Mayhah: After the second day of service, we heard from two speakers. The first was an ex-Parliament member who represented northern Andros. Her thoughts on what made her country valuable were enlightening and answered some of my questions about how ordinary Bahamians view their resources and responsibility for taking care of them. The next speaker was the founder of the first non-governmental organization to work toward conservation in the Bahamas. He was an older gentleman with a quick sense of humor. He truly is a pioneer in the field of conservation. It is inspiring to see where the movement that I am a part of started off. It was also inspiring to see that someone who has been part of the community for so long still has the motivation to keep fighting the fight for the environment. I often wonder if I can have a career or spend my life in the field in which I am always fighting for recognition and seeing the speaker’s determination made me hopeful that I can. Despite the stuffy room and strong Bahamian accents, I left the lecture excited and proud to be working toward protecting the environment.
Kevin: Tuesday was the second day of service on the gazebo near the blue hole. Everybody continued to work their hardest as we kept up our team strength and morale, which showed our dedication to enduring hard work and accomplishing tasks. We picked up on the work by mixing more cement, moving rocks, and moving wood planks for the BNT workers at the site. The contractors highly respected our work ethic as much as we appreciated working with them to build the gazebo. Even though day one of service was hard for many of us, we picked up and persevered through the next day which showed how dedicated and strong we are. In the evening, we had met with two very insightful speakers who gave us their information and their own perspectives on certain conditions within the Bahamas. The first speaker talked to us about how the Bahamas is managing and protecting its resources. She mentioned how ecotourism is linked to resource management through responsible cooperation in the government in order to provide eco-friendly opportunities for tourists to visit and enjoy the valuable resources within the Bahamas—such as blue holes, pine forests, beaches, and more. The last speaker was a man who was very knowledgeable about environmental conservation, especially within the Bahamas. He mentioned several important features to protect within the Bahamas, including species of birds and beaches. He also delved into ways in which the people can look out for the environment and make as minimal of an impact as possible. Both speakers really helped the group to understand how important it is for the people of the Bahamas to manage and protect its resources as well as ways in which they can do so.
Shaina: Today was day two of our service work on the gazebo and pathway at Cousteau’s blue hole. Even though we were all sore from the first day of work uprooting plants, chopping down bushes, and moving rocks we continued to give it our all and see the fruits of our labor further develop. Most of the group has never really done that much physical labor before, myself included, which is why I was pleasantly surprised and proud of the amount of progress we made after only two days. I personally realized that I am capable of more things than I thought if I am determined to push myself. The best part of the work day was definitely jumping into the blue hole or going down the street to the beautiful clear blue water on the beach after a long day in the hot sun. After leaving the work site we went to listen to two lectures at the Bahamas Environment Research Center to learn more about the governmental role in resource conservation and protecting the Bahamas' delicate environmental balance. I learned a lot from Mrs. Owens and Mr. Douglas about how they themselves are involved in their community to help protect the environment while still putting the Bahamian people’s best interest forward, job and economy wise. Mr. Owens' lecture about the importance of preserving the national parks opened my eyes to the actual importance of the work we are doing here in the Bahamas building the gazebo at the blue hole. By making the blue hole a more enjoyable and welcoming place to tourists and locals we are drawing in more income to the island while legally protecting the natural beauty of these historical sites.
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