Inspiration comes in many forms, including young Bahamians who are trying to make The Bahamas a better place. Jenna Bayles, a sixth-grade St. Andrew's School student, is raising awareness of how bad pollution actually is in a video she produced.
The mini-movie was a part of Jenna's year six exhibition project at St. Andrew's School, during which students take responsibility for their own learning over a nine-week project. During this year's exhibition, the students explored how different forms of creativity can communicate powerful messages and bring about change.
Jenna contacted Bahamas Waste, a major environmentally-friendly waste company, for its input on her movie.
Francisco de Cardenas, managing director at Bahamas Waste, watched and shared her video on pollution with his staff and friends.
"Bahamas Waste helped me to not only learn about pollution, but also helped my video on pollution to reach a variety of people," said 12-year-old Jenna. "Thanks to their help, my video is raising awareness of how bad pollution actually is."
Litter, fires at the dump, global warming and environmental pollution caused by ships are all examples of pollution that were highlighted in the two-and-a-half minute movie.
Stacey Fuderer, year six teacher at St. Andrew's, said that Jenna selected filmmaking as her topic and through her inquiry, she learned that films such as documentaries can communicate important messages about critical issues facing society. She particularly found pollution interesting and decided to make her film about littering and pollution in The Bahamas.
"Upon completion of her film, Jenna sent it to Bahamas Waste in an effort to encourage the company and other organizations to take action on the issue and develop strategies to effectively manage waste in The Bahamas," said Fuderer. "Jenna's action is a great example of how creativity can communicate a powerful message about a real world issue. Her video encourages people to take responsibility for the waste that they produce and raises awareness about the pollution that affects the beautiful Bahamas."
In the movie, Jenna can be seen explaining various types of pollution, cleaning up litter around her school and showing what people can do to help prevent and reduce pollution. She also encourages everyone to spread the word about pollution and taking care of planet Earth.
"The fact that Jenna came to Bahamas Waste for our thoughts and comments speaks volumes to what we are trying to do for our environment," said Cardenas. "We do all we can to protect the environment in our everyday work, and it's a great feeling that what we're doing is being noticed, especially by younger Bahamians."
The video can be watched on the Bahamas Waste Facebook page.

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