St. Lucia

A small group of CYEN members met with members of the National Youth Council and Sir Arthur Lewis Community College Environmental Club, to decorate candles in Serenity Park, Castries, to promote an Earth Hour campaign in a public space, and also to take photos for a promotional flyer. The intention was to promote a “Lights Out for Earth Hour” campaign, to raise awareness about energy conservation, by using eco-friendly candles during Earth Hour for lighting needs, to highlight the point that you can conserve energy while still doing daily activities.

The Caribbean Natural Resources Institute (CANARI), extended an invitation to CYEN, to attend a national capacity building workshop on “Strengthening Civil Society’s Access to Climate Finance”. The 3-day workshop was an excellent opportunity to enhance the knowledge and capacity of CYEN members, to understand how to access climate finance and better enable climate action. CYEN recently joined the Coalition of Civil Society Organisations, and will likely become a member of their Climate Action Team, therefore knowledge about these processes would be very useful for the organisation as we proceed.

The National Youth Council (NYC) promotes youth development on a national level and met with CYEN to discuss potential partnerships and share ideas on working together in youth development for the country.

The Department of Sustainable Development invited CYEN to participate in a National Coastal Clean Up Plan- Validation Consultation, under an initiative to implement activities outlined in Saint Lucia’s Marine Litter Management Action Plan (ML-MAP), which focuses on the design and execution of clean up campaigns, to not only remove waste from the environment, but also to generate data on sources of leaked waste, and to encourage citizens, to take greater care of the community. Chris Sealys, longstanding CYEN member, delivered a presentation on the process of coordinating the annual International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) and using the CleanSwell App for data collection during the clean ups.

CYEN Executive Committee met with Mr Giles Romulus and Ms. Stephanie Peter of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) for introductions and to discuss potential partnerships between the agencies. A potential upcoming project was discussed.

Saint Lucia is working towards the phase-out of ozone depleting substances (ODS), in particular, hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) by 2030, in line with the targets set under the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer. CYEN was invited to the Official Launch of Saint Lucia’s Hydrochlorofluorocarbon Phase-out Management Plan (HPMP Stage II), and the 2 CYEN representatives (Marissa Auguste and Gracy Alcide) won prizes by coming out in the top 3 of the quiz at the end of the event, focusing on the Phase Out.

Meeting of the CYEN Executive with Ms Sherryann Prowell of Integrated Health Outreach Inc (IHO) to discuss a project on “Collaborative Social Accountability for Improved Governance in Protecting Biodiversity Hotspots” to learn more about it and determine in what capacity that CYEN can support.

Discussing the Caribbean Natural Resources Institute (CANARI) project on “Photo-journaling Tree Planting and Organic Farming Training in Fond St Jacques” and learning more about CANARI itself during an informal meeting between Ms Boodram of CANARI, and the local project coordinating team.

The South East Coast Project (SECP) aims to enhance sustainable economic development along the South East Coast of Saint Lucia by maintaining healthy ecosystems, encouraging sustainable livelihoods, and securing global environmental benefits. CYEN embarked on a partnership with the SECP coordinating team to conduct tours along the south east coast where members will visit ecologically significant sites, learn more about the environment, and engage in fun, engaging activities which highlight the significance of the ecology and economy of Saint Lucia. Dates:● 28-Aug-22● 9-Oct-22● 6-May-23

Brief Description: The Massy Recycling trailer is usually located by the Cul-De-Sac branch of Massy, however every few months the trailer is moved for a day to be more accessible to the public in other parts of the island. The CYEN Saint Lucia Chapter volunteers assist the Massy team in collecting and recording the collection of recyclables, when the recycling trailer is moved to different locations. This recycling initiative is also conducted alongside the Chemico team, which collected recyclables specific to the Chemico brand. Dates:● 5-Mar-22● 2-Jul-22● 12-Nov-22● 18-Mar-23 (Global Recycling Day)