Waterville Park and Duck Island received a much needed cleanup recently from 13 enthusiastic students from CedarBridge Academy. Together with their biology teacher Melanie Burrows and Bermuda National Trust educators, they collected, sorted and recorded plastic and glass bottles, plastic debris, glow sticks, a beach umbrella and even half a broken kayak.

A new National Trust initiative called ‘Environmental Impact of Marine Debris on our Mangrove Habitats’ allows the Trust to monitor the marine debris at the Foot of the Lane, Hamilton Harbour, once per school term with the help of students. Over the span of three field trips, students will learn about mangrove biology, mangrove swamp ecosystems, threats to these magnificent trees and the problem of marine debris. They will record the items found at each cleanup, analyse and compare what was found at previous cleanups to see if there are trends and or correlations with community activities and use this information in long term classroom projects.

Students were introduced to the project with a presentation on the characteristics of the red and black mangroves that both grow along the shoreline, their distribution in Bermuda, their importance as critical habitats for many species and their important role in stabilising and protecting Bermuda’s shoreline. Students also learned that there are seventy mangrove species worldwide, with only nine occurring in the Atlantic and of these only two occur in Bermuda. Most importantly, at least 35% of mangrove habitats globally have been destroyed during the last decade and as a result both red and black mangroves are listed under Bermuda’s Protected Species Act of 2011 in Bermuda.

Before setting off in their groups armed with maps and tools, students were given instructions to tread lightly between the mangroves and to be careful not to damage the delicate root systems. Two of the students surveyed the mangroves in a kayak and gathered debris trapped in the roots along the outer edge of the mangrove stands while the rest worked from the shoreline. 1,108 debris items were found wedged within the mangroves roots. Students noted that most of these were likely land-based litter items rather than items brought in by the ocean. With garbage bags filled to capacity, the overall consensus was “Why would people throw their trash in the trees and not in the garbage cans which stand just a few feet from the mangroves?”

Mangroves are under serious threat globally due to logging, coastal developments and sea-level rise. This National Trust project is a contribution to keep Bermuda’s mangroves healthier and our young people engaged in environmental stewardship while fulfilling the mission of our AIM programme to activate, inspire and motivate our youth through community service. Our Education team of Cindy Corday and Dorte Horsfield of the Axis Education Programme are key to providing the best possible education to support such youth activities.

“CedarBridge Academy AS Biology students (S3) took on this project with much interest as it allowed them to understand just how special mangrove trees are to life in Bermuda,” said Ms Burrows. “It was very disturbing to see the amount of trash that man had obviously caused among their roots and seedlings. They now understand how mans’ negative impact must be rectified if our mangrove populations are to survive.

“Natural events are beyond our control but our students learnt that we can be proactive in our efforts to enlighten our own community to simply collect the trash that impacts our coastal flora and fauna. Our group is looking forward to part two of this joint Bermuda National Trust — CedarBridge Academy project.”