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The Bahamas Reef Environment Educational Foundation (BREEF) captured top honours at the 9th annual tve Global Sustainability Film Awards in London. The GSFA recognizes outstanding films from the business, non-profit, media and creative sectors that inspire audiences with real-world solutions for a more sustainable future. The 2020 awards were held online from November 16-20, with BREEF winning first place in the Transforming Society category.

 

BREEF and the Rolex Perpetual Planet initiative collaborated to produce this award-winning short film about educating the next generation of Bahamian environmental stewards. The film highlights BREEF and its Eco-Schools programme, drawing attention to the actions young people are taking within their schools and communities to combat climate change and to sustain the Bahamian way of life. Students from Deep Creek Middle School, Harbour Island Green School, Eva Hilton Primary School and CI Gibson Senior High School are in the film, inspiring others around the world by using the ocean as a living classroom, and driving action to protect it. Children in the film learn about marine protected areas and explore BREEF’s coral nursery and Coral Reef Sculpture Garden.

 

The film prominently shares the beauty of The Bahamas with a global audience. It includes stunning footage of the island of Eleuthera where BREEF’s Executive Director Casuarina McKinney-Lambert was born – from Lighthouse Point in the south to Harbour Island in the north. Rolex’s Perpetual Planet initiative celebrates partnerships that encourage and inspire the next generation of underwater explorers and conservationists.

 

The film was directed by award-winning filmmaker Fran Mendez, and includes underwater footage by world-renowned Bahamian photographer Andre Musgrove. 

 

Upon receiving the news that the “BREEF and Rolex Preserve and Protect Nature” film won first place, an elated Casuarina McKinney-Lambert said, “We are thrilled and are so proud of what the young people of The Bahamas are doing to protect the oceans around us and make the world a better place. We owe it to the next generation to support them.”

 

BREEF has been running Eco-Schools in The Bahamas since 2009. Eco-Schools Bahamas is part of the international award programme developed in 1994 by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE). The Eco-Schools Bahamas programme promotes environmental stewardship by creating an awareness of local and global environmental challenges. Through a simple, seven-step process Eco-Schools empowers children to take action for the environment, by engaging them in fun, action-oriented learning and community outreach activities. The global Eco-Schools network includes over 19.5 million children in 68 countries.

 

Currently, BREEF’s Eco-Schools Bahamas network is spread over six islands and consists of 17 government and 17 private schools. While schools are operating remotely during the pandemic, BREEF educators are teaching virtual field trips and presentations to support ongoing conservation education. 

 

Information on the award and the film can be found here at https://www.gsfa.org.uk/transforming-society and www.breef.org. For more information on the Rolex Perpetual Planet Initiative visit www.rolex.org. 

 

The Bahamas belongs to our children, and BREEF’s Eco-Schools programme gives them the tools and the global reach to protect it. Schools interested in joining the Eco-Schools Bahamas programme can contact BREEF at 327-9000 or email: ecoschoolsbahamas@breef.org.