A pioneering campaign to inspire the next generation of environmental stewards has entered an ambitious new phase, with youngsters learning not only about importance of the country’s natural resources, but also how to lead the way in protecting them.
Phase II of the Youth Environmental Ambassadors (YEA) program, organized by local conservation groups Save The Bays (STB) and EARTHCARE, will seek to impart leadership skills to 40 students ages of 12 – 14, building on their already extensive environmental knowledge, gleaned in Phase I.
“I am exceedingly pleased with the evolution of this program,” said STB education director Joseph Darville.
“In order to secure our uniquely Bahamian culture and environment, we need young people with essential skills including high self-motivation, strong communication, the ability to work across boundaries, and the ability to decide and act to create a strategic path forward.”
In preparation for this new phase, a group of YEA facilitators recently took part in a dynamic leadership seminar facilitated by Bahamian trainer Sharon Glover along with Center for Creative Leadership (CCL) senior pro
“Our dynamic, passionate facilitators had an in depth experience of the leadership model that is most appropriate for young people,” said Darville of the STB-sponsored seminar.
“This training will be ongoing, running parallel with our environmental education courses as we work to build confident, assertive and well-rounded young advocates for the importance of our Bahamian environment.
“We want to lay a solid foundation from where they can grow, persevere and lead.
Save The Bays believes in equipping young people with the practical skills they need to become change-makers that have a profound and lasting impact on their community and country.”
YEA’s ongoing partnership with CCL will combine on-the-ground knowledge with cutting-edge research, top notch trainers, community leaders, coaches, and innovative training programs to create a highly personal training and education experience designed to have a lasting impact on each and every participant. The course will cover three topics:
• Leading Self (developing self and character)
• Leading with Others (building skills for collaboration)
• Change Your World (creating the potential for community impact)
“This framework builds on CCL’s research and training history, supported by the belief that all people have leadership potential and we can all grow our abilities to become more effective contributors and leaders in our communities,” said a representative of the company.
Considering the signs that participants in Phase I are already becoming a force for positive growth in their communities, Darville said he believes the addition of leadership training will give them the potential to change the trajectory of the entire nation.
“This new dimension of leadership training means that at a very early age, participants will already be equipped to be guardians of the sacred environment and can be entrusted to pass the message on to future generations,” he said.
Phase II will begin early in the current school year, with the selection of 40 outstanding performers from those who completed the first stage last year. At the same time, a new group of students will start their environmental journey as another round of Phase I kicks off.
Darville noted that STB only launched its multi-pronged education program – of which YEA is but one facet – just over a year ago, yet it has already impacted more than 2,500 students.
“We understand that the effort to protect the invaluable natural resources of this blessed nation may have begun with my generation, but it will have to be carried forward by the young people of today after we are long gone.
STB will continue to do all it can to ensure that they are prepared for this challenge and equipped to pass the message on to the generation that follows them as well.”
Founded just over a year ago, Save The Bays has taken The Bahamas by storm. The grassroots effort to protect ecologically significant areas of the archipelago from the scourge of unregulated development has transformed into a broad-based coalition that is at the forefront of a range of social and environmental issues.
It has become a beacon for individuals and groups who support environmental conservation, social justice, government transparency and accountability, and the rule of law.
STB now has more than 500 registered members, 17,000 followers on Facebook and over 6,000 signatures on its petition calling for an Environmental Protection Act, a Freedom of Information Act and an end to unregulated development in The Bahamas.
LEADERSHIP - Left to right: YEA facilitator Rashema Ingraham; STB education director Joseph Darville; CCL senior project director Dr. Laura J. Weber; Glover & Assocaited Sharon Glover (President, Glover & Associates), Jensen Farquharson (YEA Facilitator), Laurita Sirimongkhon (CCL Director) Nikie Severe (YEA Facilitator), Javan Hunt (YEA Facilitator)
