Notre Dame HS sends students to Dominica.

St. Lucia Kids Protect the Water!

SEA Currents

Wastewater garden in Curacao is working!

See the plants growing in our wastewater treatment wetland

we constructed in Curacao? We are making quite a stir in the tourist community because our wetland is now operating at Sun-set Waters Beach Resort. It is doing a magnificent job and will be a model for other establish-ments. Even Dive Training Magazine and PADI want to use it as a case study for sustainable tourist development protecting the reefs. What the resort is find-ing out is that they are also sav-ing significant amounts of money by using the recycled wastewater for irrigation. Dr. Les Behrends’

designed the wetland and Ton Kros, our talented local con-tractor, oversaw the construc-tion. The water flowing out of the wetland is “crystal clear and with no smell,” according

Eight students and two teachers enjoyed learning about the environ-ment and people of Dominica over their Easter break. Dr. Kevin Horne, Notre Dame Biology teacher was amazed by how much he learned about the rainforest and the coral reef and how intimately they are connected. “It makes what I teach come to life, “ he said. The students worked alongside students from Dominica Community High School to continue a butterfly gar-den and composting project the local students had started. They enjoyed time with them and going to the rainforest, waterfalls, and snorkeling. The final treat was seeing a pod of sperm whales swim and dive right beside their boat!

Volume 3 Issue 2 November, 2007

The Newsletter of the Caribbean Student Environmental Alliance (Caribbean SEA)

John Verity quipped to me after Rain Forest Camp “Remind me never to plan outdoor activities when you are camping!” We had so much rain at the Rain Forest Camp this summer. The kids’ tents turned into ponds so we all jammed together in the staff cabin….all over the floors and porches and two to each bunk…and the kids’ only re-quest for next year was that we have the camp for TWO weeks, not just one! The rain provided quite a visual picture for the kids who saw muddy water everywhere and even a refrigerator going down one usually small river.

Our camp was literally up in the clouds in the rainforest at a For-estry Department site. They also provided programs on birds as the St. Lucia parrots flew over! Local artist, Giovanni St. Omer, guided the kids with painting their ban-ners, and we took field trips to the kids’ home watersheds and the coral reef to learn how they are connected. The students were so amazing! They ranged in age from 10 to 17 and got along so very well. They displayed their talent at the end of camp with singing and acting out the environ-mental messages of the camp. AWESOME! The students are continuing monitoring and restor-ing their local watersheds through-out the year to report their findings to local officials at the watershed

to the assistant manager of the re-sort, Leonard de Windt, who didn’t quite believe this would work! We will hold a regional conference at the resort to show off the technol-ogy and encourage others to adopt wastewater treatment instead of dumping it into the sea! The next step is to also change the practice of dumping the septic tank pumpage into the sea. YUCK!

conference next summer. Prior to the camp, we trained their teachers and com-munity leader about environ-mental and marine education practices. Al Stenstrup from Project Learning Tree was once again our lead educator while this year we added Dr. Padgett Kelly from MTSU, who is an incredible resource on Marine Education . Teach-ers and community leaders from all over St. Lucia at-tended the 3 day workshop. One of the teachers called his good friend at another school to encourage him to join us since he was learning so much! Peace Corps volunteers who attended the teacher training then became our camp direc-tors and counselors and were amazing!! NOAA is provid-ing primary funding for this project with partners St. Lucia government, Lucelec, Balen-bouche Estate, and Discovery at Marigot Bay.

SEA Currents 2

More progress in Dominica! Dominica Community High School raised and planted native trees by the Roseau River and after TWO hurricanes, they are still there!!! The kids are so excited that their personal trees are holding the riverbank. Our local partner, Vanessa Prevost, is actively working with us to continue reforesting the riverbanks to reduce erosion and

evaporation and increase soil moisture. The DCHS students are including a community composting area at the school to return the green waste to the soil. We hope to use their compost in our future tree plant-ings and support their efforts. Dominica Electric-ity Services has been a fabulous partner in this effort!

Some times you just have give in to Caribbean time and quit stressing, just keep believing. We thought the Rotary partnership would be in full swing by this November, but Caribbean time set in. The groups are now working to-gether and the Dominican Rotary is getting the final budget numbers for our public toilet and clean water education project in Soufriere, Dominica. Keep your fingers crossed!

Parrots of the Caribbean 3

Party at World’s End

Thanks to the

River City

Parrot Head Club!! For all of their generosity and support and the gen-

eral fun loving atmosphere that surrounds their gatherings! Parrots of the Carib-bean 3, Party at World’s End was a FABULOUS event attended by nearly 300 people and entertained all night. Everyone was thrilled with KD Moore and his partner this year, Greg “Fingers” Taylor from Jimmy Buffett’s original band! Big thanks go to Lynette Presley for organizing the event !!!

