How Bahamian Music and Education Inspire Ocean Conservation

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How do you get people interested in

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learning about the ocean?

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We're going to be the focus of today's

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episode on how to

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protect the ocean podcast.

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We're going to be talking to Jevon Hunt,

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who is a songwriter and

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artist and working with

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a nonprofit organization that teaches

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kids to learn about

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their own backyard in Bahamas

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and understand how the ocean plays such

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an important role in not

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only in their protection,

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but in conservation as

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well as biodiversity.

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We're going to talk about that all in

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today's episode of the How

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to Protect the Ocean podcast.

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Let's start the show.

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Hey everybody, welcome back

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to another exciting episode

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of the How to Protect the Ocean podcast.

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I'm your host, Andrew Lewin.

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This is the podcast where you find out

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what's happening with the ocean,

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how you can speak up for the ocean,

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what you can do to

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live for a better ocean

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by taking action.

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And today's episode is a great one.

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We are talking to Jevon Hunt,

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who is an artist, a

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music recording artist,

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a songwriter, an environmentalist,

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and somebody who works

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with nonprofit organization

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that works with young children

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to discuss how

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important the ocean plays a role

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in their lives.

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And it allows them to

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reconnect to their backyard.

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And we discuss a lot of different things,

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including taking for granted what we have

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in our own backyard,

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including myself here in Canada.

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We have a lot of green spaces.

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We have a lot of blue spaces.

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And a lot of the times I sit in my house,

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I sit on my phone and

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I'm scrolling and scrolling

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to find out what's

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happening in the world,

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realizing that I have, or

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not realizing that I have

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a beautiful place

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just in my own backyard.

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And I need to look at more.

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And I feel the same way that Jevon does

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in terms of getting people out and

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connecting with nature

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so that nature becomes an

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important part of their thoughts.

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It becomes part of our culture.

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It becomes part of ways to realize

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that the environment is important to us,

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not only for our

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protection to provide food

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and to provide peace is

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really what it comes down to.

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So we're gonna talk

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about Jevon in just a moment.

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If you want more information like this

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and you wanna find out more

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about how you can protect the ocean,

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you can go to our

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website, speakupforblue.com.

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But here's the interview with Jevon Hunt.

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Enjoy the interview and

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I'll talk to you after.

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Hey Jevon, welcome to the "How

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to Protect the Ocean" podcast.

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Are you ready to talk about

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music and ocean conservation?

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I am ready.

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Right on, I'm very,

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very excited about this.

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I think this is the first

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time where I have somebody

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on the podcast who is combining music

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and entertainment

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with ocean conservation.

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And also on the island of the Bahamas,

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the beautiful Bahamas.

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And I can't wait to see what you guys have to say.

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I can't wait to dive into this.

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We're gonna talk about

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why music is important,

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why you incorporate

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music, how you got into music,

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but also how your

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relationship with the ocean has stemmed

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from being a young boy in

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the Bahamas all the way to now,

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being a grown man, teaching it to others

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and making sure that's an

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important part of their education

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and an important part of

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sort of their lifestyle.

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So I'm looking really, really forward

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to learning more about that.

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But before we get into all that,

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Jevon, why don't you

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just let us know who you are

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and what you do.

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As you said, Andrew, first off, thank you

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for having me on your platform.

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I am thrilled to be here.

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Like you said, my name is Jevon Hunt.

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I'm from the island of Grand Bahama,

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which is in the Bahamas.

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For those of you that don't know, the

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Bahamas is an archipelago.

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There's over 700 islands in the Bahamas

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with about 30 to 40 being inhabited.

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You know, typically people only hear

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about an island in the Bahamas

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when like a celebrity buys an island or

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something like that.

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But there's a lot

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that's inhabited 30 to 40.

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Like I said, we're a small population.

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Like I said, I grew up on

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the island of Grand Bahama.

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I've always been into

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music, the environment.

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I grew up basically outside, you know,

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typical island family.

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Our parents would just shoo us outside to

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entertain ourselves.

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Gotcha.

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You know, they'd say, just

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just boy, go outside and play.

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So typically we spend

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the majority of our days

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outside, you know, playing ball, playing

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anything that could be played.

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I could actually remember the first time

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we got like cable, which was just

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which was like in the early 90s.

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You know, typically we had those antennas

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that you'd have to go

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outside and spin it.

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So so we had no entertainment like that.

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We had no phones or well,

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we did have a rotary phone.

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But, you know, yes.

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You know, I watched

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technology progress over the years.

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And now everyone has a

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cell phone in their hand.

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Go figure.

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But anyway, but I was always into music.

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My family is a musical family.

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They all play in bands and such.

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We sang in church.

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And eventually I progressed

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to want to take it further.

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I performed a lot of places in theater,

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again, my own band and stuff.

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And I threw a series of events, ended up

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somehow, somehow I ended up into the

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environmental field.

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And I never saw it coming.

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I just never saw it coming.

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Right.

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A big part of who I am

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now is I love to mentor.

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So I always mentor it again

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in church groups and stuff.

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And I ended up being a part of a youth

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environmental program.

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And through that, I was introduced to the

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whole world of advocacy and

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learning and teaching about the

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environment, like things

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that I took for granted.

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It was like, oh, my

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gosh, this is important.

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Yeah. So I was in that shoe where I

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didn't know a thing.

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Oh, I took it for granted.

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You know, see those beaches that people

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love to say the Bahamas is known for.

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I live on the beach.

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So I didn't see it as

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nothing that's so important.

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It's just a beach, you know.

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And so sometimes it just baffled me when

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I saw like tourists or

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especially we have a lot of Canadians

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that come down and have second home.

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Especially during a winter season.

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Oh, my gosh, when they come on and for us

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in our winter season, quote unquote,

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we're wearing jackets.

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We have, you know, with the fur, you

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know, we can't wait for

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the cold so that we can

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put on our boots because the only could

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do it like one weekend

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out of the whole year.

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And here's the Canadians and they're

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jumping in the water

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like, oh, this feels so good.

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And we're thinking these crazy people.

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Like that water is cold and

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it's like 70 something degrees.

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Like that's super cold.

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Us, you know, and they're like, oh, we

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just left us, you know, we've snowed in.

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We're hurting to see snow and they're

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running away from it.

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So, you know, in our mind, young boys, I

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can know these people are crazy, you

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know, crazy tourists.

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So anyway, I ended up learning so much

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about the environment, learning so much

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about the things that make us special.

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I'm learning so much about all the things

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that we take for granted, like conch and

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the different varieties of fish that we

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can just go and have.

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And it's not until we speak to people

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from other parts of the USA, Canada and

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all the other parts of the world, you

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know, to learn that they have to get a

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permit to fish or to learn that, hey, you

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can only catch so much

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fish in a fishing trip.

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And there's someone to watch you as they

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measure your fish to make sure it's the

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right length. Whereas in the Bahamas,

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anyone can just go with a cool and some

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fishing line and catch a whole cooler of

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fish because there's

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such an abundance of it.

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Well, it wasn't until I went into

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advocacy and learning more about the

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environment to learn how all of the

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construction and coastal construction and

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businesses and how that

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affects us, affects the ocean.

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It wasn't until I got into this that I

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realized how the ocean is our livelihood,

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the things that we took for granted, like

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the salt water, the seawater, the, you

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know, being able to swim like we're such

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what's it called snobs

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when it comes to beaches.

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Like I visited both coasts of the US and

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they're saying, oh, let's go to the

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beach. Now you're okay. Let's go to the

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beach, you know, and, and, you know, to

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have close friends warn me now when you

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get to this beach, don't act brand new.

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Don't act like, you know, because you're

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used to seeing through the water, you

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won't be able to see through this water.

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I'm like, it can't be that bad. Only to

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go to the beach. And I'm like, oh, no,

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I'm not getting in that.

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I'm like, why? I can't see my feet. You

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have to see you have to see jaws coming

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in order to run from you know, or what

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was really shocking for me

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being an island boy again.

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01:08:37,708 --> 01:08:41,500
And, um, the docs and like, I remember

280
01:08:41,500 --> 01:08:44,583
being in Rhode Island on the coast and

281
01:08:44,583 --> 01:08:46,541
I'm like, is this real sound like I

282
01:08:46,541 --> 01:08:49,375
thought it was fake and they're like, I'm

283
01:08:49,375 --> 01:08:50,458
the only guy there

284
01:08:50,458 --> 01:08:51,583
just digging in the sun.

285
01:08:51,583 --> 01:08:52,916
And you know, a whole crowd is forming

286
01:08:52,916 --> 01:08:55,333
like, why is this guy just digging in the

287
01:08:55,333 --> 01:08:57,000
sun like this? Because I'm like, you have

288
01:08:57,000 --> 01:08:58,666
sparkles in your son. Like, this is so

289
01:08:58,666 --> 01:09:02,291
cool, you know, versus I was used to

290
01:09:02,291 --> 01:09:03,833
powder sign, you know,

291
01:09:04,291 --> 01:09:05,666
it, it gets everywhere.

292
01:09:05,708 --> 01:09:07,958
So to us, it's annoying. It's a tourist.

293
01:09:07,958 --> 01:09:09,333
They're like, the one like snow angels,

294
01:09:09,333 --> 01:09:12,750
you know, long story. You're like, this

295
01:09:12,750 --> 01:09:14,291
is gonna get all over the house is gonna

296
01:09:14,291 --> 01:09:16,958
get everywhere. All my clothes in every

297
01:09:16,958 --> 01:09:18,833
crevice that you can imagine.

