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From:TheBahamasWeekly.com Community
On June 8th, the Grand Bahama based environmental group, EARTHCARE held an official World Oceans Day film event at the Kevin Tomlinson Academy. “Plastic Oceans” was viewed by those in attendance, and is a documentary about the severe impact that plastics are having on our oceans worldwide. The following morning EARTHCARE Eco Kids joined with groups from all over Grand Bahama to March for the Oceans. This event was spearheaded by Coral Vita, reef restoration firm and Keep Grand Bahama Clean and its officers, Nakira Wilchcombe and Olothea Gardiner. Groups also represented were, Bahamas National Trust, Grand Bahama Nature Tours and many others including students and residents of the island. EARTHCARE volunteers, Candice Woon and Alexander Zago prepared brightly coloured signs to bring awareness to the damage that plastics are doing to our precious oceans, and over 100 participants met at the Lions Club Lodge for a 4 mile cleanup March to Williams Town Beach.
70 bags of debris were picked up on the way to Williams Town. “It’s sad to see that we have collected this much garbage on a well-known tourist route, said Grand Bahama Port Authority director, Rupert Hayward. “All of these groups can tell you what damage garbage does to the earth, but its destruction to our ocean life – which is a large part of our livelihood, is worse. I am so pleased with the turnout today and hope we inspire others to think before they throw trash.”
“We could not have been more pleased with the turnout for this event, said Coral Vita Scientist, Stephen Ranson. “The level of support we received from our environmental partners and even from the general public is a testament to the fact that more of us are becoming aware of how things we do in our day to day lives, impact the environment – most importantly the ocean. “Oceans are really the lifeblood of our planet, said KGBC Co-Chair, Olothea Gardiner. “As an archipelagic nation, The Bahamas relies heavily on the bounty of our oceans for food and sustenance, but there must also be balance. We must do everything we can to protect the ocean so that it will continue to serve us well into the future.”
At the end of the March, there were short presentations by Nakira Wilchcombe, Keep Grand Bahama Clean, Jinnel Sturridge, Bahamas National Trust, Rupert Hayward, Grand Bahama Port Authority, Stephen Ranson, Coral Vita, Gail Woon, EARTHCARE and Jensen Farquharson, Save The Bays. EARTHCARE Eco Kids and several March participants accompanied Erika Gates to the Taino Beach Park and Nature Trail where they learned about the relationships between birds and the oceans. EARTHCARE copyright 2018.
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