Every year, Abaco’s students come together at FRIENDS’ annual science fair to share ideas on a designated theme. The science fair has become a very popular event; some schools have even started their own science fairs as a way to determine who comes to the FRIENDS fair. This year’s theme is “Human Impacts on the Marine Environment”, which is also one of the target areas for FRIENDS’ strategic plan.
The majority of Bahamians live in coastal areas and rely on the marine environment for one reason or another, be it for sustenance, direct or indirect employment, or even simple enjoyment. The Bahamas National Coastal Awareness Committee lists the top five main threats to our coastal environment as Pollution, Climate Change, Overfishing, Invasive Species, and Habitat Destruction. Humans are either directly or indirectly related to each of these and have the power to do something about it. In many cases, simple daily actions taken and decisions made by each of us can improve the health of our environment. Or adversely affect it.
This year’s theme is very timely as The Bahamas is rallying under a national campaign called “Conchservation” designed to raise awareness and support a sustainable fishery for Queen conch. The Bahamas National Conchservation Campaign brings together researchers, government and nongovernmental agencies, concerned citizens, and the public at large to talk about ways to protect this iconic mollusk which has become a part of the Bahamian identity.
The campaign coordinator, Jared Dillet (also of The Bahamas National Trust), will be the guest speaker at the science fair. This will be a great opportunity to learn more about the campaign and some of the recent campaign events including “My Science! My Conch!” which is a project created by Conchservation partners The Bahamas Reef Environmental Education Foundation and Community Conch. My Science! My Conch! was recently launched in Grand Bahama; The Bahamas National Trust’s Rand Nature Center in Freeport was the project’s base of operations and also supported logistics for the three day engagement.
Students participating in the science fair will be judged on the originality of their work and their creativity and clarity in sharing their message. Members of the community will form the official judging committee. Prizes will be awarded to the top three schools in each category. The public is invited and encouraged to attend in support of these innovative students and their teachers.
The science fair will take place at New Vision Ministries in Marsh Harbour on Friday, November 22, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. For more details, please visit www.FriendsOfTheEnvironment.org.
More information on Conchservation can be found at www.bnt.bs/conchservation, and on the campaign’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/conchservation. For more specific questions,e-mails can be sent to conchservation@bnt.bs.