298
01:09:18,833 --> 01:09:24,166
It's there. You know, so, so we get used

299
01:09:24,166 --> 01:09:27,875
to that stuff. Yeah. And I'm on an island

300
01:09:27,875 --> 01:09:29,458
and I think my beaches are great. But

301
01:09:29,458 --> 01:09:31,708
then some other islands have even less of

302
01:09:31,708 --> 01:09:32,666
a population and they're untouched.

303
01:09:32,708 --> 01:09:35,708
Like no one's on the beach to us if like

304
01:09:35,708 --> 01:09:37,875
10 people is on the beach. I'm like, Oh,

305
01:09:37,875 --> 01:09:39,458
it's so crowded. Let's go to another

306
01:09:39,458 --> 01:09:43,291
beach versus I'm going to this beach and

307
01:09:43,291 --> 01:09:45,875
you could you have to like tip around

308
01:09:45,875 --> 01:09:49,416
people. It's so much folks. Yeah. And

309
01:09:49,416 --> 01:09:52,333
then and then, you know, it's all new to

310
01:09:52,333 --> 01:09:54,333
me. So it's all eye opening and stuff. I

311
01:09:54,333 --> 01:09:56,166
see these huge seagulls. I've never seen

312
01:09:56,166 --> 01:09:58,375
them that huge because they're not that

313
01:09:58,375 --> 01:10:00,208
huge, you know, by us and they're like

314
01:10:00,208 --> 01:10:01,125
fighting people for

315
01:10:01,125 --> 01:10:01,666
food like, hey, yeah, yeah.

316
01:10:01,708 --> 01:10:07,791
They're aggressive. So yeah, I mean, to

317
01:10:07,791 --> 01:10:10,000
say it was an experience. It really was

318
01:10:10,000 --> 01:10:12,708
an experience. But you know, I'm all over

319
01:10:12,708 --> 01:10:17,041
the place. But when I I started doing a

320
01:10:17,041 --> 01:10:18,708
lot more environmental work and working

321
01:10:18,708 --> 01:10:20,458
with the children, and I saw that the

322
01:10:20,458 --> 01:10:22,333
best way that I could teach them is

323
01:10:22,333 --> 01:10:24,666
through what I know, which is music. And

324
01:10:24,666 --> 01:10:26,583
I kind of stumbled into that as well.

325
01:10:27,708 --> 01:10:31,833
But I needed to find a song or write a

326
01:10:31,833 --> 01:10:34,541
song as a teaching tool. And I wrote a

327
01:10:34,541 --> 01:10:37,291
couple and I was low, you know, not

328
01:10:37,291 --> 01:10:39,416
ashamed, but I was a little shy to show

329
01:10:39,416 --> 01:10:42,708
it course. But when I did, you know,

330
01:10:42,708 --> 01:10:45,625
everybody's like, Okay, okay, I see. You

331
01:10:45,625 --> 01:10:48,208
know, and then I had to come up with a

332
01:10:48,208 --> 01:10:50,208
simplified version, which is what I

333
01:10:50,208 --> 01:10:50,666
taught you earlier. Yes. And if you don't mind, I could do it with.

334
01:10:50,708 --> 01:10:56,500
Absolutely. Please do. So the simplified

335
01:10:56,500 --> 01:10:59,500
version is for I use it for preschoolers

336
01:10:59,500 --> 01:11:02,000
and young kids, sixth grade and under,

337
01:11:02,000 --> 01:11:04,083
but I found that the adults love it even

338
01:11:04,083 --> 01:11:05,708
more. But they like to pretend like they don't, you know, so I get them clapping, clapping.

339
01:11:20,708 --> 01:11:24,208
And then I get them like, okay, when I

340
01:11:24,208 --> 01:11:26,000
say four types here, I want you to say it

341
01:11:26,000 --> 01:11:29,541
with me. Yeah, so come on. And four types

342
01:11:29,541 --> 01:11:31,791
here. And it's all good. Come on, I do

343
01:11:31,791 --> 01:11:33,625
red, black, white and black.

344
01:11:34,333 --> 01:11:39,666
And so it's so catchy. It is catchy. I'm

345
01:11:39,666 --> 01:11:41,208
probably gonna say it later on after. I

346
01:11:41,208 --> 01:11:44,458
know. But I love it because, you know,

347
01:11:44,708 --> 01:11:47,500
because we get you talking about the four

348
01:11:47,500 --> 01:11:48,875
types of mangroves that

349
01:11:48,875 --> 01:11:49,625
are here in the Bahamas.

350
01:11:49,708 --> 01:11:53,208
And then, you know, after they get that

351
01:11:53,208 --> 01:11:55,333
little piece, then I'm able to go in

352
01:11:55,333 --> 01:11:56,750
depth a little bit about each one of

353
01:11:56,750 --> 01:11:58,291
those mangroves and why it's important

354
01:11:58,291 --> 01:11:59,958
and why, you know, a lot of the fish

355
01:11:59,958 --> 01:12:02,291
species and stock come to the mangroves

356
01:12:02,291 --> 01:12:03,916
to have their young, you know.

357
01:12:03,916 --> 01:12:05,458
So if we destroy the mangroves or if

358
01:12:05,458 --> 01:12:07,125
they're destroyed, then these fish,

359
01:12:07,125 --> 01:12:09,000
these, you know, mammals or these animals

360
01:12:09,000 --> 01:12:11,333
have nowhere to go to bring their young,

361
01:12:11,708 --> 01:12:12,916
which is a direct

362
01:12:12,916 --> 01:12:15,666
reflection on our food source.

363
01:12:15,708 --> 01:12:18,291
So if those are destroyed, the things

364
01:12:18,291 --> 01:12:20,541
that you like to eat, they're not there

365
01:12:20,541 --> 01:12:23,625
anymore. You know, so conch the fish, you

366
01:12:23,625 --> 01:12:25,166
know, and sometimes when we go into the

367
01:12:25,166 --> 01:12:27,541
mangroves, we see so many turtles in

368
01:12:27,541 --> 01:12:30,333
there. We see a lot of bird species, some

369
01:12:30,333 --> 01:12:31,666
fish jumping out of the water.

370
01:12:31,708 --> 01:12:34,666
Like it is amazing when you go there,

371
01:12:34,666 --> 01:12:37,333
like it is I can't even begin to describe

372
01:12:37,333 --> 01:12:40,375
how peaceful it is in areas where people

373
01:12:40,375 --> 01:12:43,458
don't go. And and yeah, and then you see

374
01:12:43,458 --> 01:12:45,125
the land being built because the

375
01:12:45,125 --> 01:12:46,875
mangroves tend to attract a lot of

376
01:12:46,875 --> 01:12:47,833
sediment and you see

377
01:12:47,833 --> 01:12:48,666
these little islands forming.

378
01:12:48,708 --> 01:12:53,500
And when we get people out there for the

379
01:12:53,500 --> 01:12:56,500
for the like minute or two or for the 30

380
01:12:56,500 --> 01:12:58,333
minutes or for however long they're out

381
01:12:58,333 --> 01:13:01,333
there, we see the shift happening. We see

382
01:13:01,333 --> 01:13:02,625
them saying like, oh,

383
01:13:03,166 --> 01:13:03,666
okay, this is important.

384
01:13:03,708 --> 01:13:07,666
Okay, this is this is a good reason why

385
01:13:07,666 --> 01:13:09,416
we should protect this area, you know,

386
01:13:09,791 --> 01:13:12,625
because I'm sure it's the same for you

387
01:13:12,625 --> 01:13:14,166
and everyone else listening that you

388
01:13:14,166 --> 01:13:15,958
know, you tend to have our habits. We go

389
01:13:15,958 --> 01:13:19,000
from work to home, grocery store, you

390
01:13:19,000 --> 01:13:21,166
know, if you have children to, you know,

391
01:13:21,166 --> 01:13:21,666
PTA is and all that stuff.

392
01:13:21,708 --> 01:13:24,208
And that tends to become your world and

393
01:13:24,208 --> 01:13:25,750
you kind of block out, you're in your own

394
01:13:25,750 --> 01:13:29,416
bubble. So what we do is we through fun

395
01:13:29,416 --> 01:13:31,041
ways and through different ways, reach

396
01:13:31,041 --> 01:13:33,166
the audience so that we can tell them

397
01:13:33,166 --> 01:13:34,916
like, hey, I know you're in your bubble,

398
01:13:35,208 --> 01:13:35,916
but let's take five

399
01:13:35,916 --> 01:13:37,000
minutes to sing a song.

400
01:13:37,000 --> 01:13:39,333
Let's take five minutes to see how

401
01:13:39,333 --> 01:13:42,208
important this ecosystem is to us. Let's

402
01:13:42,208 --> 01:13:43,708
let's take 10 minutes, you know, and then

403
01:13:43,708 --> 01:13:45,416
we attract them to our youth program,

404
01:13:45,416 --> 01:13:47,666
which then goes in depth.

