In its efforts to help shape holistic development and positively influence collective behaviors among the country’s youth, the Ministry of Equity, Social Justice and Empowerment through its Social Transformation Division, is partnered with a subsidiary agency, the National Conservation Authority (NCA), to host a day of fun and learning for Grade 6 students at Gros Islet Primary School.
The recent activity saw over 40 young people gather at the south end of Pigeon Point Beach to listen to exciting presentations from representatives of the St. Lucia Solid Waste Management Authority, Department of Fisheries, National Trust of Saint Lucia and Prugus, the latter being a commercial entity located in Beauséjour, Gros Islet.
During the morning session, students were encouraged to reduce, reuse and recycle their waste and avoid littering. They also learned how to help stranded turtles return to the sea.
The young Prugus presenter informed students about how the survival of her business and that of many families in the tourist town of Gros Islet depended both directly and indirectly on the ocean, hence the call for students , their friends and family to help keep beaches and the wider environment clean.
For the afternoon session, the students were divided into groups, each of which had to create an object using materials from the seashore or similar synthetic materials. The students expressed their gratitude for the experience and the information learned.
They are committed to doing their part to conserve and preserve the environment and to become advocates for change.
Through the Department of Equity, other primary schools will benefit from similar activities in the new school year.