Restoring Habitats

Changing Perspectives

Expanding Horizons

Mobilizing the community…

The city of Montego Bay is home to approximately 125,000 residents and hosts just as many tourists on an annual basis. Studies indicate that healthy coral reefs generate over US$427,000,000 per annum for the Jamaican economy. Yet people are concerned about the state of the environment and its continued deterioration. The Trust empowers people and communities to have a meaningful impact through international commemorations such as International Coastal Cleanup, Earth Day and World Wetlands Day.

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World Wetlands Day

World Wetlands Day is held each February to commemorate the importance of wetlands around the globe. While much of Montego Bay’s shoreline boasts critical mangrove habitat (including Bogue Lagoon Fish Sanctuary), ongoing efforts are required to help replant mangroves impacted by encroachment, deforestation and debris.

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Earth Day

Earth Day is one of the oldest and most widely celebrated conservation events in the world. Established to raise awareness to the fragility of earth ecosystems, Earth Day sees many visitors participating in Trust organized cleanups and environmental fetes.

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International Coastal Cleanup

Recognized as the single largest global cleanup event in history, the International Coastal Cleanup unites the globe in an effort to remove and count the amount of waste entering our oceans.

…maximizing our impact…

Volunteers Mobilized

Bags of Garbage Collected

Pounds of Trash Weighed

Plastic Bottles Recycled

...and keeping the nation engaged.

People, Get Ready part 3

… an ounce of prevention In the latter half of May it seemed there was just too much to think about. The COVID lockdowns and curfews continued. A moderate earthquake near Mavis Bank rattled dishes in Kingston. Tropical Storm Arthur blew up south of Florida, getting...

People, Get Ready part 2

… the last of the first forecasts The hurricane forecasting season reached its peak on May 21, with the storm season already under way. NOAA’s National Hurricane Center delivered its 2020 outlook at the end of a month of public education, much of which was spent...

Mother’s Day

… a little respect, please This Sunday is Mother’s Day, a time to celebrate the people who do the world’s hardest job. Among sea creatures, there isn’t very much mothering or family life as people know them. Only the mammals – manatees, whales and dolphins – nurse and...

Pasture Management

... grazing for healthy reefs The plant-like things that grow underwater are often lumped together as “seaweed”. However, the sea grasses (turtle grass and manatee grass) have true roots, an internal circulation system, flowers and seeds. Algae are simpler, and...

Living Colour

… What do the fish see? A lot of SCUBA divers are attracted to the sport by beautiful underwater pictures of a world decked out in brilliant reds, glowing yellows, every shade of pink and orange, green and blue. Then they get thirty feet down and wonder where all the...

Dust vs. Hurricanes

Last week, we looked at some of the effects of Saharan dust on the Caribbean – soil enrichment, haze, breathing problems and fouled machinery on land, algae growth and plankton blooms in the sea. These effects have been known for decades, though they have increased...

Good Dust, Bad Dust

The Sahara Dust season in the tropical Atlantic generally starts and finishes about a month ahead of the hurricane season. It produces spells of strange weather – there’s a thin haze that isn’t clouds or fog, sunrise and sunset produce big stretches of brilliant...

Father’s Day

…not an easy life Sunday, June 17, will be Father’s Day in many parts of the world. It’s a day to show some respect to all the fathers who support and care for their families – not as big a deal as Mother’s Day, perhaps, but a special occasion all the same. Among sea...

Battle for the Beaches

… The sargassum invasion gets serious It seems that annual dumps of yellow-brown sargassum seaweed have become part of the “new normal” in the Caribbean. A couple of months ago when we first wrote about it, drifts of sargassum were causing headaches for both tourism...

Just the Basics

… how hurricanes work Over the last couple of weeks, as we worked through the forecasts for the 2018 Atlantic tropical storm season, it became clear that the people who prepare these forecasts speak a language all their own. In honour of Disaster Preparedness Month...