405
01:13:47,708 --> 01:13:50,500
And I'm proud to say that in our 13th

406
01:13:50,500 --> 01:13:53,500
year, we were able to get a lot of the

407
01:13:53,500 --> 01:13:56,333
Bohemian students interested in

408
01:13:56,333 --> 01:13:58,583
environmental careers. And a lot of them

409
01:13:58,583 --> 01:14:01,250
are choosing to learn more and come back

410
01:14:01,250 --> 01:14:03,500
and teach. So it's having some sort of

411
01:14:03,500 --> 01:14:07,166
impact, which is even great, better and

412
01:14:07,166 --> 01:14:10,500
stuff, you know, and, and also those who

413
01:14:10,500 --> 01:14:12,333
just trapped in their everyday bubble,

414
01:14:12,833 --> 01:14:14,875
they're able to just think outside of the

415
01:14:14,875 --> 01:14:16,666
box and say, okay, this is important.

416
01:14:16,875 --> 01:14:20,916
Okay, let me not litter or my

417
01:14:20,916 --> 01:14:23,458
environment. Okay, I might have I bought

418
01:14:23,458 --> 01:14:25,958
this property. I don't have to tear down

419
01:14:25,958 --> 01:14:27,375
every single tree that's on this

420
01:14:27,375 --> 01:14:29,416
property. So just to get them thinking

421
01:14:29,416 --> 01:14:32,041
along that lines and making small choices

422
01:14:32,041 --> 01:14:32,666
leads to bigger results.

423
01:14:32,708 --> 01:14:33,416
Bigger result.

424
01:14:33,875 --> 01:14:36,208
100%. It's so important to get people

425
01:14:36,208 --> 01:14:38,625
connected back to the ocean. I mean, even

426
01:14:38,625 --> 01:14:40,791
we talk about that here in North America,

427
01:14:41,041 --> 01:14:43,166
all the time, Canada, US, you're right,

428
01:14:43,166 --> 01:14:44,541
we're always just in our own little

429
01:14:44,541 --> 01:14:46,000
bubble. And we just have to go to the

430
01:14:46,000 --> 01:14:47,416
grocery store, and I have to go bring our

431
01:14:47,416 --> 01:14:49,041
kids to here. Now I got to go here, now

432
01:14:49,041 --> 01:14:50,458
go here. And a lot of times, we don't

433
01:14:50,458 --> 01:14:52,583
even take a take time out of the day,

434
01:14:52,583 --> 01:14:54,416
just be like, I live in a pretty cool

435
01:14:54,416 --> 01:14:56,791
place. You know, I live in a place where

436
01:14:56,791 --> 01:14:58,250
there's lots of trees, lots of greenery,

437
01:14:58,250 --> 01:15:00,458
and they just kind of pass by it, because

438
01:15:00,458 --> 01:15:01,666
I have to go do some stuff.

439
01:15:01,708 --> 01:15:03,875
And if we don't take time out of our day

440
01:15:03,875 --> 01:15:06,000
or time out of our week to go and connect

441
01:15:06,000 --> 01:15:09,000
with nature, in your case, like in

442
01:15:09,000 --> 01:15:11,666
Baham's case, you know, the ocean and

443
01:15:11,666 --> 01:15:14,708
enjoy what you see around there, it takes

444
01:15:14,708 --> 01:15:16,416
you know, you can just bypass and you

445
01:15:16,416 --> 01:15:18,500
don't you lose that, that connection that

446
01:15:18,500 --> 01:15:20,416
want and that understanding of why it's

447
01:15:20,416 --> 01:15:22,250
important to protect the ocean unless

448
01:15:22,250 --> 01:15:25,583
some disaster comes by and you realize

449
01:15:25,583 --> 01:15:27,666
how important it is needed.

450
01:15:27,708 --> 01:15:28,666
And then you're like, well, what happened

451
01:15:28,666 --> 01:15:30,750
to these programs and stuff, but the lack

452
01:15:30,750 --> 01:15:33,875
of that connection takes away that that

453
01:15:33,875 --> 01:15:35,875
memory of this, this is an important

454
01:15:35,875 --> 01:15:38,000
part, you know, having mangroves, you

455
01:15:38,000 --> 01:15:39,458
know, having coral reefs, having

456
01:15:39,458 --> 01:15:41,875
seagrasses are very important in tropical

457
01:15:41,875 --> 01:15:43,416
systems to protect the coastline.

458
01:15:44,000 --> 01:15:45,291
And without that connection, without

459
01:15:45,291 --> 01:15:47,041
bringing people in and I think it's

460
01:15:47,041 --> 01:15:48,541
really interesting because we talk about

461
01:15:48,541 --> 01:15:52,333
it a lot, you know, we go away to the

462
01:15:52,333 --> 01:15:54,250
tropics, we go away because we love the

463
01:15:54,250 --> 01:15:56,291
water, we love the beach, like we go, I'm

464
01:15:56,291 --> 01:15:57,375
like that tourist, right?

465
01:15:57,375 --> 01:15:59,208
If I went to the Bahamas, I'm out there

466
01:15:59,208 --> 01:16:01,416
and like, it's 70 degrees and the water's

467
01:16:01,416 --> 01:16:03,166
like probably 60 and I'm like, yes, I'm

468
01:16:03,166 --> 01:16:03,666
in, like, let's do it.

469
01:16:03,708 --> 01:16:05,833
And you're on the beach, be like, what is

470
01:16:05,833 --> 01:16:08,125
wrong with this guy? Because you just

471
01:16:08,125 --> 01:16:10,375
love it so much and it's such a different

472
01:16:10,375 --> 01:16:11,750
part of your own. Like, it's not your

473
01:16:11,750 --> 01:16:14,083
country, you're in a different country,

474
01:16:14,333 --> 01:16:16,458
it's warm, what you're normally used to

475
01:16:16,458 --> 01:16:18,666
and it's such an important part.

476
01:16:18,708 --> 01:16:21,166
But a lot of times we talk about, you

477
01:16:21,166 --> 01:16:22,750
know, going somewhere to reconnect with

478
01:16:22,750 --> 01:16:24,333
the ocean, like going to the Bahamas or

479
01:16:24,333 --> 01:16:26,333
going to Hawaii or going, you know, other

480
01:16:26,333 --> 01:16:28,458
places. But when you, the people that

481
01:16:28,458 --> 01:16:30,375
live there, it's so important for the

482
01:16:30,375 --> 01:16:32,166
people who live on those islands.

483
01:16:32,541 --> 01:16:33,875
And even like for me to live in Canada,

484
01:16:34,000 --> 01:16:36,375
to not take for granted the nature that's

485
01:16:36,375 --> 01:16:38,791
around me, but especially for you, when

486
01:16:38,791 --> 01:16:41,000
you first started building the program,

487
01:16:41,000 --> 01:16:42,000
we're getting the idea to build the

488
01:16:42,000 --> 01:16:43,750
program, was it difficult to recruit

489
01:16:43,750 --> 01:16:47,125
people from the Bahamas, like, Bahamians

490
01:16:47,125 --> 01:16:47,708
to come out and like, you know,

491
01:16:48,708 --> 01:16:50,291
even the kids to get people to have

492
01:16:50,291 --> 01:16:53,166
permission to come out and connect with

493
01:16:53,166 --> 01:16:54,583
with the ocean. Was that a was that a

494
01:16:54,583 --> 01:16:56,250
challenging process for you?

495
01:16:57,458 --> 01:16:59,500
Yes, it was. And first, I want to say the

496
01:16:59,500 --> 01:17:02,541
first three or four years. Yeah, we had

497
01:17:02,541 --> 01:17:05,000
students that wanted to keep coming back

498
01:17:05,000 --> 01:17:07,458
because we were developing the program.

499
01:17:07,458 --> 01:17:10,458
And when we went to all of the schools

500
01:17:10,458 --> 01:17:12,833
and gave the letters and such, no one was

501
01:17:12,833 --> 01:17:14,041
really interested because they didn't

502
01:17:14,041 --> 01:17:14,666
know what we were about.

503
01:17:15,708 --> 01:17:17,708
And, you know, and so once they're like,

504
01:17:17,708 --> 01:17:19,041
hey, this is an environmental

505
01:17:19,041 --> 01:17:23,541
organization. We were lucky that one of

506
01:17:23,541 --> 01:17:28,375
our senior members, he was a principal at

507
01:17:28,375 --> 01:17:30,458
a high school for over like 20 years.

508
01:17:30,708 --> 01:17:33,083
So he knew all of the teachers and he

509
01:17:33,083 --> 01:17:34,916
just bullied his way inside that, hey,

510
01:17:35,291 --> 01:17:37,875
I'm doing this environmental program and

511
01:17:37,875 --> 01:17:40,166
you have to help Mother Earth. So you're

512
01:17:40,166 --> 01:17:41,000
signing up and they'd be

513
01:17:41,000 --> 01:17:42,375
like, yes, sir. Yes, sir.

514
01:17:42,375 --> 01:17:44,750
You know, because they trust him too,

515
01:17:44,750 --> 01:17:47,083
right? They just he had a great

516
01:17:47,083 --> 01:17:51,291
reputation, you know, and and so we had a

517
01:17:51,291 --> 01:17:53,875
lot of folks that signed up. And then,

518
01:17:53,875 --> 01:17:55,291
you know, then you have

519
01:17:55,291 --> 01:17:56,666
to to work with parents.

520
01:17:56,708 --> 01:17:59,916
And because of his reputation and the

521
01:17:59,916 --> 01:18:01,750
reputation of the team, they said, you

522
01:18:01,750 --> 01:18:03,208
know what, we're going to keep our

523
01:18:03,208 --> 01:18:04,750
children coming back because it looks

524
01:18:04,750 --> 01:18:06,166
like they're doing a lot.

