The Tribune

AN environmental expert at Baha Mar visited the Island School on Cape Eleuthera for a workshop on marine conservation and sustainable development.

DeShawn McGregor attended the United States Embassy sponsored workshop and said: “I met some great folks from the Harvard School of Design and the Bahamas Reef Environmental Education Foundation (BREEF). I also learned quite a few things about how much people care about our environment.”

One of the most meaningful things that DeShawn learned was The Island School philosophy that there is ‘no waste, just resources.’

The school uses everything at their disposal to reduce their environmental impact, from food waste, human waste, rainwater, solar panels and even the invasive Casuarina tree species.

McGregor also shared Baha Mar’s initiatives to reduce the amount that would otherwise make its way to landfill by recycling demolition waste such as rebar and concrete and reusing trees and soil from the clearing of the golf course.

At the workshop, DeShawn spoke about a project close to his heart, re-?‐nourishing the beach at Baha Mar, which he says will return the beach to its former glory.

For DeShawn the trip was more than just people talking about the environment:

“It was a real exchange of ideas about what we can do to create a better place for future generations”, he said.

The conversation also included a discussion about fiscally and environmentally-?‐friendly practices at the Island School such as solar panelling and biodiesel which could potentially be explored at Baha Mar.