Local Curacaoan teacher, Norine Griffith, told me “Something is happening in Curacao and it’s thanks to what you and Ricki have been doing!” People want to know why the poor side of the island is getting all of the student programs, teacher training and attention. They want it too!!! We hosted our Second annual Reef Fest teacher training event this past August in Curacao and now the rest of

the island wants it too! What happens is we host up to 50 teachers, provide hands on training in Environmental and Marine educa-

tion techniques and strategies (thanks to Al Stenstrup and Dr. Padgett Kelly again!!) and teach them to snorkel, and engage them in hands on education ac-tivities. They are discovering more about their island ecology and how to share it with their kids because of Reef Fest! All of the teachers who participate are granted one free field trip by Lee’s Reef Project to the outdoor classroom at Sun-set Waters Beach Resort for the kids to then experience what the teachers have already learned and enjoyed.

Intern News

UTC graduates, Julie John-son and Nora Ketron pro-vide invaluable service to Caribbean SEA! Julie has been working with us for over a year now and she brought Nora into our ranks. They both were instrumen-tal to the success of the Rain Forest Camp! Julie merged two of our students’ tshirt designs to create the design above, which the students now wear proudly! We are so thankful for the work and ingenuity of our interns! Visit both of them at Greenlife Grocery store!

Reef Fest Curacao 2 a great success!

Merry Christmas to Caribbean SEA from the World Next Door! Go shopping at the World Next Door fair trade store across Market Street from the Aquarium. Mention Caribbean SEA and 10% of your purchases will be donated to us. It only lasts for the month of December, so either go to the store or visit www.worldnextdoormarket.com. THANKS!

Volume 3, Issue 2 Page 3

What a year for Caribbean SEA! We have been working with grant funding from NOAA and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, but our partners in the islands and at home really are what makes everything possible. We met Judith Verity on a water taxi a few years ago in St. Lucia and now she and her husband, John, host SEA staff when we are in St. Lucia! They have helped us with publicity on island as well. The Lawaetz family who run Balenbouche Estate have become our great friends and partners and allowed us to hold our training camp for teachers at their Estate house. The Forestry Department of the Government of St Lucia donated use of their camp, ar-ranged for several programs for the kids, and found us Mr Mathurin, the fabulous COOK without whom our campers would not have eaten so well! Then there are Peace Corps volunteers, particularly Dallase, who ran the camp activities for us and Starr who is guiding two groups of youngsters in projects! St Lucia Electricity Services and our partners at Carilec are with us every step of the way!

In Curacao, Lee’s Reef Project and Sunset Waters Beach Resort provide our base, but the part-nerships range far and wide from Aqualectra to Kids for Corals volunteers, to teachers and school directors to most recently, Vivian’s Nursery and Marchena Hardware! Project AWARE continues to support our efforts to train teachers as well!!

In Dominica, Archbold Tropical Research and Education Center at Springfield Estate is our sister organization and Domlec is a facilitator and friend. The Sun Foundation, run by Vanessa Prevost and Izzy Madisetti, marine biologist and educator, provide our foundation of support within communities. Our grants are a bonus, for though our work is essential, the action must come from within communities to really make a difference and that’s the foundation our partners provide. We couldn’t do it without them!

Mary Beth Sutton

Executive Director

Partnerships make it all possible!

Caribbean SEA Executive Director Receives

Environmental Education Award Mary Beth Sutton was awarded the 2007 Bernie Ben-son Environmental Educator of the Year award by the Chattanooga Environmental Education Alliance. She is credited with continuing to empower kids and teachers in the classroom and out of doors through her enthusiastic presentation and engaging style. She also infused environmental messages into her Phys-ics classes at Notre Dame High School last year and continues to bring conservation education to the classes at Signal Mountain Middle and Thrasher Ele-mentary Schools. Through Caribbean SEA, Mary Beth takes the teaching of teachers to a higher level by training teachers in the Caribbean how to share the message of protecting the watersheds and the reefs. With guidance from Caribbean SEA, kids that have never snorkeled see the beauty of these reefs and learn the local actions that may be threatening those reefs. These future leaders are learning how to take steps to protect their delicate ecosystem.

…….Christine Bock

Sheila Carman and engineers from the Atlanta Professional Chapter of Engineers without Borders conducted a site visit to Naylor’s Hill Ja-maica in late spring and the villagers were thrilled to see them! You know how it feels to be promised something again and again….well Sheila, EWB and Caribbean SEA are making it happen! We are cur-rently fund raising for the project which will begin

with a road to the village and continue with improved water and sewage treat-ment including the kids the whole way! The kids of Naylor’s hill are the ones who carry the drinking water on their heads, so they are EAGER to be involved. EWB found this loving community eager and willing to help and are happy to have chosen to begin their work in Naylor’s Hill.

Engineers Without Borders partners with Caribbean SEA in Jamaica!

Special thanks to JC Coolidge at Chattanooga Printing and Engraving for helping us print our newsletter!

Phone: 423-413-0471 Fax:423-267-4616 E-mail: info@caribbean-sea.org

809 Kentucky Avenue Signal Mountain, TN 37377

Check us out on the WEB! www.caribbean-sea.org

Caribbean SEA Our mission is to empower students to pro-tect and restore their local environment through collaborative watershed projects.

Save the Date!!! 4th Annual

Caribbean Beach Party Friday, January 25th, 2008

Bessie Smith Hall

Featuring….Kofi Mawuko’s Band, “Ogya”

Live auction includes trips to the Caribbean!