With Cayman Earth Week set to begin on Monday, the Department of Environment has called on the community to use the opportunity to prioritise nature in their daily lives and perform acts that will help the planet.
Judy Hurlston, DoE public education and outreach officer, told the Cayman Compass via email that this year’s theme for Earth Day is ‘Planet vs Plastics’, with the department using the annual Cayman Earth Week events to impress upon the community its role in preserving the environment.
“We know [this theme] especially resonates with island nations as we are all aware of the amount of plastic/marine trash that washes up on our shores every day. DoE is naturally concerned about this issue and the devastating impacts it has on wildlife both locally and worldwide,” she said.
Everyone can make a difference
Hurlston pointed out there are many beach clean-ups planned around Earth month, like the annual Chamber of Commerce event, and throughout the year, like Plastic Free Cayman organises monthly.
However, she said, the DoE and the Earth Day Committee also consider Earth Week a time to remind people to prioritise nature in their daily lives.
“The activities and outreach we’re putting out explore other themes important to the health of our Earth. When we think about prioritizing nature, it’s easy to think it means we must stop living, changing or even building in order to do that. But it’s actually quite the opposite. Prioritizing nature means consciously considering it in all of our decision making,” she explained.
By doing this, she said, it allows individuals to both harness the immense benefits nature provides to humans, like trees that clean the air and provide food and shelter for wildlife, while also ensuring decisions support the continuation of those benefits.
“Like deciding to retain the native vegetation on property when building a home instead of clearing the entire lot so that the native trees can shade the home, making it cooler for people to live in while it continues to provide wildlife habitat. Learning to think about nature before we act, is one of the most powerful ways we can move towards a more sustainable future,” Hurlston said.
She added that sustainability is at the heart of the work at DoE and while learning how humans and nature can share the island for generations to come is a tall order for every society, “we don’t have to make it up as we go.”
“We can rely on the experiences of other nations like ours, that are also working to find the needed equitable balance between economic growth, social advancement and environmental stewardship. Of course, we have our own scientists, biologists, conservation officers, engineers, divers, and everything in between whose work helps inform policy, but it really takes that shift in public mindset to prioritize nature in everything we do for sustainability to take root,” she added.
How can the community get involved?
Over the course of the week, she said, the Ministry of Sustainability and Climate Resiliency has come up with themes for each day to give the community some ideas on how to incorporate more nature into their daily lives, and challenge them to think of the implications for the planet from our daily actions.
“Meatless Monday for example, is not a new concept per se but people who aren’t familiar with a meatless menu, can make this a time to challenge themselves to lower their carbon footprint through eating a more plant-based diet,” she said.
The National Trust is hosting Trivia Tuesday at Salty’s in Grand Harbour on 23 April at 7:30pm, which will be a “super fun way” to learn about Cayman ecology and the conservation work of the Trust, she added.
“Wildlife Wednesday is all about putting some conscious effort into considering how biodiversity surrounds us and, in particular, our native birds, reptiles, fish, corals, plants, trees and flowers which make up our incredible Cayman Islands,” she said.
Other events include Plant-a-tree Thursday and Future-focused Friday, which “reminds us that it doesn’t have to be all or nothing”.
Saturday is the annual Chamber Earth Day beach clean-up and the Botanic Park is offering free entry all day.
Hurlston said while change can be uncomfortable at first and it can seem like there’s no point in doing anything because of Cayman’s small population, “small changes can lead to big effects, especially cumulatively, and leading by example is a powerful tool”.
“When you incorporate sustainable practices into your life, when you prioritize nature before you make a decision, you are showing your community that everyone’s actions matters, that nature matters. This gives others inspiration and even permission to do it too,” she added.
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I am always amazed to see probably well over 70 % of our supermarket shoppers opting for plastic bags.They claim to be bio-degradable but they are still plastic and I suspect their “soil life” is quite lengthy. I feel that all our supermarkets should discourage this lazy habit by charging at least 20c for the bags ,but all will need to do this. They all provide subsidised reusable bags for around $2 which can last for years.