A Lesson in Nature: Sandals Foundation Takes Students on Mindfulness Nature Trail for Earth Day
Grade Four students of the Dubois Government School joined more than 300 children across nine Caribbean islands who stepped out of the classroom and into nature this Earth Day, as the Sandals Foundation rolled out a Caribbean-wide guided mindfulness programme designed to build environmental awareness and support mental well-being.
The tour, which took place at the Prospect Brighton Mangrove Conservation Park, enabled students to connect directly with the island’s ecosystems engaging in breathing exercises, nature walks, sensory observation and discussions. The programme also sought to reinforce the role of nature in healing the body and mind as well as explore the everyday actions young people can take to protect their natural resources.
“By combining mindfulness with environmental education, we wanted to encourage students to slow down, be present, reflect, and appreciate the beauty of nature which is around them,” says Heidi Clarke, Executive Director at the Sandals Foundation. “We also wanted to share with students that sense of responsibility and power they each have to protect their community’s natural resources and the services those resources support.”
The lesson in nature was a complementary addition to activities on resort which mobilized the engagement of guests and the dive team in an underwater cleanup – removing pounds of debris including plastic to tyres from the ocean floor. Guests also enjoyed a specially curated fashion show featuring clothing made from recyclable items, as well as a nature-inspired food and beverage display – all part of efforts to raise environmental awareness.
The team of volunteers, led by Public Relations Manager Aviar Charles, echoed the importance of activities which seek to protect the ecosystem and, by extension, human lives.
“The beauty of our island and life as we know it are wrapped in the health of our environment. Days like Earth Day give us a moment to pause and reflect on the undeniable relationship we have as humans on its wellbeing. The Sandals Foundation is committed to protecting the resources that make our island unique and are always on the lookout for ways we can get our guests and students engaged.”
More than 300 students across Antigua, Barbados, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Grenada, The Bahamas, Turks and Caicos Islands, Curacao, and Jamaica visited national parks, mangrove forests, Beaches Resorts gardens, and or national conservation areas, fostering a disengagement from digital devices and allowing time to decompress and connect with nature.
The activity, which fosters positive mental wellbeing forms part of the wider range of conservation work of the Sandals Foundation which has to date engaged 177,526 people in environmental education, planted 28,117 trees, outplanted 38,156 corals, invested in programmes that monitor the safe hatch of 221,392 sea turtles, and supported 23 marine and terrestrial protected areas.