Small Seeds, Big Impact: Growing Grand Bahama’s Natural Storm Defenses

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GRAND BAHAMA , BAHAMAS – Mangroves do more than make the coastline green. They help reduce the impact of waves and storm surges while providing a home for fish and other marine life.

And after years of powerful storms, restoring these natural barriers is an important part of protecting Grand Bahama.

Volunteers from the Ministry of Tourism recently joined Waterkeepers Bahamas at Conservation Cove, helping prepare hundreds of mangrove seeds for growing.

Javan Hunt, from Waterkeepers Bahamas’ Special Projects and Outreach team, says the partnership is helping turn conservation into action.

Javan Hunt – Waterkeepers Bahamas

“It was a great time with the Ministry of Tourism. We’re always happy to partner with them. They’ve been really instrumental in helping us get the word out into the community and into the workplace. And today, they came in, helped with maintenance, helped with plotting, helped us get ready for our community day.”

The seeds will be potted and allowed to grow before being transplanted back into their natural environment.

Ministry of Tourism Coordinator Jermaine Johnson says the work is about putting environmental commitment into practice.

Jermaine Johnson – Coordinator, Ministry of Tourism’s Sustainable Tourism Development Department

“As you know, mangroves are extremely important to our ecosystem, to our coastal marine life. And so the Ministry of Tourism is not just acting in terms of talking conservation, but we’re actually participating and getting our hands dirty. And so tourism staff, in doing some team exercises, the three weeks, the last three Fridays in October, we’ll be here at Conservation Cove.”

Jermaine Johnson – Coordinator, Ministry of Tourism’s Sustainable Tourism Development Department

“Assisting Waterkeepers with making sure that the propagules, which are the seeds, the mangrove seeds that they’ve collected, are able to be potted, then grown, and then, once they’re grown, transplanted back into their natural environment in order to help further protect our island and our island’s coastlines.”