Creating a more resilient environment on St. Croix

Summer seems so long ago, but we are still glowing from an incredible summer of education and engagement with St. Croix youth. We are so grateful for your donations that have supported our summer programs each year. We wish you could see the joy of discovery when youth learn about the unique environment of our island and their passion for protecting it for their future.

The highlight was an extraordinary Environmental Changemakers program this year. The Environmental Changemakers Program provides an opportunity for local youth to gain practical knowledge and have hands-on experiences within the field of environmental science while discovering their own power as leaders. Through field trips and classroom visits, students learn from a range of environmental professionals working on ecological issues specific to St. Croix and have the opportunity to receive leadership training from a professional community organizer culminating in a Community Action Project.

During the 2023 summer, teens visited with environmental practitioners around St. Croix including the DPNR- Division of Fish and Wildlife, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the VI Good Food Coalition and CHANT (Crucian Heritage and Nature Tourism), among many others. In just the three week summer program the students developed projects such as a poem about invasive lionfish and their impacts on our reef, an animation encouraging turtle-safe beach activity during nesting season, a jingle about proper disposal of waste tires that is running on a local radio station, and developed a recycling program at their school.

In 2024 we will once again host the Environmental Changemakers program while continuing to offer filed trips and learn-to-snorkel programs for youth in other summer programs throughout St. Croix. Planning is already underway so we will hit the ground running as soon as school lets out.

We at SEA wish you the happiest of holidays and a joyful New Year!