National Coastal Awareness Committee Travels to Cat Island - Charles King, Government Administrator of Cat Island (second from left) shows National Coastal Awareness Committee members Stuart Cove, of Stuart Cove’s (far left), Kelly Meister, Dolphin Encounters (second from right); and Earlston McPhee, Chairman and Sustainable Development for the Ministry of Tourism (far right) the beaches on the North side of Arthur’s Town. Volunteers from Nassau will join locals in Cat Island for a beach clean up on Saturday, April 9th.
Nassau, Bahamas - The Coastal Awareness Committee of The Bahamas,
a group of stakeholders from the private and public sectors with an interest in
promoting the sustainable development of The Bahamas, heads to Cat Island this
week to assist with a Beach Clean Up on Saturday, April 9th in
conjunction with local government, local schools and volunteers from both
Nassau and Cat Island.
The
clean up, which will take place on two beaches on the North side of Cat Island near
Arthur’s Town, is the second time the National Coastal Awareness Committee has
taken members from Nassau to assist with Family Island projects. The Committee
also assisted with cleaning a Blue Hole in Rock Sound, Eleuthera two years ago.
“We
are really excited to be working together with the community and local
government of Cat Island in a united effort to clean two areas on the island,”
said Earlston McPhee, Chairman of the National Coastal Awareness Committee and Director, Sustainable Development for the Ministry
of Tourism. “It was brought to our attention that the beaches on Cat Island
were becoming dirty as a result of debris from passing ships that travel in the
shipping lanes and that it was becoming a problem. We flew to Cat Island to
meet with local government and to visit the beaches in person and saw firsthand
the marine debris was indeed brought in by the tide from ships. Our goal this
weekend is not to simply clean the beach but to document the debris and to
track the source. We are also working closely with the Bahamas
National Trust and a Ministry of Education representative at a school in Cat
Island to establish a Discovery Club Chapter on
the island so that students can learn more about their environment.”
Charles King, Government
Administrator of Cat Island met with members of the National Coastal Awareness
Committee and took them on a tour of the beaches as well as discussed plans for
the clean up.
“We
are happy to join forces with the National Coastal Awareness Committee in this
clean up initiative and will do everything we can to assist. Our beaches
continue to be littered from outside sources, not our local community. We are looking
forward to working together to help combat this increasing problem.”
The
National Coastal Awareness Committee will be working with the student
volunteers from Prince Willard Dean High School in Cat Island for the clean up
and many businesses and non-profit groups from Nassau are headed to Cat Island
to assist in the cleanup. Sky Bahamas, has committed a charter plane at a reduced rate to fly volunteers from Nassau to
Cat Island. Other sponsors include: The Department of Environmental Health
Services, The Caribbean Bottling Company producers of Coca-Cola; Dolphin
Encounters – Project B.E.A.C.H.; Organization of
American States; Inter American Corporation on Agriculture (IICA); Kingsway
Academy Discovery Club and Earth Watch Club; Colina Insurance Limited and Stuart
Cove’s Dive.
The
National Coastal Awareness Committee has increased the number of activities
scheduled for April which is officially National Coastal Awareness Month in The
Bahamas. The public is invited to participate.
The Committee will host, in collaboration with its
strategic partners both in the public and private sectors the following:
national Public Service Announcement campaigns on television and radio; a
continuation of the harbour clean up; erection of banners throughout
participating islands in The Bahamas; primary and secondary school competitions;
field trips with Dolphin Encounters on Blue Lagoon Island, Dive Stuart Cove, Blackbeard’s
Cay, the Bahamas National Trust and BREEF, have been arranged to provide
students with an opportunity to learn about protecting the coasts and enjoy the
marine wonders of the Bahamas. There will also be a national T-Shirt Day on
Friday, April 30th.
As this is a
national initiative, Beach clean-ups and other Coastal Awareness activities are planned for the islands
of Abaco, Andros, Bimini, Eleuthera, Exuma and Cat Island.
The 2011 Coastal Awareness Committee includes
members from the following organizations:
Ministry of Tourism
Bahamas Environment
Science and Technology Commission (BEST)
Bahamas Hotel
Association
Bahamas National Trust
Bahamas Reef Environment
Educational Foundation (BREEF)
Broadcasting Corporation
of The Bahamas
College of The Bahamas
Department of
Environmental Health Services
Department of Marine Resources
Dive Stuart Cove
Dolphin Encounters Ltd.
The Nature Conservancy
Ministry of Education,
Science and Technology
Port Department
The College
of The Bahamas
The
University of The West Indies
“Our
coastal and marine resources help shape our nation’s character and its
distinctive personality,” adds Mr. McPhee. “All beneficiaries of the tourism
industry must take an interest and active role in conserving our natural
resources, particularly in growing Small Island Developing States (SIDS) like
The Bahamas. As we depend on the tourism industry the
economic sustainability of The Bahamas hinges on our ability to maintain the
natural beauty of these islands that attracts millions to our shores. We thank each
of our corporate sponsors who continue to support and contribute to this
worthwhile effort. We also ask the public to participate in our upcoming events
as we strive to sustain the natural beauty of these islands for our
socio-economic welfare and that of our guests. We are all in this together and
as our motto states ‘If not us…Who?
If not Now…When?”
For more information on
National Coastal Awareness month visit www.coastalawareness.org, LIKE the National
Coastal Awareness page on Facebook or to become a sponsor please contact
Earlston McPhee at 356-6963/67/38.