525
01:18:07,458 --> 01:18:10,291
We were able to once they graduate from

526
01:18:10,291 --> 01:18:12,875
the youth program, we had a cadet program

527
01:18:12,875 --> 01:18:15,875
where we one of the requirements is that

528
01:18:15,875 --> 01:18:19,666
they get scuba certified. Oh, so we get

529
01:18:19,666 --> 01:18:20,791
them in the water and

530
01:18:20,791 --> 01:18:21,666
they have to go in the water.

531
01:18:21,708 --> 01:18:24,916
And it's like, okay, okay, it's it's

532
01:18:24,916 --> 01:18:27,208
good. It's good. And as some of the

533
01:18:27,208 --> 01:18:29,250
facilitators, we also had to get scuba

534
01:18:29,250 --> 01:18:32,333
certified. Of course. Yeah, so we wanted

535
01:18:32,333 --> 01:18:33,833
the children to go in there. So we had to

536
01:18:33,833 --> 01:18:35,625
do it as well as my first time. And of

537
01:18:35,625 --> 01:18:38,166
course, I was nervous. I was nervous. I

538
01:18:38,166 --> 01:18:39,666
was so nervous. I won't even lie, Andrew.

539
01:18:39,708 --> 01:18:42,125
I'm breathing underwater is not natural.

540
01:18:42,125 --> 01:18:44,041
Let's be honest, right? It's not natural.

541
01:18:44,666 --> 01:18:46,041
I know. And then, you know, we watched

542
01:18:46,041 --> 01:18:48,875
those those movies, you know, like Jaws.

543
01:18:49,166 --> 01:18:50,750
And there's one particular place called

544
01:18:50,750 --> 01:18:52,500
Shark Junction. Right.

545
01:18:53,000 --> 01:18:56,166
We had to dive, you know. And so I I'm

546
01:18:56,166 --> 01:18:59,000
trying to say to my folks, my family,

547
01:18:59,000 --> 01:19:01,708
like, how do I tell them that I'm going

548
01:19:01,708 --> 01:19:04,416
to willingly scuba dive with sharks

549
01:19:04,416 --> 01:19:06,541
without alarming them?

550
01:19:06,708 --> 01:19:09,125
So I'm like, hey, I just wanted to say I

551
01:19:09,125 --> 01:19:16,083
love you. And I put a tremble in my

552
01:19:16,083 --> 01:19:18,250
voice, you know, and when we got out

553
01:19:18,250 --> 01:19:20,958
there, the sharks are like, humans, like,

554
01:19:20,958 --> 01:19:22,375
you know, it was like we were intruding

555
01:19:22,375 --> 01:19:24,125
on their territory, but they didn't care.

556
01:19:25,041 --> 01:19:27,250
You know, and the instructors were so

557
01:19:27,250 --> 01:19:29,666
cool. They were so they taught me in a

558
01:19:29,666 --> 01:19:32,916
way that I needed to learn. And they got

559
01:19:32,916 --> 01:19:34,500
a few pictures of sharks in the

560
01:19:34,500 --> 01:19:36,833
background with me not even noticing them

561
01:19:36,833 --> 01:19:38,583
there. And I'm like, you know what, thank

562
01:19:38,583 --> 01:19:40,375
God, you're gonna tell me turn around.

563
01:19:41,708 --> 01:19:43,625
Because I don't know what would have

564
01:19:43,625 --> 01:19:46,083
happened, but it might have been

565
01:19:46,083 --> 01:19:50,083
embarrassing. But, you know, after five

566
01:19:50,083 --> 01:19:52,708
dives, and I got certified, it was like,

567
01:19:52,708 --> 01:19:55,500
okay, it's nothing to fear. And I was

568
01:19:55,500 --> 01:19:57,250
able to even get back into

569
01:19:57,250 --> 01:19:58,666
the classroom and say, hey,

570
01:20:00,416 --> 01:20:02,000
it's even more reason for us to protect

571
01:20:02,000 --> 01:20:03,875
our reefs, protect our oceans, because

572
01:20:03,875 --> 01:20:06,375
underwater is a completely different

573
01:20:06,375 --> 01:20:09,416
world. And it's so beautiful. So just,

574
01:20:09,416 --> 01:20:12,458
just imagine being underwater with all of

575
01:20:12,458 --> 01:20:14,458
those colors and all those coral reefs

576
01:20:14,458 --> 01:20:16,958
and, and like, all of the colors on the

577
01:20:16,958 --> 01:20:19,291
fish, I felt like I was

578
01:20:19,291 --> 01:20:22,166
seeing Dory from what's the

579
01:20:22,708 --> 01:20:25,458
name Dory? I felt like I found Dory.

580
01:20:25,750 --> 01:20:28,625
A number of times probably.

581
01:20:28,708 --> 01:20:32,166
A number of times, yeah. And, and just

582
01:20:32,166 --> 01:20:34,416
all of the misconceptions I had about

583
01:20:34,416 --> 01:20:37,166
sharks and rays. And you know, there's a

584
01:20:37,166 --> 01:20:39,041
guy here called the thing Ray Whisper.

585
01:20:39,041 --> 01:20:41,083
And I've done his tour like three times.

586
01:20:42,041 --> 01:20:43,791
And he showed us how to safely interact

587
01:20:43,791 --> 01:20:47,458
with wildlife. And you know what I mean?

588
01:20:47,458 --> 01:20:49,958
And it was like, oh my God, all, all of

589
01:20:49,958 --> 01:20:52,333
these years, people were telling me that,

590
01:20:52,916 --> 01:20:54,625
hey, you saw what's happened to Steve

591
01:20:54,625 --> 01:20:56,166
Irwin, don't get next to

592
01:20:56,166 --> 01:20:57,666
those dangerous wild animals.

593
01:20:57,708 --> 01:20:58,875
Yeah.

594
01:21:00,208 --> 01:21:02,125
But you know, I'm thinking though, like,

595
01:21:02,125 --> 01:21:04,041
why would you want to intrude into that

596
01:21:04,041 --> 01:21:06,875
space without, you know, without doing it

597
01:21:06,875 --> 01:21:08,625
in a safe way, you know, so it just led

598
01:21:08,625 --> 01:21:10,166
me to think about things in a different

599
01:21:10,166 --> 01:21:13,458
way. And, you know, it's just my whole

600
01:21:13,458 --> 01:21:15,333
world changed, my whole world changed.

601
01:21:16,166 --> 01:21:17,750
But back to the answer to your question,

602
01:21:17,750 --> 01:21:19,666
it was a little bit difficult at first.

603
01:21:19,708 --> 01:21:22,500
But after parents and the wider community

604
01:21:22,500 --> 01:21:27,166
saw that, hey, they're these children are

605
01:21:27,166 --> 01:21:29,666
getting some amazing opportunities. You

606
01:21:29,666 --> 01:21:32,208
know, we've had different folks come out

607
01:21:32,208 --> 01:21:34,916
and, and now the current generation,

608
01:21:34,916 --> 01:21:37,208
they're more interested in choosing

609
01:21:37,208 --> 01:21:38,166
environmental careers.

610
01:21:38,416 --> 01:21:38,666
So they're finding us.

611
01:21:39,708 --> 01:21:41,708
Yeah, you know, yeah, they're coming back

612
01:21:41,708 --> 01:21:44,208
to teach, which, which I think is great,

613
01:21:44,208 --> 01:21:45,708
because that's even more of an

614
01:21:45,708 --> 01:21:48,041
opportunity to mentor, because they

615
01:21:48,041 --> 01:21:50,708
become leaders then. Right. And so

616
01:21:50,708 --> 01:21:54,083
they're able to lead other children to go

617
01:21:54,083 --> 01:21:56,250
and then they learn how to be leaders. So

618
01:21:56,250 --> 01:21:58,416
whether they stay in environmental jobs

619
01:21:58,416 --> 01:22:01,583
or not, they have, it's become a big part

620
01:22:01,583 --> 01:22:03,541
of their lives. Plus, they've had an

621
01:22:03,541 --> 01:22:05,666
opportunity to lead, which I think is

622
01:22:05,666 --> 01:22:07,666
such a, as a, as a, I'm a sports coach, a hockey and football player.

623
01:22:07,708 --> 01:22:11,083
So I find it's like, it's such an

624
01:22:11,083 --> 01:22:13,375
important part of a, of a, of some kids

625
01:22:13,375 --> 01:22:16,375
development, right, is to understand what

626
01:22:16,375 --> 01:22:19,125
it means to lead. And not kids don't get

627
01:22:19,125 --> 01:22:20,916
an opportunity to do that, right, which

628
01:22:20,916 --> 01:22:23,208
is so this is this is wonderful. I have

629
01:22:23,208 --> 01:22:24,875
to ask, like you were nervous at first,

630
01:22:24,875 --> 01:22:26,125
when you started scuba diving, which

631
01:22:26,125 --> 01:22:29,125
everybody is, I was as well. When you

632
01:22:29,125 --> 01:22:30,666
scuba dive now, what's the difference?

633
01:22:30,958 --> 01:22:36,083
Um, it's still a little nervous at first.

