Young leaders protecting the environment across Ja

As Jamaica celebrates National Youth Month 2020 during November, The Sunday Gleaner continues its Rethink Youth series which features young people making an impact in their communities.

This week we focus on youth who are taking action to preserve the natural landscape. Meet a few of Jamaica’s environmentally conscious youth leaders.

SANEISHA PARSONS AND MARTYNE MONTHROPE

St James West Central

Montego Bay is widely known for its pristine coastal environment along its Hit Strip. For National Youth Parliament Cornwall coordinator, Saneisha Parsons, and her fellow youth parliamentarian, Martyne Monthrope, preserving this environment is of utmost importance.

It is for this reason that their constituency project entailed the cleaning of the Old Hospital Park Beach. Patrons were overjoyed with the initiative, as they lamented that it had been months since the beach was last cleaned. Assisted by a local beachgoer, Saneisha and Martyne collected up to 18 bags of garbage, which significantly improved the beach’s overall aesthetics.

DEMETRIOUS ROBE AND JOTHAM OMOREGIE

St Andrew Southern

Creating a clean environment is crucial for building a healthy society. For Demetrious Robe and Jotham Omoregie, their passion for enhancing the environment led them to provide support to local groups, such as the Cana Youth Club, which organised a community clean-up in Trench Town. They also hosted a tree-planting initiative at the Frank Spaulding Park in Admiral Town for National Tree Planting Day, which was done in collaboration with the Soaring Eagles Foundation.

JASTINE SMITH AND SAMUEL HAMILTON

Westmoreland Western

During the summer, Samuel Hamilton and Jastine Smith realised that their community was struggling in several key areas. After brainstorming numerous ideas, the Air, Land and Sea Project was born. Despite initially facing challenges with obtaining sponsorship, several residents in the community provided assistance in the first part of their project, cleaning the Savanna-la-Mar Fort Beach.

Next, they distributed masks throughout central Westmoreland in order to help residents combat COVID-19. Lastly, the pair organised the Play for Peace Initiative, where a football game was hosted in support of peace in the New Market Oval community.

SASHANA DAVY AND OMAINE LAWRENCE

Trelawny Northern

Located along the tranquil shores of Trelawny, the Half Moon Bay Beach is more than a place of relaxation. It is a popular destination for fisherfolk and residents looking to exercise or enjoy a refreshing early-morning swim.

Inspired by a love for the environment, Sashana Davy and Omaine Lawrence undertook an initiative to clean the beach in order to protect the marine ecosystem. Armed with knowledge from the WPM Waste Management Limited, Sashana and her friends were able to separate and containerise the garbage before disposing of it.

DARIAN WHITE, ROSHAUN WYNTER, DANE EGLA AND JADON HEWITT

Cornwall County

Darian White, Roshaun Wynter, Dane Egla and Jadon Hewitt are united by a common purpose to impact communities across the county of Cornwall. This mission galvanised these young men to form the Brothers of Cornwall. Their first project started on August 30 with the cleaning up and painting of the Green Pond Infant School. This was followed by a series of community projects, including debushing and drain cleaning of a portion of Murray Town, located in Petersville, on September 20.

They also donated items to students in Hopeton, St James, on October 11, which impacted 30 young people who attended primary, secondary and tertiary institutions. Lastly, these young leaders cleaned the fifth- and sixth-grade classrooms of the Adelphi Primary School.

ONEIL DOWE AND CHRISTOPHER WILSON

St Andrew Eastern and St Andrew East Rural

Jamaica continues to play her part on the world stage in combating the effects of climate change. Youth leaders Oneil Dowe and Christopher Wilson sought to support the national initiative to plant three million trees in three years. As a part of their project, they, along with several volunteers, planted over 50 trees at the Papine High School on October 12 and 16. In attendance were Member of Parliament for St Andrew East Rural and Deputy Speaker of the House, Juliet Holness, as well as Member of Parliament for St Andrew Eastern and Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Fayval Williams.

Oneil told The Sunday Gleaner, “We are proud to play our part in building Jamaica one tree at a time. As you go by your day-to-day activities, encourage a friend, family member, neighbour or your brethren to plant a tree today.”

editorial@gleanerjm.com