The passionate voices of Bahamian youth were documented in a short-film written by Eleutheran Deep Creek Middle School students, Taryn McKinney-Lambert and Keion Sands and produced by the well acclaimed filmmaker Kareem Mortimer.

The two students wrote and narrated the short film, “My Island, My Future” that illustrates how The Bahamas depends on its oceans for survival. The film won first place in the Best Youth Short Documentary category. 

The story surrounds a call to action made by ten-year-old Taryn in a letter to then Prime Minister, Hubert Minnis asking him to hold off on any future oil drilling in the country. 

“I saw that we were starting to do oil drilling in The Bahamas and that is not a good idea. If a spill were to happen, which it will, that would just destroy everything” she said.

Keion Sands, age twelve spoke about the delicate marine eco-systems which would be directly impacted if an oil drilling accident occurs. 

“We need to protect mangroves and coral reefs because they protect us from the waves,” he explained. 

In the film, aerial shots of the island of Eleuthera, showcasing its lush greenery and coastal areas play over the voices of the two young environmental advocates. Shots of the narrators and other children interacting with the marine environment were also featured. 

Producer Kareem Mortimer says after the students approached him, he jumped at the opportunity to assist them with the passion project. 

“I am happy to support the next generation of filmmakers and storytellers, and people with something to say in the best way I can. 

“All the credit is deserving to young filmmakers that wanted to tell their story.” Mortimer continued, 

“It’s great that they are able to be recognized at a film festival where people may have never been to The Bahamas before.” 

The film was endorsed by Our Islands, Our Future, a coalition of local and international organizations that was established to support Bahamians who are passionate about protecting their heritage and their livelihoods from oil drilling, and who are calling for a permanent ban on oil drilling in The Bahamas. 

The film can be viewed here: My Island My Future

Our dearest Mallory Raphael was an ocean lover who exercised a strong passion for sustainability and was eager to share knowledge about the sea she loved. Although she was always an avid swimmer as a child, it was not until a trip to Hawaii as an adult that she fell in love with diving and the coral reefs. 

She brought a brilliant and inspiring energy to every project she embarked on, most notably BREEF’s Bahamas Environmental Scholars (BESS) programme and the BREEF Sir Nicholas Nuttall Coral Reef Sculpture Garden at Clifton Heritage Park.

Mallory was initially hired to assist in building the Sculpture Garden, which is the largest underwater sculpture garden in the world. However, once the project was completed she was immediately hired as the Research and Environmental Education Officer. 

During her time coordinating the BESS programme, she mentored hundreds of students in marine science and sustainability, many of whom are now practicing environmentalists and marine scientists in the field today.

She made it her mission to educate the youth through hands-on demonstrations that helped them to understand and appreciate the Bahamian waters and everything in it. What she found most rewarding was first-time snorkelers experiencing the ocean firsthand. She was quick to provide encouragement and also useful facts about the fish and invertebrates under the sea. 

Mermaid Mallory’s selfless dedication to her coral “babies” enabled her to cultivate a flourishing coral garden with hundreds of new outplants, creating the framework and foundation for ongoing sustainable initiatives.

BREEF Executive Director Casuarina McKinney-Lambert shared: “ Mermaid Mallory shared her love of the ocean with everyone she met. She was a true ocean advocate.”

Her BREEF family will miss her greatly. 

We invite you to share your memories of Mallory in the comments.

Twenty-seven-year-old Bahamian Entrepreneur, Shannen Miller owns her own dive tour company Shannen’s Scuba Safari. In a country where marine and conservation education is limited, she says that expanding Dive Education is essential. 

“Once people start to enjoy interactions with the ocean and marine life they better understand that there is a need to protect and preserve it.”

As a child Shannen was always passionate about marine life and she wanted to be close to the animals she loved so she became a professional dive instructor.

She commends organizations like the Bahamas Reef Environment Educational Foundation (BREEF) for teaching people about the thriving Bahamian marine life and beauty of the ocean.

“This is our resource, this is our home, so education pushes the issue of you being more interested or at least more knowledgeable about what’s going on at your home.”

Shannen expressed loving the career she chose, but at times life’s waters got rough. One day she reached her breaking point and was ready to quit, but she reflected on encouragement from PADI.