634
01:22:37,333 --> 01:22:39,375
But, you know, that's just me anytime I

635
01:22:39,375 --> 01:22:43,375
get in the water. But once you get in it,

636
01:22:43,750 --> 01:22:46,500
it's such a calming. Yeah, you'll to be

637
01:22:46,500 --> 01:22:47,916
there. Like I said, it's a whole

638
01:22:47,916 --> 01:22:50,625
different world. It's like, I knew. Yeah,

639
01:22:50,916 --> 01:22:53,000
all of the worries and the stresses that

640
01:22:53,000 --> 01:22:53,666
we carry around with us. Once you submerge not water and you look up and I'm like, Oh, my God, I'm 20 feet in water. I'm not.

641
01:23:02,458 --> 01:23:05,083
And it's like, the only thing you can

642
01:23:05,083 --> 01:23:08,375
hear is your heartbeat. Yeah. And the

643
01:23:08,375 --> 01:23:10,375
calmer you are the less that oxygen you

644
01:23:10,375 --> 01:23:13,000
use. So I try to calm myself even more.

645
01:23:13,791 --> 01:23:16,291
And it feels so graceful to just be in

646
01:23:16,291 --> 01:23:17,875
the water just floating and just

647
01:23:17,875 --> 01:23:19,666
exploring sometimes the instructors have to tell us like, Hey, stay with your buddy.

648
01:23:20,708 --> 01:23:26,041
Don't wander off because you get so

649
01:23:26,041 --> 01:23:28,375
caught up that, you know, you lose track

650
01:23:28,375 --> 01:23:31,708
of time. And one person in particular,

651
01:23:32,166 --> 01:23:34,666
again, the elderly gentleman, my, my

652
01:23:34,666 --> 01:23:38,375
boss, who is the ex principal, he's in

653
01:23:38,375 --> 01:23:41,083
his 80s. And we have to put a tag on him

654
01:23:41,083 --> 01:23:42,833
because he's gone. He's

655
01:23:42,833 --> 01:23:43,666
gone. I'm like, come back.

656
01:23:44,708 --> 01:23:48,791
You know, but then you have to be careful

657
01:23:48,791 --> 01:23:50,625
because the hand signals they they're,

658
01:23:50,625 --> 01:23:51,416
you know, they're thinking there's

659
01:23:51,416 --> 01:23:52,708
something else. So we have to be trying

660
01:23:52,708 --> 01:23:54,625
to stick close to your partner and just

661
01:23:54,625 --> 01:23:58,500
explore together. But yeah, I felt like I

662
01:23:58,500 --> 01:24:00,083
learned a brand new part of the Bahamas

663
01:24:00,083 --> 01:24:02,416
that few people get to see,

664
01:24:02,416 --> 01:24:02,666
you know, being underwater.

665
01:24:03,708 --> 01:24:06,458
Yeah, 100%. I think that's a, that's a

666
01:24:06,458 --> 01:24:08,416
big part of it. Not a lot of people know

667
01:24:08,416 --> 01:24:10,541
what it's like underwater. And you're

668
01:24:10,541 --> 01:24:11,625
right. It's like a completely different

669
01:24:11,625 --> 01:24:15,625
world. When, you know, we talk a lot

670
01:24:15,625 --> 01:24:17,583
about, you know, connecting and making

671
01:24:17,583 --> 01:24:19,958
sure that kids and kids and their parents

672
01:24:19,958 --> 01:24:22,125
understand more about the ocean, how

673
01:24:22,125 --> 01:24:24,708
important it is to, to protect and how

674
01:24:24,708 --> 01:24:25,458
important it is to take

675
01:24:25,458 --> 01:24:27,666
care of that, that time.

676
01:24:28,125 --> 01:24:32,875
What is like, for the average Bahamian

677
01:24:32,875 --> 01:24:35,250
who lives in on your island, like grand

678
01:24:35,250 --> 01:24:39,791
Bahamas, what is sort of the outlook of,

679
01:24:40,000 --> 01:24:41,958
of the beach and of the ocean? Was it

680
01:24:41,958 --> 01:24:43,416
similar to you where they just take it a

681
01:24:43,416 --> 01:24:45,166
little for granted and they don't go in

682
01:24:45,166 --> 01:24:47,250
the water as much because it's always

683
01:24:47,250 --> 01:24:48,833
there and they get caught up

684
01:24:48,833 --> 01:24:50,416
in your, in their own lives?

685
01:24:51,791 --> 01:24:56,041
Yes, that's still the sentiment. Like I

686
01:24:56,041 --> 01:24:57,833
told you earlier, I had that same

687
01:24:57,833 --> 01:25:01,208
mentality, like, yeah, I live on the

688
01:25:01,208 --> 01:25:04,541
beach. The beach is literally two minutes

689
01:25:04,541 --> 01:25:06,708
away from me like I'm at the front of my

690
01:25:06,708 --> 01:25:10,000
property and at the back is my beach. And

691
01:25:10,000 --> 01:25:13,625
it's like, no, no Bahamian would

692
01:25:13,625 --> 01:25:14,625
willingly want to

693
01:25:14,625 --> 01:25:17,208
live on the beach. And my

694
01:25:17,458 --> 01:25:20,833
house is it is it is prize land,

695
01:25:20,833 --> 01:25:23,166
especially for those who like a

696
01:25:23,166 --> 01:25:25,458
landlocked. And you know, when people

697
01:25:25,458 --> 01:25:28,541
tend to to build in the Bahamas, and

698
01:25:28,541 --> 01:25:30,333
they're from a place that's landlocked,

699
01:25:30,541 --> 01:25:32,791
they want to live on the beach. Right for

700
01:25:32,791 --> 01:25:34,375
the average Bahamian, they do not want to

701
01:25:34,375 --> 01:25:36,750
live on the beach. Because saltwater

702
01:25:36,750 --> 01:25:39,250
corrodes everything. Yes, you'll be

703
01:25:39,250 --> 01:25:40,958
changing your fixtures and fittings

704
01:25:40,958 --> 01:25:44,875
yearly. You have to park in a garage

705
01:25:44,875 --> 01:25:46,041
because then your car

706
01:25:46,041 --> 01:25:47,333
will get all eaten up by the

707
01:25:47,375 --> 01:25:52,125
salt. Sand flies, you know, all that

708
01:25:52,125 --> 01:25:54,250
different stuff. It's all the stuff you

709
01:25:54,250 --> 01:25:55,750
never think about not living on the

710
01:25:55,750 --> 01:25:58,416
beach, right? Yeah, having saltwater just

711
01:25:58,416 --> 01:26:00,208
in the air that comes in it comes the

712
01:26:00,208 --> 01:26:02,458
salt comes over. Yeah, just like sand,

713
01:26:02,458 --> 01:26:04,875
it'll find its way over and get all the

714
01:26:04,875 --> 01:26:07,041
stuff you don't want to get. Yeah, and in

715
01:26:07,041 --> 01:26:08,750
the Bahamas is a unique way for people to

716
01:26:08,750 --> 01:26:12,291
tell like, they can look at anyone and

717
01:26:12,291 --> 01:26:14,041
they like, for example, they look at me

718
01:26:14,041 --> 01:26:15,416
and they'll say, you're in

719
01:26:15,416 --> 01:26:17,250
the saltwater a lot. And they'll

720
01:26:17,250 --> 01:26:20,000
and then I know why they say that because

721
01:26:20,000 --> 01:26:21,666
saltwater bleaches your hair, it turns

722
01:26:21,666 --> 01:26:22,625
you here like brown.

723
01:26:25,333 --> 01:26:27,708
So we know the fishermen, we know all of

724
01:26:27,708 --> 01:26:29,875
the folks who were in the water, because

725
01:26:29,875 --> 01:26:31,875
it turns you here brown, like it bleaches

726
01:26:31,875 --> 01:26:34,333
it. Yeah, you know, I get a lot of folks

727
01:26:34,333 --> 01:26:36,541
ask me like, hey, you know, did you

728
01:26:36,541 --> 01:26:39,250
bleach your hair? I'm like, no, no,

729
01:26:40,125 --> 01:26:42,375
I would, you know, we don't do that, you

730
01:26:42,375 --> 01:26:45,416
know, but if you know, you know, yeah,

731
01:26:45,416 --> 01:26:47,708
like you get in the water and it bleaches

732
01:26:47,708 --> 01:26:51,375
your hair. So a lot of my hair is that

733
01:26:51,375 --> 01:26:54,333
that that brown that's that's very, you

734
01:26:54,333 --> 01:26:56,666
know, with going into saltwater. So all

735
01:26:56,666 --> 01:26:58,375
of the fishermen, they have like light

736
01:26:58,375 --> 01:26:59,625
brown hair because they're in the water

737
01:26:59,625 --> 01:27:02,125
daily. Like for me, I might be in the

738
01:27:02,125 --> 01:27:03,416
water weekly, especially in the

739
01:27:03,416 --> 01:27:05,208
summertime, but they're in the water

740
01:27:05,208 --> 01:27:06,541
every day year round.

741
01:27:07,583 --> 01:27:09,875
And so I find also that the younger

742
01:27:09,875 --> 01:27:13,333
folks, they're mostly in the water in the

743
01:27:13,333 --> 01:27:15,666
summertime, just like us, up until like

744
01:27:15,666 --> 01:27:17,416
October or so when it gets start getting

745
01:27:17,416 --> 01:27:21,000
a little bit nippy. But they also take it

746
01:27:21,000 --> 01:27:23,583
for granted. And so unless they're doing

747
01:27:23,583 --> 01:27:25,791
some type of tik tok, or some type of

748
01:27:25,791 --> 01:27:28,875
something, or even partying on the beach,

749
01:27:29,291 --> 01:27:31,625
because that happens a lot too. That's

750
01:27:31,625 --> 01:27:33,541
the only time people

751
01:27:33,541 --> 01:27:34,541
really go to the beach.

