The Bahamas Reef Environment Educational Foundation (BREEF) recently hosted a one-day workshop under the theme, "Exposing Marine Pollution."

Thirty students from senior high schools in New Providence gathered at Delaporte Beach on West Bay Street where they participated in hands-on activities and learned more about marine conservation.

The Young Reporters for the Environment (YRE) event inspired students to gain knowledge through discussions with environmental and media professionals, who gave presentations on how to tell a story using photos, video, and writing.

Environmental Scientist Dr. Ancilleno Davis, Photographer Dominic Duncombe, Journalist Crystal Darling, and Videographer Ryan Farquharson engaged students throughout the day with presentations aimed at strengthening and developing their marine environmental reporting skills.

C.R. Walker student, Santino Miller said he was inspired by the event, explaining that his heart is set on working in the field as a geologist someday.

"We learned that there are many different things that you can do in order to help with marine conservation ... simply by not littering you can help a lot and I will explain this to my peers when I go to school," said Miller.

"We learned the different ways to properly frame and take a photo," said Iyah-Eden Rolle. "We also did a beach cleanup which made me realize how much trash in our environment that we have to make an effort to properly clean."

Kendea Smith, Ministry of Agriculture and Marine Resources public relations official outlined the importance of storytelling with students.

"At the ministry it is my departments' job to tell a story of what the ministry is doing to improve the community, so, BREEF was a perfect partner, giving us the opportunity to talk to the kids today about conservation, especially coral conservation. It's a big part of what we do, we tell stories almost every day," said Smith.

Environmental education is essential, according to BREEF Executive Director Casuarina McKinney-Lambert who noted that as an archipelagic nation, The Bahamas is greatly affected by what happens in its waters.

"The Young Reporters for the Environment program challenges young people to look at the ocean and the land around them, identify challenges and also think about solutions and think about effective ways of communicating about what's going on in the ocean around us," said McKinney-Lambert.

BREEF is the national operator for the Young Reporters for the Environment (YRE) program in The Bahamas. The global program aims to empower students aged 11 to 25 to take a stand on environmental issues they feel strongly about and give them a platform to call attention to the issues through the media of writing, photography, or video. There are more than 350,000 young reporters in 45 countries across the world.

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