The Tribune

ROYAL Bank of Canada has extended its worldwide Blue Water Project to the Bahamas, in partnership with Bahamas National Trust, for the protection of Harold and Wilson Pond.

The pond, which is one of four National Parks on New Providence, is described as a vital segment of the island’s fresh water reserves by the Bahamas National Trust (BNT).

With the Blue Water grant, the BNT joins such famed institutions as National Geographic in the fight for a sustainable water supply globally.

Over its many years in the Bahamas, RBC has focused on promoting environmental sustainability – one of its missions being to inspire people to “care about the planet”.

In 2007, RBC launched its Blue Water Project, a ten-year global charitable commitment of $50 million to help to foster water stewardship and protect access to clean water for people today and for future generations.

During a BNT-directed cleanup at Harold and Wilson Pond, which was declared a national park in 2002, a team from the Trust was joined by staff from RBC Finco and Kananga Junkanoo, which is a member of the Saxon Superstars.

Lynn Gape, deputy executive director of the BNT, and Marcus Hutcheson, branch manager, RBC Finco-Palmdale, talked about the BNT/RBC partnership and the importance of Harold and Wilson Pond in fresh water conservation and teaching conservation.

“They are funding projects all over where Royal Bank of Canada has offices,” Mrs Gape said. “And the idea is to create an awareness of fresh water. Harold and Wilson Pond is a very important fresh water wetland. It provides runoff for flooding and storm drainage when we have very, very heavy rains. It’s also an extremely important National Park for bird species. Over one hundred and one bird species have been counted in this park.”

Mrs Gape talked about the challenges at the Pond, which could hinder its vital functions if not managed, and which have become the focus of Blue Water Project activities.

Controlling the overgrowth of cattail plants is one of the more important initiatives.

Cattails are a vital element of the pond ecosystem as they leache harmful chemicals and minerals from the water.

But if allowed to grow uncontrollably, the plant could damage the system, choking the waterways, leaving no space for aquatic birds and stunting the growth of other essential plants.

“We have some management problems with Harold and Wilson Pond. There are a lot of activities around the park – there was a chicken farm adjacent, and so the runoff from all of that had over-nutriented the pond; when you have too much nutrients in the water, you have an explosion of cattails, and that is our problem.

“We are now struggling with doing cattail management in Harold and Wilson Pond, and these groups are here manually pulling up cattails and helping with the cattail management in this park,” Mrs Gape said.

RBC Finco’s Marcus Hutcheson spoke of the further contributions the bank plans for the site.

“This is an initiative indicative of our Blue Water Initiative and a community makeover, which is its theme.

“And what we do once we come out here, is that we’re trying to remove these invasive cattails where we can go ahead and beautify the pond and allow persons to be able to bird-watch in the pond (and) allow the pond to do its natural job, which is to actually assist with the water table.

“My branch, RBC Finco Palmdale, came out as a group today and we just want to lend a helping hand to the National Trust. It’s sponsored by RBC and we just feel as if it’s important for us, as a corporate partners, to come out and assist the community and try to do our part, as this is where we work and play,” Mr Hutcheson said.

Representing Kananga, Beachum Brennen said: “Kananga is a bit unique in that we’re all corporate persons. We always try to find ways to give back. We do a number of community service engagements throughout the year.

“This one is a unique one because it is the first time a lot of us have been out here and I think it is a really good thing because as a Bahamian, a Junkanooer, no matter what we are or what we do, is important for us to give back and nurture and take care of the environment in which we live, so that it can be around for future generations. It is a pleasure for us to come out and help the National Trust in what they are trying to achieve.”

Lynn Gape acknowledged the help of an Urban Renewal group in the Harold and Wilson Pond cleanup.

“We also have a youth group out here helping us – Bahamas Youth Alive – which is part of Urban Renewal. They’re working along the boardwalks, pulling out the cattails, and it’s really interesting because we not only have young men out here showing their strength, but we have some young girls showing that they’re really strong and capable of doing hard conservation work as well,” Mrs Gape said.