The Tribune

THE Island School hosted the SEA Change Youth Summit with musician Jack Johnson and the 5 Gyres organisation lto raise awareness about the impact of plastic pollution in the ocean and to inspire young students to be advocates for change.

Thirty-four students gathered from Abaco, Grand Bahama, New Providence and Eleuthera as well as a school group out of New York and another student from Jamaica for the weekend event, which began on June 5.

As part of the kick-off for the weekend, singer Jack Johnson took part in a designation ceremony to become a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

Included in the kickoff to the festivities hosted on The Island School’s campus were remarks from Chris Maxey, founder of The Cape Eleuthera Island School, Anna Cummins and Marcus Eriksen, founders of the 5 Gyres Institute and Celine Cousteau, filmmaker, environmentalist and daughter of ocean explorer Jean-Michel Cousteau and the granddaughter of Jacques Cousteau. Also in the line up was Kristal Ambrose, founder of Bahamas Plastic Movement and Minister of Education, Science and Technology Jerome Fitzgerald.

The first day of the Summit centred around raising awareness on the issue of plastic pollution so that the students could create their own solutions based on the stories and information they had received.

Throughout the weekend, the students took part in a beach clean up, attended a workshop on how to reduce plastic use at home and even learned how to make their own toothpaste.

The last day of the Summit was spent teaching the students how to tell and share their own stories and to create their own solutions.

Summit organiser, The Island School’s Brittney Maxey, was blown away by the energy coming from the young students.

“This is an historical event not only for us at The Island School and the island of Eleuthera, but also for the Bahamas and other island nations as a whole,” she said.

“We are sending these motivated young people back out into the world equipped with the tools to make a difference in their communities. The Island School’s mission is leadership affecting change and this weekend embodied this belief not only for the students but for the island of Eleuthera. We are a small place making big change.”