Press Release
July 26th, 2024
Boys and Girls Club learn how to protect their Watersheds with Coral Bay Community Council
CBCC is thrilled to announce that the Ridge to Reef Watershed Education Program has been launched with St. John’s very own Boys and Girls Club.
CBCC completed its first pilot event as part of the Ridge to Reef Watershed Education Program which aims to provide children with the information, they need to protect themselves and their home through watershed management. On Monday, July 15th, Executive Director, Dr. Monica Miller-Smith, and Communications Specialist, Kaitlyn Cummings, visited the Boys and Girls Club summer camp at the Julius E. Sprauve School and brought a variety of activities and educational components for the group. The children explored a LEGO watershed model, viewed a video that describes the journey of a raindrop through a watershed, created their own watersheds, and filled out workbooks.
Dr. Miller-Smith explained, “This was our first Ridge to Reef Watershed Education Program session, and the content seemed to really resonate with the kids, and the variety of the activities helped us connect with varying ages and ability levels in the group. By the end of the session, they all had ideas for how they could each individually protect their watershed. It was an awesome experience for CBCC and the kids!”
The organization’s 2024 projects include the Ridge to Reef Watershed Education Program, Coastal Resilience Planning to protect and enhance community infrastructure and ecosystems (made possible with a grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation), and the Stormwater Structure “Toolkit” to help neighborhoods maintain their stormwater structures to protect the Coral Bay watershed. All projects aim to improve Coral Bay and the overall island’s resilience to our changing climate by preparing our youth for future environmental endeavors, planning for infrastructure resilience, and creating sustainable neighborhood maintenance practices.
Each year brings more active hurricane seasons, and we grow increasingly concerned about our island’s infrastructure and its resilience to major storms. Because climate change resilience is becoming more important than ever, CBCC is working on our natural resource preparedness to protect watersheds across the territory and the people that live within them. A watershed is more than just the action of water flowing across the land; it is the land that is within the “Ridge to Reef” area, including the resources, culture, and people that live throughout it.
To support our work and programming like this, please donate to Keep the Bay Blue: https://corralbay.n3w.site/keepthebayblue/
The Coral Bay Community Council is a local 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization established in 2003 by volunteer residents with the purpose of acting as a community advocate, government liaison, and trusted information and research source. As a watershed management association, CBCC works to protect the Coral Bay watershed, watersheds across the territory, and the people that live within them.
Coral Bay Community Council is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
CBCC visited the Boys and Girls Club summer camp on July 15th as part of the Watershed Education Program which aims to provide children with the information they need to protect themselves and their home through watershed management. The children explored a LEGO watershed model, viewed a video that describes the journey of a raindrop through a watershed, created their own watershed, and filled out workbooks.
For more information, contact CBCC at cbcc@coralbaycommunitycouncilusvi.org or call 340-776-2099.
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FOR PRESS: For more information or clarification, contact Monica Miller-Smith at cbcc@coralbaycommunitycouncilusvi.org or call 340-776-2099.