(St. Christopher National Trust) St. Kitts and Nevis – August 9, 2017: In another exciting morning at the St. Christopher National Trust, the Sea Turtle Monitoring Network’s Dr. Kimberley Stewart and Habitat Monitoring Officer at the Department of Marine Resources Tricia Greaux, teamed up for ‘Sea Talk.’
“Dr. Kimberley” spoke about the endangered turtles that nest on beaches in St. Kitts, and told a story about a turtle who accidentally ate plastic and got very sick. Thankfully, she got help from a veterinarian and made it back to sea.
Then ‘Auntie Tricia’ Greaux told the children all about the beautiful, yet destructive lionfish and discussed with them how humans could help to keep their population under control. Then everyone joined in a dance presentation that told the story of the lionfish! Some of the children played the part of lionfish, some took on the role of fishers, some were diners in a restaurant, and others were fish that the lionfish preyed upon.
The children had a lot of fun and were extremely engaged during the discussion sessions, asking a lot of well-considered questions. A number of them also expressed an interest in becoming veterinarians and marine biologists like “Dr. Kimberley” and “Auntie Tricia.”
The National Trust has been able to offer its 8-week Heritage House Series free of cost thanks to the support of a number of partners: Dasani Water and Harper’s Office Depot, Caribelle Batik, Caribbean Journey Masters, Caribbean Reads, the Department of Youth, Gary’s Fruits and Flowers, Paul’s Cleaning Service, The St. Christopher & Nevis Social Security Board and a number of private sponsors.
This coming Saturday (August 12th) Early Childhood Education Specialist Jaya Relwani and her team of volunteer scribes, will guide the children through the creative process to come up with their own story, set in St. Kitts. They will work together to create the tale, which will be presented during the closing ceremony on the last day of the series (August 26th).
On August 19th we will share with the children the story of Betto Douglas, an enslaved woman who took on the court system in the 1820s. On the final weekend we will tell them the tale of Marcus of the Woods, a formerly enslaved man who escaped captivity and roamed the forests of St. Kitts in the 19th century, leading a band of other escaped Africans.
The Heritage House is already booked up for this coming weekend, but we will take a couple of extra registrations. It is almost completely booked for the last two weeks of the series so parents/guardians are urged to register soon to avoid disappointment.
Contact 465-5584 or admin@stchristophernationaltrust.kn