752
01:27:35,416 --> 01:27:38,500
Gotcha. Gotcha. That's cool. That's so

753
01:27:38,500 --> 01:27:42,041
cool. Now, the music aspect of your life

754
01:27:42,041 --> 01:27:43,583
is a big part, as you mentioned, your

755
01:27:43,583 --> 01:27:46,000
family's very musical, you're very

756
01:27:46,000 --> 01:27:47,375
musical, you incorporate into these

757
01:27:47,375 --> 01:27:50,125
environmental programs. How big of a part

758
01:27:50,125 --> 01:27:52,125
is it when you go into these schools?

759
01:27:52,750 --> 01:27:54,500
Like, like, do you, is it come in, you

760
01:27:54,500 --> 01:27:57,458
bring your guitar, you sing, or keyboard

761
01:27:57,458 --> 01:28:00,083
or whatever, and you sing and, and that's

762
01:28:00,083 --> 01:28:01,750
most of the program or like,

763
01:28:01,750 --> 01:28:03,166
how does it incorporate it?

764
01:28:03,166 --> 01:28:06,583
So it depends on what the school wants.

765
01:28:06,833 --> 01:28:08,791
And it depends on how much time we have.

766
01:28:08,791 --> 01:28:11,041
Normally, we block out like a 45 minute

767
01:28:11,041 --> 01:28:14,291
session with students. If I have the

768
01:28:14,291 --> 01:28:17,333
young ones, if I have primary school

769
01:28:17,333 --> 01:28:20,000
level children, I won't take any

770
01:28:20,000 --> 01:28:20,833
instruments or anything

771
01:28:20,833 --> 01:28:22,291
or bring along my crew.

772
01:28:22,291 --> 01:28:26,250
We'll just do that same song. And we'll

773
01:28:26,250 --> 01:28:28,750
engage like we have a at work, they we

774
01:28:28,750 --> 01:28:30,833
wrote this storybook about Manny, the

775
01:28:30,833 --> 01:28:34,125
mighty mangrove. And Manny's adventure.

776
01:28:35,125 --> 01:28:37,541
You know, Manny's adventure in the mind

777
01:28:37,541 --> 01:28:39,666
grove, how he grew up, you know, and all

778
01:28:39,666 --> 01:28:41,500
that stuff. So I would typically have

779
01:28:41,500 --> 01:28:44,125
story time. Yeah, I read it in a very

780
01:28:44,125 --> 01:28:46,541
animated way. You know, it was dramatic,

781
01:28:46,541 --> 01:28:48,875
con gestures and all that stuff. And I

782
01:28:48,875 --> 01:28:50,291
culminate with a song.

783
01:28:50,375 --> 01:28:53,375
So my thing is, I call myself a

784
01:28:53,375 --> 01:28:55,916
storyteller, an environmental storyteller

785
01:28:55,916 --> 01:28:59,875
and rhythm and blues, just a storyteller

786
01:28:59,875 --> 01:29:02,625
period. And so I have to bring this story

787
01:29:02,625 --> 01:29:05,041
alive and communicate this story in a way

788
01:29:05,041 --> 01:29:06,166
that my audience could understand.

789
01:29:06,375 --> 01:29:09,291
So the younger they are, the more wild

790
01:29:09,291 --> 01:29:11,333
and, you know, I have to make this story

791
01:29:11,333 --> 01:29:14,833
big and get it to stick. And so we would

792
01:29:14,833 --> 01:29:16,833
do songs and I would call them up and

793
01:29:16,833 --> 01:29:19,166
say, OK, now you sing it with me. Now

794
01:29:19,166 --> 01:29:21,208
let's do this side. You sing it with me.

795
01:29:21,208 --> 01:29:22,750
And so I'll break them up and we'll do

796
01:29:22,750 --> 01:29:25,541
call in response. Sometimes I bring my

797
01:29:25,541 --> 01:29:29,208
goatskin drum and we play the drums and

798
01:29:29,208 --> 01:29:31,333
they would sing the song. So it's all

799
01:29:31,333 --> 01:29:32,375
about engagement for me.

800
01:29:32,375 --> 01:29:34,958
You know, so as a as a singer songwriter

801
01:29:34,958 --> 01:29:38,291
storyteller, I want to bring that alive

802
01:29:38,291 --> 01:29:42,083
for my students. And then they come up to

803
01:29:42,083 --> 01:29:44,083
our mind grove nursery, which I'm in

804
01:29:44,083 --> 01:29:46,541
charge of. And they get community service

805
01:29:46,541 --> 01:29:48,375
because it's a requirement in order to

806
01:29:48,375 --> 01:29:50,916
graduate community service. Some high

807
01:29:50,916 --> 01:29:53,458
school, like high school or just regular

808
01:29:53,458 --> 01:29:54,958
elementary school? High school. High

809
01:29:54,958 --> 01:29:57,375
school. I think they have to some schools

810
01:29:57,375 --> 01:29:59,375
have up to 75 hours community service.

811
01:29:59,375 --> 01:30:03,958
So after school, some days a week,

812
01:30:03,958 --> 01:30:05,583
they'll come and do community service.

813
01:30:06,333 --> 01:30:08,125
And then I get some little ones who they

814
01:30:08,125 --> 01:30:10,083
don't have quite that attention span. So

815
01:30:10,083 --> 01:30:12,583
I bring out the drums or I play hide and

816
01:30:12,583 --> 01:30:15,333
seek or I have little worksheets with

817
01:30:15,333 --> 01:30:17,000
them. And, you know, we go over some

818
01:30:17,000 --> 01:30:19,041
environmental stuff just so I could, you

819
01:30:19,041 --> 01:30:19,875
know, bait them to get

820
01:30:19,875 --> 01:30:20,375
them in my youth program.

821
01:30:20,375 --> 01:30:27,375
So, yeah, so it works. I have to be a

822
01:30:27,375 --> 01:30:29,916
character to get all this stuff done. And

823
01:30:29,916 --> 01:30:32,708
I love it. I never like I told you

824
01:30:32,708 --> 01:30:34,916
earlier, I stumbled into this career

825
01:30:34,916 --> 01:30:39,000
field. And it's like it chose me. I

826
01:30:39,000 --> 01:30:41,166
didn't choose it. It chose me. And

827
01:30:41,166 --> 01:30:43,375
environmentalism. I always thought that

828
01:30:43,375 --> 01:30:45,541
it was three huggers. Oh, look at this

829
01:30:45,541 --> 01:30:47,250
one. And they just, you know, but then I

830
01:30:47,250 --> 01:30:49,375
became that I became the person that's

831
01:30:50,583 --> 01:30:52,666
protecting these trees. I became the

832
01:30:52,666 --> 01:30:55,208
person that's advocating clean, fishable,

833
01:30:55,208 --> 01:30:58,000
drinkable, suitable waters. Again, I work

834
01:30:58,000 --> 01:31:01,916
for waterkeepers Bahamas. Yeah. I became

835
01:31:01,916 --> 01:31:03,958
the person that's talking to fishermen

836
01:31:03,958 --> 01:31:05,666
and telling them like, hey, some

837
01:31:05,666 --> 01:31:07,875
practices, you really shouldn't do that

838
01:31:07,875 --> 01:31:09,791
because it's damaging to the reef or

839
01:31:09,791 --> 01:31:11,500
talking to developers and telling them

840
01:31:11,500 --> 01:31:13,291
like, it's a way for you to do this

841
01:31:13,291 --> 01:31:15,916
without harming, you know, all of this

842
01:31:15,916 --> 01:31:17,375
stuff. And we get called everything.

843
01:31:18,375 --> 01:31:22,250
Oh, I'm sure. But, you know, at the end

844
01:31:22,250 --> 01:31:25,291
of the day, when there is no food, when

845
01:31:25,291 --> 01:31:27,166
there is no, you know, the protection

846
01:31:27,166 --> 01:31:28,875
from these storms, the coastal protection

847
01:31:28,875 --> 01:31:30,625
at the end of the day, all the things

848
01:31:30,625 --> 01:31:33,375
that make us the Bahamas, like when it's

849
01:31:33,375 --> 01:31:36,250
gone, then what like after hurricane

850
01:31:36,250 --> 01:31:39,125
Dorian, in fact, I want to say we had a

851
01:31:39,125 --> 01:31:40,375
hurricane, I think it was Hurricane

852
01:31:40,375 --> 01:31:43,916
Matthew 2004. So, and we were without

853
01:31:43,916 --> 01:31:45,375
power for two and a half months.

854
01:31:45,375 --> 01:31:47,708
Two and a half months.

855
01:31:48,208 --> 01:31:51,250
Months. Wow. And, you know, all the

856
01:31:51,250 --> 01:31:52,458
humans know that when there's a

857
01:31:52,458 --> 01:31:54,083
hurricane, the first thing you do besides

858
01:31:54,083 --> 01:31:56,791
secure your property is fill up chugs

859
01:31:56,791 --> 01:31:59,416
with water, fill up chugs, buckets,

860
01:31:59,416 --> 01:32:01,416
everything with fresh water, because at

861
01:32:01,416 --> 01:32:02,833
some point, the water is going to turn

862
01:32:02,833 --> 01:32:06,500
off. Right. And so the next thing to do

863
01:32:06,500 --> 01:32:08,458
is if you have a chest freezer, you're

864
01:32:08,458 --> 01:32:09,875
going to take all that stuff out, you're

865
01:32:09,875 --> 01:32:11,333
going to start barbecuing everything

866
01:32:11,333 --> 01:32:12,125
because without

867
01:32:12,125 --> 01:32:13,375
power, it's going to spoil.

