Pres students become environmental heroes

On August 7, 2021, an oil spill occurred in the Gulf of Paria. The source of the spill emanated from a crude oil pipeline which was clamped. The ensuing oil spread affected the habitats of various wildlife. Proverbs 27:23 says, “Know well the condition of your flocks, and give attention to your herds.” These words are brought to life every day by many caring individuals involved in the rehabilitation of wildlife affected by this oil spill.

People like Ricardo Meade of the El Socorro Centre for Wildlife Conservation, and Nadia John of The Buddhi Foundation, and Sisters in Action as well as other volunteers, have been working tirelessly for the past few months, trying to save as many animals as they can, especially pelicans.

This project has attracted the attention of many youngsters, three of whom are Jayden Pedro, Jaylon Pedro, and Ethan Bose, Form One students of Presentation College, San Fernando. For the past few months, they have been visiting the Orange Valley Community Centre to assist in the cleaning, feeding, and medicating of the pelicans that were rescued from the bay.

These budding conservationists take great joy in the chores that are assigned to them and even participated in the Oiled Wildlife Response Training workshop where they were officially certified as wildlife volunteers. They were also recently awarded trophies for being ‘Environment Heroes’.

It is indeed wonderful to see these three young men become so interested in the conservation of God’s creatures, but their interest does not end there. To protect the environment and marine life, these students, together with their parents, have participated in several mangrove clean-up campaigns. Their hope is that all who visit the bay to view the gorgeous sunset will keep the area clean of all litter. These young men intend to continue assisting John and Meade as they embark upon a beautification project for the Orange Valley Bay area.

The young people involved in these environmental and wildlife conservation projects are examples to all and hopefully their efforts will encourage others to do their part in taking care of the planet and all the living creatures in it.

—Krystalle Kowlessar-Pedro