounds us in the Bahamas, and that hotels like ours depend on,” said Cheralda Arnett, Front Desk Manager at the Sandyport Beaches Resort.
“Helping to defray costs by providing accommodation is certainly our pleasure. One
day, members of this camp may go on to be our nation’s marine biologists, ecologists, and conservationists. These youngsters could be an integral part of our
country’s future, so we are happy to make this investment in their futures.”
Spending most of their days in Andros, the campers were encouraged to leave their
comfort zones and interact with the environment and with the residents of Andros’
communities for a week. Attendees participated in outdoor activities such as hiking,
snorkelling, and swimming and took part in species identifications sessions each
morning.
Stephan Evans, Navigators Coordinator at the Bahamas National Trust stated that
he believed the Eco Camp is one of the BNT’s best programs.
“We use the environment and the work of the BNT as an avenue to teach the
students skills like leadership that will follow them throughout their lives. We have
seen so many successes with Eco Camp and past members have gone on to do
impact studies and other projects in our parks that feed into the work of the BNT.”
He stated that this year the students got to participate directly in BNT field work.
“We are already doing a perception survey in different parts of the Bahamas so we
thought we’d have the students contribute to the work BNT is doing. The students
went out into the Fresh Creek community to survey the residents about the work of
the BNT. After, they developed a pitch on what we could do with the survey data,
integrating all that they learned. Often we discredit what young people can bring to
the table, but some of the things they said were mind-blowing. They made plans for outreach strategy with goals and objectives and all of the formal structure needed to bring innovative ideas to life.”
One camper, 14 year old S.C. Bootle student Curlene Bellott said that the camp
opened her eyes. “Many of the things we did at the Eco-Camp I was doing for the
first time, so it was pretty amazing. My favourite thing – which pushed me out of my comfort zone – was jumping into the blue hole. I also snorkelled for the first time and I loved it.
“I learned so much about species identification and I will be going into grade 10 in
September so a lot of what I’ve learned here will give me a head start in biology.”
Miss Bellott also said that staying at Sandyport Beaches Resort was fun for the
campers.
“I loved it at Sandyport Beaches Resort,” she said. “After a week of hot sun at the
camp it was great to relax and go in the pool before going home. Also, the rooms
connect to each other so we can easily spend time with our campmates and
continue to get to know each other.”
Mr. Evans echoed Miss Bellot stating the BNT’s gratefulness for the in-kind donation.
“First and foremost, it is so beautiful here! We have to be concerned about where the kids stay, because the parents are concerned about where they are sending their kids. So when we can send them links or photos to a beautiful place like this it puts us and the parents at ease.
“Eco-Camp would be impossible without the support of Sandyport Beaches Resort
simply because we bring in kids from so many different islands and we all leave
together. Many people don’t understand the amount of work that goes into saying
that we have kids from places like Mayaguana, Inagua, Long Island, Exuma and all
of the other islands. If we have no place for them to stay, the camp couldn’t happen. Without Sandyport Beaches Resort that work would be for nought.”
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