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Last Updated: Feb 13, 2017 - 1:45:37 AM |
BNT looking for Community Support for GB Park Expansion -
Recently the Bahamas National Trust (BNT) President, Executive Director and Grand Bahama Parks Manager met with the Minister for Grand Bahama, Hutchinson Executives and Grand Bahama Port Authority representatives to review the proposed new and extended parks for the island. Pictured are the stakeholders along with the BNT team at the meeting.
(BNT Photo)
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Guides and Stakeholders meet to review plans
Freeport, Bahamas – Recently the Bahamas National Trust (BNT) President, Executive Director and Grand Bahama Parks Manager met with the Minister for Grand Bahama, Hutchinson Executives and Grand Bahama Port Authority representatives to review the proposed new and extended parks for the island.
The two new proposed parks for East Grand Bahama and the Northshore-Gap, as well as the extended Lucayan and Peterson’s Cay areas are all featured on TV ads to be released in November. Using first-time drone video footage, the ads were created to solicit feedback from the public on the proposed areas.
BNT President Larry Glinton at Stakeholder Meeting -
President of the BNT, Larry Glinton, closed the event and thanked the representatives for their time and his team for their dedication to the efforts. “We must fully embrace our environment, not just give it lip service,” said Glinton. “Be very clear we at the BNT are not anti-development rather we seek to protect the natural beauty that makes us so desirable as a destination and which astronauts consistently describe as ‘the most stunning view from outer space.’”
(BNT Photo)
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“The government has been very keen to support our request for more parks but have been very clear that they want public consultation and feedback,” said Lakeshia Anderson, BNT GB Parks Manager. “We are asking for the public to review our ads, then go to the website to view the proposed areas, and sign the petition if they support them.”
Previously, environmental organizations have had to rely on letter writing campaigns to support the creation of new national parks, but thanks to the easy and fast-paced way of social media they can now interact with their supporters in a simpler feedback format.
Minister of Grand Bahama and BNT President Looking at Proposed Parks -
The two new proposed parks for East Grand Bahama and the Northshore-Gap, as well as the extended Lucayan and Peterson’s Cay areas are all featured on TV ads to be released in November. Using first-time drone video footage, the ads were created to solicit feedback from the public on the proposed areas. Along with the Minister, Sarah St. George, GBPA Chairman and Graham Torode, President and CEO of Grand Bahama Development Co., Senator Tanisha Tynes, Permanent Secretary Melvin Seymour of the Ministry of Grand Bahama, Betty Bethel of GB Tourism Board, The Nature Conservancy, and local environmental NGOs were given a preview of the TV ads and a detailed description of the boundaries and resident feedback.
(BNT Photo)
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Attending the stakeholder breakfast meeting was Minister Darville. “Our job as residents here is to protect our island. Nothing is carved in stone and we want the best solution for all,” he said. “Our Prime Minister is a passionate environmentalist and we fully support the BNT and their partners, but the 19 proposed areas for park inclusions must receive broad scale review.”
Along with the Minister, Sarah St. George, GBPA Chairman and Graham Torode, President and CEO of Grand Bahama Development Co., Senator Tanisha Tynes, Permanent Secretary Melvin Seymour of the Ministry of Grand Bahama, Betty Bethel of GB Tourism Board, The Nature Conservancy, and local environmental NGOs were given a preview of the TV ads and a detailed description of the boundaries and resident feedback. President of the BNT, Larry Glinton, closed the event and thanked the representatives for their time and his team for their dedication to the efforts.
“We must fully embrace our environment, not just give it lip service,” said Glinton. “Be very clear we at the BNT are not anti-development rather we seek to protect the natural beauty that makes us so desirable as a destination and which astronauts consistently describe as ‘the most stunning view from outer space.’”
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