868
01:32:13,375 --> 01:32:16,083
So it's going to spoil, you know, some

869
01:32:16,083 --> 01:32:18,458
people have solar, some people have like

870
01:32:18,458 --> 01:32:22,791
generators, so it'll last a bit longer.

871
01:32:23,333 --> 01:32:25,333
But general rule of thumb is you want to

872
01:32:25,333 --> 01:32:27,791
eat all that stuff. And then, you know,

873
01:32:28,000 --> 01:32:31,375
water is rationed. And bathing water, you

874
01:32:31,375 --> 01:32:33,666
need to have to reuse some water if you

875
01:32:33,666 --> 01:32:36,125
bathe in a bucket of water, but you

876
01:32:36,125 --> 01:32:37,791
shouldn't. That's too much water, you

877
01:32:37,791 --> 01:32:39,583
know, yeah, you then turn it around and

878
01:32:39,583 --> 01:32:40,583
use that to flush the toilets.

879
01:32:41,583 --> 01:32:43,250
But what happened during those two and a

880
01:32:43,250 --> 01:32:46,666
half months, most people had to take to

881
01:32:46,666 --> 01:32:49,625
the ocean, they had to go and swim in the

882
01:32:49,625 --> 01:32:51,875
ocean because we couldn't arbitrarily

883
01:32:51,875 --> 01:32:54,166
just, oh, I want to use all this water

884
01:32:54,166 --> 01:32:55,208
and take a long shot. No,

885
01:32:55,208 --> 01:32:56,375
you couldn't do it. Yeah.

886
01:32:56,375 --> 01:32:58,500
You know, and the good part is the ocean

887
01:32:58,500 --> 01:33:01,875
provided food for us. So stores weren't

888
01:33:01,875 --> 01:33:04,875
open at all, you know, and when they were

889
01:33:04,875 --> 01:33:07,583
as limited resources. So a lot of people

890
01:33:07,583 --> 01:33:11,375
went back to fishing crawfish lobster

891
01:33:11,375 --> 01:33:14,791
time, like we call it all the times that

892
01:33:14,791 --> 01:33:16,500
it happened, like where we were without

893
01:33:16,500 --> 01:33:18,375
power and stuff that lobs those walking.

894
01:33:18,375 --> 01:33:21,000
So people had lobsters for breakfast,

895
01:33:21,000 --> 01:33:23,500
lunch and dinner, you know, the ocean

896
01:33:23,500 --> 01:33:27,708
provided. Yeah, in a big way. So it's a

897
01:33:27,708 --> 01:33:29,500
part of our livelihood. It's a part of

898
01:33:29,500 --> 01:33:31,833
our diet. Again, it's something that we

899
01:33:31,833 --> 01:33:35,958
think about it. Yeah. Coconut water. We

900
01:33:35,958 --> 01:33:38,041
had coconuts and coconut water and

901
01:33:38,041 --> 01:33:41,375
seafood. And that's how we lived. Yeah.

902
01:33:42,375 --> 01:33:44,333
And not bad too. That's not bad. Living

903
01:33:44,333 --> 01:33:47,000
on seafood and coconut water. Not having

904
01:33:47,000 --> 01:33:49,375
power, you know, not being able to, you

905
01:33:49,375 --> 01:33:52,375
know, clean properly and do laundry. Like

906
01:33:52,375 --> 01:33:55,166
it, it really makes us, it really shows

907
01:33:55,166 --> 01:33:57,958
how reliant we are on just general power

908
01:33:57,958 --> 01:33:59,375
and the access to water.

909
01:33:59,375 --> 01:34:02,250
But on an island system where that may

910
01:34:02,250 --> 01:34:04,208
not happen all the time, especially with

911
01:34:04,208 --> 01:34:05,333
some of these storms that are coming

912
01:34:05,333 --> 01:34:08,041
through that can get get hairy at times.

913
01:34:08,041 --> 01:34:09,791
It can get really difficult at times to

914
01:34:09,791 --> 01:34:13,958
live in there. So, yeah. And so now as

915
01:34:13,958 --> 01:34:16,333
you, as this program has been built for

916
01:34:16,333 --> 01:34:19,666
13 years and it's expanding. Do you find

917
01:34:19,666 --> 01:34:22,791
more people are even like the parents are

918
01:34:22,791 --> 01:34:25,083
doing more environmental things, you

919
01:34:25,083 --> 01:34:25,416
know, more

920
01:34:25,416 --> 01:34:26,375
environmentally friendly things?

921
01:34:26,375 --> 01:34:29,458
Yes, we've had a few parents come in and

922
01:34:29,458 --> 01:34:31,250
they say like, what are you teaching my

923
01:34:31,250 --> 01:34:33,500
child? Oh my gosh, because they're coming

924
01:34:33,500 --> 01:34:34,875
into the home now and they're saying

925
01:34:34,875 --> 01:34:37,625
like, hey, like, we might not have

926
01:34:37,625 --> 01:34:40,208
recycling, but you need to put that put

927
01:34:40,208 --> 01:34:42,666
that away like, or if a parent, she's

928
01:34:42,666 --> 01:34:44,166
like, I don't do it. But for some reason,

929
01:34:44,166 --> 01:34:45,750
she went to throw something some trash

930
01:34:45,750 --> 01:34:47,083
out of the window and a child was like,

931
01:34:47,083 --> 01:34:51,916
hey, yeah, let's make smart choices. You

932
01:34:51,916 --> 01:34:54,333
know, and they're, they are the one

933
01:34:54,333 --> 01:34:55,125
that's enforcing the

934
01:34:55,125 --> 01:34:55,375
message in the home now.

935
01:34:56,750 --> 01:34:58,041
Yeah, they had a one like all the stuff

936
01:34:58,041 --> 01:34:59,875
that we're teaching them. They're now

937
01:34:59,875 --> 01:35:01,625
going into the home because when we talk

938
01:35:01,625 --> 01:35:03,625
to adults, you know, it's kind of in one

939
01:35:03,625 --> 01:35:06,875
out of the next. So, you know, adults are

940
01:35:06,875 --> 01:35:08,250
pretty much set in their way sometimes.

941
01:35:08,708 --> 01:35:10,208
And so it's through the children, through

942
01:35:10,208 --> 01:35:12,041
their children, like telling them stuff.

943
01:35:12,291 --> 01:35:15,041
So we've had successes in that way. We've

944
01:35:15,041 --> 01:35:16,541
had parents come back and they had to

945
01:35:16,541 --> 01:35:20,291
come back and tell us, you know, so now

946
01:35:20,291 --> 01:35:22,291
they're making smarter choices.

947
01:35:23,375 --> 01:35:26,083
And so, you know, we had a plastic band,

948
01:35:26,458 --> 01:35:29,125
like a single use plastic band last year

949
01:35:29,125 --> 01:35:31,333
that was enforced in the Bahamas. And so

950
01:35:31,333 --> 01:35:32,541
the students are going to the

951
01:35:32,541 --> 01:35:34,500
supermarkets and grocery stores and you

952
01:35:34,500 --> 01:35:37,000
know, parents are like grabbing for the

953
01:35:37,000 --> 01:35:40,666
plastic bag and it's like, no, let's

954
01:35:40,666 --> 01:35:43,083
purchase the reusable bag. Yeah, let's

955
01:35:43,083 --> 01:35:45,833
use those. And you know, the parents are

956
01:35:45,833 --> 01:35:47,416
sometimes they get really upset. They're

957
01:35:47,416 --> 01:35:50,000
like, yes, but I don't have the time.

958
01:35:50,375 --> 01:35:53,875
You know, and so it becomes a thing where

959
01:35:53,875 --> 01:36:00,458
it's like, okay, there if we don't want

960
01:36:00,458 --> 01:36:02,833
to be that guy or that person to be like,

961
01:36:02,833 --> 01:36:04,666
you know, because, you know, we all have

962
01:36:04,666 --> 01:36:07,250
to live. But we just want to encourage if

963
01:36:07,250 --> 01:36:10,500
you can just do it. You know, I saw your

964
01:36:10,500 --> 01:36:11,958
your podcast where you're

965
01:36:11,958 --> 01:36:14,375
talking about the straws. Yeah.

966
01:36:14,375 --> 01:36:17,625
Yeah. And so we got some parents, you

967
01:36:17,625 --> 01:36:19,625
know, they bind their steel straws and

968
01:36:19,625 --> 01:36:20,958
they're like walking around like it

969
01:36:20,958 --> 01:36:21,958
becomes a fashion

970
01:36:21,958 --> 01:36:23,458
statement now like that. Yeah.

971
01:36:23,458 --> 01:36:26,041
The person's like, Hey, look what I have.

