Young Campers Get The Facts At Camp Climate Action

NASSAU, BAHAMAS – Director of the Department of Environmental Planning and Protection (DEPP), Dr. Rhianna Neely-Murphy was among the many experts addressing campers attending the Ministry of Social Services, Information and Broadcasting’s Camp Climate Action currently underway at Flamingo Gardens Family Life Centre.

Dr. Neely-Murphy was accompanied by a team from the DEPP.  Forty children ranging in ages from 4-14 are participating in the camp which is facilitated by the ministry’s Community Affairs Division. The purpose of the camp is to bring awareness about climate change and its impacts, while encouraging campers to become climate action advocates in their homes and communities.

The campers also undertook a field trip to the Bahamas Department of Meteorology New Providence office located in the Airport Industrial Park. Acting Director Jeffrey Simmons facilitated the visit that included a tour of the Met Department’s Forecast Section where the visitors were provided with first-hand knowledge of how the office functions; how Forecasters prepare weather forecasts and/or hurricane forecasts, in addition to the various models and instruments used in weather forecasting.

Acting Director Simmons termed the visit “a major success.”

“The children were very excited. They had a good time and asked a lot of questions. It was a major success.”

Mr. Simmons said the visit was an extension of his Department’s ongoing education and awareness programme that is facilitated throughout the country by team members in both the New Providence and Grand Bahama offices.  The Grand Bahama office is responsible for the northern Bahamas.

“The visit is an extension of our year-round efforts to educate members of the general public, including children, not only about our role in forecasting weather, but also the negative impacts climate change is having on our weather, in terms of larger, more intense hurricanes, and on our marine ecosystem, especially our coral reefs,” Director Simmons said.

“The visit also gave us another opportunity to promote hurricane preparedness among our younger citizens which is really important and it bodes well for future generations.  Camp Climate Action is a significant event that we will be more than happy to continue to support with the Community Affairs Division of the Ministry of Social Services, Information and Broadcasting as a partner,” Director Simmons added.

Responsible for the management and direction of the Department of Environmental Planning and Protection, with climate change adaptation and mitigation, sustainable development and international environmental engagement at the core of those responsibilities, Dr. Neely-Murphy used the occasion to accomplish two objectives: ongoing education and awareness to bring attention to the reality of climate change and its impacts on the environment; and facilitation of interest in STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) in primary school students.

“We have found that after grade 6 if we haven’t held their (primary school children) attention in maths and science, especially with the girls, we have lost them by 11 years of age, and so it is important for little girls in particular, to see that they can do math, that their brains are good enough to work out scientific problems and that it is not just for boys. We need more girls, more women in STEM fields and so it is very important that we make it very exciting so that they can view a career in the STEM field either as an employee or an entrepreneur.”

Dr. Neely-Murphy, whose expertise is spread across a range of areas including climate change, renewable energy and simple-use plastics, was able to explain areas such as the ban on single-use plastics and climate change in a simplified, entertaining, and yet informational manner.

“It is important to not complicate the matter for them; to make it as simple as possible. For example, we discussed boiling water in a tea kettle and what that looks like, what it means and how you translate that into the environment in order to be able to connect the dots for them at an early age.”