(Nassau, The Bahamas)—On September 12th, 2012, Kristal Ambrose, an aquaponics technician at Cape Eleuthera Institute, spoke at a public meeting hosted by the Bahamas National Trust. She spoke on plastics in the North Pacific Western Garbage Patch, an area of highly concentrated plastic debris that is an environmental issue scientists are only beginning to study. Kristal recounted her expedition, where she explored what happens to plastics once they enter the ocean, such as ingestion by marine life and leeching of harmful pollutants. In addition to support from the BNT, Kristal’s received support for her journey from the Nature Conservancy, who were also represented at the meeting.
Kristal Poses with the Young Marine Explorers
Kristal’s audience also included the Young Marine Explorers, a non-profit environmental organization that provides transformational educational experiences to Bahamian youth, a group she was excited to share her work with. Through continuing support from these organizations and others, Kristal aims to continue raising awareness and while collaborating on future projects such as cleaning up community beaches around the Bahamas and talking to students and young people. She remarked, “I believe that sharing my experience studying plastics creates recognition of this very important issue and momentum to address it here in the Bahamas. I am excited to keep it going with future projects and collaborations.”
Following her presentation at the BNT meeting she was invited to the St. Andrews School in Nassau to share her message with students. The opportunity to share her experience and knowledge with multiple Bahamian audiences thrilled Kristal. Her ultimate goal is to find real solutions to the problems caused by plastic in the ocean through education, research, and outreach projects within The Bahamas.