“I remembered this quote from the last PADI Womn’s Dive Day where they said, “it doesn’t matter how old you are, you can never, not start diving”.” she said.

The young Bahamian entrepreneur decided to take a break for a few months after reassessing her goals. When she returned to the water for a coral restoration dive, she felt rejuvenated and more passionate than ever.

Shannen is now focused on expanding her business and is completing a Bachelor’s Degree in Marine Science. Working in a field dominated by men, she gives this advice to girls who are deciding on the career path,

“The field is for everybody, not just men. You can do it just like them.” 

Graduating from high school in 2020, Dominique Bowleg said that all of her college application plans came to a screeching halt. Fast forward to today the 19-year-old former BREEF BESS Scholar is now completing her junior year in college abroad. 

This young Bahamian said that after applying for, and being accepted into the BREEF BESS Scholar Program, she regained the momentum she needed to get back on track. 

“The opportunity at BREEF really helped to steer my motivation again and help me to realize why I entered this field,” she said. 

Dominique is studying Marine Biology at Spring Hill College. As she narrows down on exactly what she plans to specialize in, she is taking more classes on the genetic synthesization of coral reefs. 

“That’s one of my passions, so one field I’m looking at is synthetically genetically modifying coral DNA.”

“I know some people say it sounds tough but I find it really interesting and if that works it’s going to be a huge game changer in helping to keep these things long-lasting in their environment. So that’s what I’m focused on at the moment.” she said.

“When I was younger I watched this show called Dolphin Tale and I told my mother that I wanted to do that.” She continued, “When I grew up I realized that a lot of females were not in this field so that’s one more thing that drove me to come more toward this profession.” 

At the end of the day Dominique says she understands that she may face obstacles as a woman working in STEM. However she is not dismayed in the slightest and encourages everyone to be a part of the solution for a more sustainable future. 

The college student explained how she gained a strong love for the ocean and marine life, and what motivates her to work in this field.

“We all need to promote and conserve our environment and once we take gender away from that we can come together and do a better job at protecting the natural resources that we have.”

Leading Woman Marine in the Royal Bahamas Defense Force, Aniska Bonaby explained that she was always interested in scuba diving but never had the opportunity to do so until she joined the Royal Bahamas Defence Force.

The maritime field is male dominated and in the RBDF women are also in the minority. However Aniska says that despite the stigmas associated with her strength and abilities, she has pushed herself, while upholding the military-grade standards of the force.

“A lot of people look at females as, they probably can’t do what it is that males can do, but some of the males during my training, they were actually a bit intimidated by me because I could do what they could do.”

Aniska continued, “I kept up and I did better than some of them, not all of them but I was just concerned about being respected in the field and in my career.”

The 36-year-old marine says that she is proud to be an example for other women as a diver and influences them to be more supportive of women who dare to go beyond conformity.

“I’ve had a lot of females come to me, asking me about diving and I try to encourage them as much as possible.”

“I love being underwater. It kinda brings me to a place of tranquility because it’s one of the things that I love that we get to see.” she said.

One of her most notable experiences as a diving marine was a BREEF workshop training she attended. She explains that awareness in the work BREEF does is essential because many locals may see the ocean but never have the opportunity to interact with it.

“I’ve grown up on an island, I’ve grown up in Nassau, I work around water but I never got to really appreciate it until I did the course at BREEF. We did fish ID, learned about the environment, went into the water, went into the mangroves and we got to see it all.”

She continued, “I was a little more educated about the environment and also the dangers especially as it relates to the coral reef and how important coral reefs are.” 

Nassau, Bahamas – The Bahamas Reef Environment Educational Foundation (BREEF) commemorated Earth Day 2023 with a Beach Cleanup and poster competition on Delaporte Beach in Western New Providence. 

This year’s Earth Day theme was “Invest in our planet” a message that encourages all sectors of society to be accountable in taking responsibility for the well-being of the planet and future generations. 

Over fifty students from across New Providence gathered at Delaporte Beach on West Bay Street where they were all able to participate as citizen scientists through the collection and reporting of trash along the shoreline. Students also took part in a poster competition.

