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Community : Grand Bahama Last Updated: Feb 13, 2017 - 1:45:37 AM


Grand Bahama Students on Track to Become Next Generation of Environmentalists
By Save The Bays
May 13, 2016 - 12:39:15 PM

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On May 7, 28 students from Grand Bahama graduated from the Youth Environmental Ambassadors (YEA) course – a 10-week series sponsored by Save The Bays in connection with the internationally acclaimed Center for Creative Leadership, a global provider of leadership development which ranks No. 4 overall in the Financial Times worldwide survey of executive education. The program, led by Save The Bays Chairman and YEA founder Joseph Darville (far right, first row) and facilitator Rashema Ingraham (far right, back row) immerses participants in hands-on environmental education from wading across wetlands and kayaking through mangrove forests to listening to lectures by ecology experts.

28 Teens, Pre-Teens Graduate from Save The Bays YEA Leadership Training Program

At 14, Lavonne Mack may have found her life calling. With several guest radio appearances already under her belt on “Rise Up Bahamas,” a weekly radio show airing Saturdays on Love 97.5, Lavonne just may become the voice for the next generation of environmentalists.

Lavonne is among 28 of Grand Bahama’s most promising young people, selected from nearly three times as many who applied for a place in the Youth Environmental Ambassadors (YEA) course – a 10-week series sponsored by Save The Bays in connection with the internationally acclaimed Center for Creative Leadership, a global provider of leadership development which ranks No. 4 overall in the Financial Times worldwide survey of executive education. The training course immerses participants in hands-on environmental education from wading across wetlands and kayaking through mangroves to listening to lectures by ecology experts. Radio guest spots sharing experiences and discussing what they’ve learned is an extra benefit.

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For the second year in a row, YEA graduates commemorated the closing of the session by showing off their percussion skills. The drumming serves to bring students together as a group and into alignment with their new lifestyle of environmental stewardship.

“On radio, a lot of the participants talk about values and how their values tie into appreciation of the environment,” said YEA facilitator Rashema Ingraham of the broadcasts. “Lavonne was a guest on the show quite a few times. I think she really found a good comfort zone.”

While more than 80 youngsters applied to become ambassadors, only 40 were accepted because of space limitations. By the end of the two-and-half month period, 28 of that group made the final cut, striding across the stage at YMCA Grand Bahama on May 7 to receive their official certificates and pins. For the second year in a row, students marked the closing of the session by showing off their percussion skills.

“We use drumming to loosen them up and bring them together as a group so they can see beyond the theory of what we’ve been telling them, and bring them into alignment with a new lifestyle and commitment,” Ingraham said.

In order to be pinned as a graduate, students must do much more than simply show up two Saturdays a month during the series. They have to demonstrate a clear understanding of topics they studied and observed and how they can be applied in real life.

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Save The Bays Chairman and YEA founder Joseph Darville (left) looks on as a Youth Environmental Ambassador (YEA) graduate makes a presentation on what he learned during the 10-week training series. In order to be pinned as a graduate, students must show a clear understanding of the topics discussed during training and how they can be applied in real life. The local program that includes field trips, nature excursions, hands-on experiences and lectures is also enriched by an organization ranked fourth in the worldwide in executive leadership training.

“The Bahamas has the most to lose when it comes to climate change,” said Save the Bays Chairman Joseph Darville, Save The Bays chairman and founder of the YEA program. “We must educate future generations so they are prepared and provide them the necessary tools for shaping the future of the earth’s health. It’s their lives which are at stake—most of us will be long gone by then.”

Ingraham added that this year’s students exhibited such promise that she can easily see a junior membership program for Save the Bays coming to fruition.

“These students were really an inspiration,” she said. “We see their potential and there are a few of them who, if given proper training and exposure to the proper lectures, can blossom into real environmentalists who may speak on an international stage one day.”



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