Grade 4 students of St Dominic’s RC Primary School (Grenada) joined over 300 children across 9 Caribbean islands who stepped out of the classroom and into nature this Earth Day, as the Sandals Foundation rolled out a Caribbean-wide guided mindfulness programme designed to build environmental awareness and support mental well-being.
The activity, which took place at Morne Gazo National Park & Nature Reserve, enabled students to connect directly with the island’s ecosystems, engaging in breathing exercises, nature walks, sensory observation and discussions. The programme also sought to reinforce the role of nature in healing the body and mind, as well as explore the everyday actions young people can take to protect their natural resources.
“By combining mindfulness with environmental education, we wanted to encourage students to slow down, be present, reflect, and appreciate the beauty of nature which is around them,” said Heidi Clarke, Executive Director at the Sandals Foundation. “We also wanted to share with students that sense of responsibility and power they each have to protect their community’s natural resources and the services those resources support.”
Sandals Foundation volunteer guides students of St Dominic’s RC School through the Morne Gazo trail. Photo: Sandals Foundation
Coordinated by Sandals Foundation ambassadors at Sandals Grenada Resort, the team of 6 volunteers led by wedding planner Zina Joseph shared, “Being with the children today at Morne Gazo was a beautiful way for us to reflect on the role we play in caring for our environment. The journey and activities reinforced that protecting our environment starts with our daily actions. When we protect the plant, we protect our future.”
Kissandra Mahon, class teacher, agreed, “It was a fun and engaging activity that benefited the students by providing real- life examples of the importance of forests. It also promoted physical well- being through outdoor exercise and gave many students the opportunity to experience hiking for the first time, helping to build confidence and appreciation for nature.”
More than 300 students across Antigua, Barbados, St Vincent & the Grenadines, Grenada, The Bahamas, Turks and Caicos Islands, Curaçao, and Jamaica visited national parks, mangrove forests, Beaches Resorts gardens, and/or national conservation areas, fostering a disengagement from digital devices and allowing time to decompress and connect with nature.
The activity, which fosters positive mental well-being, forms part of the wider range of conservation work of the Sandals Foundation, which has to date engaged 177,526 people in environmental education, planted 28,117 trees, outplanted 38,156 corals, invested in programmes that monitor the safe hatch of 221,392 sea turtles, and supported 23 marine and terrestrial protected areas.
Sandals Foundation
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