972
01:36:26,041 --> 01:36:28,041
Yeah, you know, different colors and

973
01:36:28,041 --> 01:36:29,958
everything. Yeah, different colors. And I

974
01:36:29,958 --> 01:36:31,666
also experienced like what you talked

975
01:36:31,666 --> 01:36:35,000
about, like these messy straws that melt

976
01:36:35,000 --> 01:36:36,375
before you finish your drink

977
01:36:36,375 --> 01:36:38,375
or break up and just it's like,

978
01:36:38,375 --> 01:36:42,541
Oh, yeah. You know, so so we empathize

979
01:36:42,541 --> 01:36:44,958
with that. But it gets us thinking

980
01:36:44,958 --> 01:36:46,791
outside of the box looking at companies

981
01:36:46,791 --> 01:36:49,375
that, you know, have a sturdier product.

982
01:36:50,541 --> 01:36:52,500
And and realize that just innovation.

983
01:36:52,500 --> 01:36:54,250
Yeah, it helps us to be innovative, you

984
01:36:54,250 --> 01:36:58,250
know, absolutely. Yeah. So this is

985
01:36:58,250 --> 01:37:00,750
amazing. And I love to see the work that

986
01:37:00,750 --> 01:37:03,500
that you're doing with with Bahama

987
01:37:03,500 --> 01:37:05,125
waterkeepers. I'd love to see the

988
01:37:05,125 --> 01:37:06,583
environmental programs. I'd love to see

989
01:37:06,583 --> 01:37:07,958
the work with children. And then that,

990
01:37:08,375 --> 01:37:10,333
you know, going into the homes and the

991
01:37:10,333 --> 01:37:11,541
parents are coming back and be like, this

992
01:37:11,541 --> 01:37:13,083
is this is fantastic. We're learning.

993
01:37:13,416 --> 01:37:15,333
They learn because we know kids are

994
01:37:15,333 --> 01:37:17,125
adamant about when they learn something

995
01:37:17,125 --> 01:37:18,875
they want to do it. They want to, you

996
01:37:18,875 --> 01:37:20,500
know, contribute to it because they see

997
01:37:20,500 --> 01:37:22,708
it sometimes as black and white and they

998
01:37:22,708 --> 01:37:24,208
may not see the gray area between their

999
01:37:24,208 --> 01:37:26,458
complexities between. But that helps a

1000
01:37:26,458 --> 01:37:28,375
lot of times when the when parents call

1001
01:37:28,375 --> 01:37:30,208
you or when kids call out their parents

1002
01:37:30,208 --> 01:37:32,166
and it's happened to me. It's happened to

1003
01:37:32,166 --> 01:37:34,458
everybody, you know, but it's important.

1004
01:37:34,458 --> 01:37:35,958
I think I think it is important because,

1005
01:37:35,958 --> 01:37:36,458
you know, we're

1006
01:37:36,458 --> 01:37:38,375
leaving this this to our day.

1007
01:37:38,375 --> 01:37:41,708
And we have to do the best we can to to

1008
01:37:41,708 --> 01:37:43,458
ensure that we leave it in the best

1009
01:37:43,458 --> 01:37:45,041
condition as possible. So they have an

1010
01:37:45,041 --> 01:37:47,416
easier job than than we left it with. So

1011
01:37:47,416 --> 01:37:49,750
I really appreciate you coming on the

1012
01:37:49,750 --> 01:37:53,375
podcast to discuss this to introduce us.

1013
01:37:53,375 --> 01:37:54,583
And I'd love to have you back on talk

1014
01:37:54,583 --> 01:37:56,625
more about the program in the future

1015
01:37:56,625 --> 01:37:58,166
because I think this is something that we

1016
01:37:58,166 --> 01:38:00,500
need to hear more and more about and have

1017
01:38:00,500 --> 01:38:02,083
that hopefulness and that optimism

1018
01:38:02,083 --> 01:38:04,125
towards the ocean and and our younger

1019
01:38:04,125 --> 01:38:06,208
generation that's coming through and and

1020
01:38:06,208 --> 01:38:07,375
being able to be more

1021
01:38:07,375 --> 01:38:08,375
protective of the ocean.

1022
01:38:08,375 --> 01:38:09,708
So thank you so much for being on the

1023
01:38:09,708 --> 01:38:11,500
program. Not a problem. Thank you for

1024
01:38:11,500 --> 01:38:14,583
having me. You bet. Thank you, Jevon, for

1025
01:38:14,583 --> 01:38:16,208
joining us on today's episode of the How

1026
01:38:16,208 --> 01:38:17,416
to Protect the Ocean. It was great to

1027
01:38:17,416 --> 01:38:19,041
have you on the podcast and be able to

1028
01:38:19,041 --> 01:38:20,666
talk about music here a little bit of

1029
01:38:20,666 --> 01:38:22,916
your talent and also talk about how you

1030
01:38:22,916 --> 01:38:26,416
get kids interested in the ocean,

1031
01:38:26,708 --> 01:38:28,291
especially with, you know, just as he

1032
01:38:28,291 --> 01:38:30,208
mentioned, there was this persona that

1033
01:38:30,208 --> 01:38:31,625
the ocean is dangerous and it's nerve

1034
01:38:31,625 --> 01:38:33,208
wracking to go in it, even with his own

1035
01:38:33,208 --> 01:38:35,416
own experiences in scuba diving and

1036
01:38:35,416 --> 01:38:37,541
understanding what it's like to be in the

1037
01:38:37,541 --> 01:38:38,375
ocean. Once you're there, you can be in the ocean.

1038
01:38:38,375 --> 01:38:39,750
And once you're there, it is life

1039
01:38:39,750 --> 01:38:41,541
changing. And once we connect with the

1040
01:38:41,541 --> 01:38:43,166
ocean, we realize how important the ocean

1041
01:38:43,166 --> 01:38:45,625
is to us and what we need to do to be

1042
01:38:45,625 --> 01:38:47,666
able to protect it better. And so that it

1043
01:38:47,666 --> 01:38:49,333
continues to be a part of us and

1044
01:38:49,333 --> 01:38:51,500
continues to provide services for us like

1045
01:38:51,500 --> 01:38:53,791
protection, just like mangroves does for

1046
01:38:53,791 --> 01:38:56,000
a lot of island communities, just like

1047
01:38:56,000 --> 01:38:57,458
salt marshes does for a lot of coastal

1048
01:38:57,458 --> 01:38:59,250
communities and temperate worlds and a

1049
01:38:59,250 --> 01:39:01,291
lot of other coastal communities, coastal

1050
01:39:01,291 --> 01:39:04,125
habitats does for coastal communities. We

1051
01:39:04,125 --> 01:39:06,083
just don't see it as much because we're

1052
01:39:06,083 --> 01:39:08,125
not out in nature as much. And I feel

1053
01:39:08,125 --> 01:39:08,375
that's what I think.

1054
01:39:08,375 --> 01:39:10,375
And that's a big part of conservation is

1055
01:39:10,375 --> 01:39:12,083
to connect with nature so that you

1056
01:39:12,083 --> 01:39:15,208
understand and you appreciate more about

1057
01:39:15,208 --> 01:39:17,208
the beauty and protection that nature

1058
01:39:17,208 --> 01:39:19,916
brings us. And that's really the message

1059
01:39:19,916 --> 01:39:21,333
for the show. So if you want to learn

1060
01:39:21,333 --> 01:39:23,583
more about Javan, you can do so.

1061
01:39:23,583 --> 01:39:25,333
And just look in the show notes and you

1062
01:39:25,333 --> 01:39:27,208
can click on the links to his website as

1063
01:39:27,208 --> 01:39:29,208
well as social media pages and you can

1064
01:39:29,208 --> 01:39:31,375
find out more about his music as well.

1065
01:39:31,833 --> 01:39:33,416
It's always great to be able to support

1066
01:39:33,416 --> 01:39:35,958
local artists, especially those who are

1067
01:39:35,958 --> 01:39:37,375
in it for the ocean. So I love that.

1068
01:39:37,375 --> 01:39:39,916
And if you have any questions or comments

1069
01:39:39,916 --> 01:39:41,541
about this episode, you can get ahold of

1070
01:39:41,541 --> 01:39:44,041
me through Instagram. DM me at how to

1071
01:39:44,041 --> 01:39:45,541
protect the ocean. That's at how to

1072
01:39:45,541 --> 01:39:46,750
protect the ocean. Don't forget to

1073
01:39:46,750 --> 01:39:48,375
subscribe and click that notification

1074
01:39:48,375 --> 01:39:49,083
bell. If you're watching

1075
01:39:49,083 --> 01:39:51,416
this on YouTube or Spotify.

1076
01:39:51,958 --> 01:39:53,666
And if you're watching this or if you're

1077
01:39:53,666 --> 01:39:54,916
listening to this on your favorite

1078
01:39:54,916 --> 01:39:57,291
podcast app, don't forget. Hit that

1079
01:39:57,291 --> 01:39:59,291
follow button or subscribe button and

1080
01:39:59,291 --> 01:40:01,208
listen to more episodes of the how to

1081
01:40:01,208 --> 01:40:02,583
protect the ocean podcast. That's it for

1082
01:40:02,583 --> 01:40:04,083
me on today's episode of the how to

1083
01:40:04,083 --> 01:40:04,375
protect the ocean podcast.

1084
01:40:04,375 --> 01:40:06,750
I'm your host, Andrew Lewin from the true

1085
01:40:06,750 --> 01:40:08,208
north strong and free. Have a great day.

1086
01:40:08,208 --> 01:40:08,791
We'll talk to you next

1087
01:40:08,791 --> 01:40:09,375
time and happy conservation.