CFD Provides Environmental Education to Territory’s students

Students listening to a presentation made by Environmental Officer, Ms Angela Penn of the Conservation and Fisheries Department  during the Environmental Awareness Programme held in collaboration with the DYAS after school programme at the Willard Wheatley Primary School on Wednesday, November 5. Photo Credit:  Mr. Aldrin Rabsatt/GIS

Students of the Willard Wheatley, Isabella Morris and Ebenezer Thomas Primary Schools benefited from numerous presentations by the CFD staff on a wide spectrum of environmental issues last Wednesday.
Ms. Grenelvia Chalwell, Acting Environmental Education Officer at CFD and co-coordinator of the EAP spoke of the programme’s importance.

“Nature is one of our greatest teachers, and just as everything in nature is connected, we must ensure that the programmes we develop for our children are similar in quality and availability,” Ms. Chalwell said.

“Our society is evolving, so must our methods of passing on traditions and commitments to our environment’s preservation.  Let us all hold the environmental bar higher for ourselves and raise our children to surpass it for themselves and their future generations,” she further added.

The presentations were interactive, using art and craft activities, physical demonstrations, Microsoft Office PowerPoint presentations and hands-on activities.

Topics covered included fishing licences, safety at sea, fishing methods and gears, marketing and processing of fish, water quality monitoring, the effects of climate change, beach safety practices, the wonderful world of Geographic Information Systems, health and safety practices in the fishing industry, and the social impact of the development project.

Through the environmental awareness programme, the CFD aims to ensure that the Territory’s children are knowledgeable of the local environment and understand the social responsibilities they have for its well-being.    ~~Adz:Right~~

This aspect of the DYAS After School Programme with the collaboration of CFD targets students ages eight to 11, teaching them the importance of maintaining the unique ecological features and natural beauty of the British Virgin Islands through the promotion of effective sustainable development and the utilization of the Territory’s natural resources. 

The EAP sessions are to be held on the first and third Wednesday of each month for the remainder of the Advent School term.

For more information contact Ms. Grenelvia Chalwell Acting Environmental Education Officer at CFD at 494-3701 ext. 5555/5551