The Earth Day event inspired students to take action through conservation activities as they worked with Youth Climate Ambassador and former BREEF BESS Scholar, Ashawnte Russell who participated and spoke about the importance of the compound effect of small actions, such as regular beach clean ups. “Little initiatives matter, beach cleanups, planting trees…these are the steps we will have to adopt in order to have our country for future generations.” 

University of The Bahamas Environmental Club president, Makeda Serju shared that she was inspired by the event, explaining the events such as these are a great way to inspire our community.

“It  is important to clean our environment not just for the tourists but for the locals as well, and it encourages others to participate as well”. She continued, that “If we don’t invest in our planet now, we will definitely suffer later.”

Minister of the Environment, The Hon. Vaughn  P. Miller  made an appearance at the event and spoke with students about the importance of their actions in preserving their environment. Also coming out to support students, Former Prime Minister and Member of Parliament for the Killarney Constituency, Dr. Hubert Minnis.

Marine environmental education is essential, according to BREEF Executive Director Casuarina McKinney-Lambert who noted that The Bahamas is greatly affected by what happens in its waters.

“The Young Reporters for the Environment programme challenges young people to look at the ocean and the land around them, identify challenges and  solutions, and think about effective ways of communicating about what’s going on in the ocean around us,” she said.

The Young Reporters for the Environment programme was launched in The Bahamas with the support of a grant from the Global Environment Facility Small Grants Programme. Additional support has been provided by Lombard Odier and Rolex to enable children around The Bahamas to get involved with the Young Reporters for the Environment programme.  A special thanks goes out to Bahamas Waste for their commitment and donation supporting BREEF’s work in promoting the conservation of the Bahamian marine environment, please visit www.breef.org or email breef@breef.org for more information.

Nassau, Bahamas – The Eco-School Club at St. John’s College in New Providence received their third green flag on Monday, becoming the first Eco-School to be given the honor this year. The green flag is the top level award recognized as a global symbol of excellence in environmental education and practice. 

Students headed off the “Road to Green Flag” initiative with guidance from their teachers, organizing events and campaigns throughout the two-year span for the green flag renewal. Gardening, flora and fauna education, community cleanups, energy conservation and recycling were some of the ways students exercised sustainable practices on their school campus.

The green flag assessment is a part of BREEF’s Eco-Schools Programme that oversees the network of 43 recognized schools in The Bahamas. Schools that tick the boxes to qualify the eco-friendly criteria are awarded with the distinction of being a green flag school.

St John’s Eco-Schools Club member, and winner of BREEF’s 2022 Young Reporters for the Environment Competition, 12-year-old Eliana Bowe shared her excitement in being a part of the Eco-Schools Programme. 

“It’s good to learn more about the environment and try to give back to it rather than just enjoying it. This opportunity helps us to share our knowledge about the environment and also learn more about it,” she said. 

Raising awareness about sustainable practices like recycling and energy conservation are actions that many more students in the country can empower themselves by doing, according to 14-year-old Eco Club member, Teasia Munroe.

“We have to take the time to research and figure out what’s really going on. In the Eco Club it’s our duty to lead by example to educate others so they would know how they can help to make the country a better place,” she explained.

Biodiversity being one of the key parts of the green flag assessment, gardening and being able to identify different types of plants are a big part of the St. John’s Eco Club activities. After leading the garden tour, 13-year-old Eco-Club member, D’Anthen Rolle Davis said that in the future he hopes that all schools would engage students in programmes that promote sustainability.

“I think every school should join in on this programme because we learn about the big negative effects that the little things like throwing a paper on the floor can have in the long term.” He continued, “You have to know what’s happening in your environment and how you can help to save the world.”

The teachers sat back as students took the reins during the presentation, to be assessed by BREEF Eco-Schools National Operator, Kevin Glinton and Commonwealth Brewery Sustainability Manager Kendria Ferguson. The youngsters spoke about their collaborations with other school clubs that resulted in an increased level of awareness and Eco Club membership.

BREEF’s Eco-Schools Bahamas (ESB) network is spread over six islands and consists of 43 schools (18 government and 25 private schools). Since 2009 the BREEF has been running the ESB programme free of charge through the generous support of many BREEF donors including the Rolex Perpetual Planet Initiative. SJC is one of 14 Green Flag schools in the programme.