The Tribune

DURING the Lyford Cay Foundations’ most recent grants awards cycle, a total of $70,500 was awarded to 15 non-profit organisations, the majority of which provide summer enrichment activities for young Bahamians.

Among these were two environmentally focused non-profits, Bahamas Marine Mammal Research Organisation (BMMRO) and Bahamas Plastics Movement, which were each awarded $4,000.

BMMRO, based in Abaco, has a goal of increasing awareness and stewardship of marine mammals in The Bahamas by exposing students to the diversity of animals living in our waters and the importance of our ecosystem.

According to BMMRO, The Bahamas is extremely vulnerable to climate change and rising sea levels that can impact tourism and the economy, as well as our environment. The Foundations’ grant allows BMMRO to run two weeklong whale camps for Bahamian high school and college students for the cost of one camp and make campers aware of how these issues affect the country.

Dr Charlotte Dunn, a lead researcher with BMMRO, explained the importance of the whale camp.

“Our goal is to engage students in science and conservation - this is our measure of success,” she said. “Capacity building of Bahamians in marine sciences will be key to reducing the impacts we as humans are placing on our marine life.”

BMMRO hopes to not only raise awareness about the marine environment, but also inspire Bahamian students to study disciplines within the marine science field on a collegiate level.

The Foundations are also proud to note that alum scholar Felice Knowles, a full time biologist specialising in manatees, leads the camp and serves as BMMRO’s stranding coordinator.

Current Lyford Cay scholar Kristal Ambrose is the founder of Bahamas Plastic Movement and serves as the project coordinator for the organisation’s camp, Plastic Pollution Education and Ocean Conservation Summer Camp.

The camp, which was conducted from June 27- July 1, is a tuition-free, five-day intensive programme for students of South Eleuthera between the ages 9 and 15-years-old. The grant from the Foundations helped to offset costs associated with the camp.

“Our main goal is to help Bahamian youth understand the role they play in solving the issue of plastic pollution on the marine environment,” noted Ms Ambrose. “The grant allows us to offer a complimentary environmental programme inclusive of lunch and transportation to students of South Eleuthera. In a community that is economically depressed, there would be no way to offer free summer programming to students in need without the help of the Lyford Cay Foundation.”

“Our mission at work is to invest in diverse learning opportunities for the Bahamian who will benefit the most,” said Maureen French, managing director of Lyford Cay Foundations. “We’re pleased that our donors see the important connection between educating young people about marine conservation and the continued prosperity of our beautiful country.”

Other non-profits who were awarded grants this summer include:

Bahamas National Trust Eco Camp, BREEF, Bahamas Youth Network, The Butterfly Club D-Squad Summer Basketball Camp, Full Life Outreach Centre, Grand Bahama Sailing Club, International Creative Arts Initiative, Jude’s Bridge of Hope, Montell Heights Community Centre Programme, NAGB Art Summer Camp, REACH Summer Camp and Weymss Bight Community Library.

The final deadline for this year is October 1st, 2016. Applications can be found at www.lyfordcayfoundation.org.