Born and raised Bahamian Kristal Ambrose, 29, is one of six environmental heroes that received the 2020 Goldman Environmental Prize, the world’s largest and most prestigious award for grassroots environmental activists.
The prize recognizes individuals for sustained and significant efforts to protect and enhance the natural environment, often at great personal risk, according to the foundation.
Shocked and humbled by her nomination, Ambrose told The Nassau Guardian, “It hasn’t hit me yet, let’s just say that.”
Although Ambrose is currently studying for her PhD in Mamos, Sweden, she said that she is 100 percent “born, bred, ga dead Bahamian”.
The marine biologist and ocean activist is proud of her roots and how far The Bahamas has come in tackling its plastic pollution and waste management.
“[This is] a win for The Bahamas, it’s a win for the youth of The Bahamas, the children that I work with, and the people that have supported me along this journey,” she said.
“It’s a big stepping stone and I think the best is yet to come.”
Ambrose said that she never expected to receive global recognition for her environmentalist efforts.
“I had no idea that any of this was going on,” she explained.
“Someone nominated me and it’s all done in confidence, so I didn’t know.”
Ambrose said that when she first set out in her campaign against plastic waste in The Bahamas, it was never her goal, or even on her radar, to receive any type of recognition or accolades.
“I just saw a problem that needed to be addressed, not wanting anything in return,” she said.
Ambrose said she has always had a positive relationship with the ocean.
“I’ve always been curious about the ocean and wondered what was under there,” she said.
Even in elementary school days, the young ocean enthusiast already knew that she wanted to pursue a career revolving around the environment.
“People would ask me what I wanted to be and I would say: an oceanographer; but as I got older, I realized I wasn’t so much interested in how the ocean works, but more interested in what was in it, the animals and the biology,” she explained.
Ambrose said that her father always had the closest relationship to the ocean in her family, somewhat inspiring her career path and passions.
“To this day, every morning he still rises with the sun and he goes for a swim,” she said.
Ambrose is a New Providence native but has spent the last 10 or so years studying and working in Eleuthera and in other parts of The Bahamas.
Interestingly enough, although Ambrose now holds two undergraduate degrees, a master’s degree, and is beginning her PhD route, she told The Guardian that college wasn’t her top priority for most of her life.
“I never wanted to go to college,” Ambrose said with a laugh.
“Once I graduated high school, I went directly into the field. I started working at the dive shop at Stuart’s Cove when I was 17 and it was there that I got my first experiences snorkeling and scuba diving”.
Ambrose said that working at the dive shop, she was able to become well acquainted with the ocean.
That positive relationship allowed her to relinquish many of her previous fears surrounding the ocean such as being in waters where she could not touch the ground, or swimming with sharks.
However, it wasn’t until taking part in a 2012 expedition into the Pacific Ocean to see the Great Garbage Patch that Ambrose experienced the true turning point in her specialty on plastic pollution.
It was that experience, witnessing the seemingly endless quantity of microplastics and fishing nets that had accumulated into an apparent island of trash between the shores of Hawaii and California, that inspired Ambrose’s calling towards combating plastic pollution.
Ambrose admitted: “Before I left for that expedition, I had bags and bags of plastic bags that lived under the sink or in a kitchen drawer, I had a whole box of Styrofoam containers and plastic forks”.
“But being on that trip, I realized that I was the biggest plastic offender that I knew and that I was a huge part of the problem”.
“So I could equally be a part of the solution,” she said.
It wasn’t until Ambrose started working as a marine science intern that she felt the inclination to go back to school.
“When I became a marine science intern, [my field experience] helped me to help scientists with their research and data collection and the one thing they would always ask me was, where did you go to college?”
When Ambrose replied that she never went to school, she recalls her superiors always having an unenthused reaction.
It didn’t take long for Ambrose to reach the understanding that, even though she already held extensive field experience, there would always be a ceiling or a barrier holding her back if she did not receive formal education on the subject.
So, she got a scholarship and began her secondary academic journey.
Today Ambrose has a degree in fisheries management and agriculture, interdisciplinary studies with a focus on environmental science biology and education, she has a masters in maritime affairs, and her PhD will be in the same, all focused on plastic pollution in the ocean.
Ambrose is also the founder of The Bahamas Plastic Movement.
She started the non-profit in 2013 as a result of a citizen science research project called the Plastic Beach Project.
“The project started on Eleuthera. I was interested in knowing how plastic was moving over space and over time on beaches in The Bahamas,” she said.
“I came to realize that the narrative of locals trashing the beaches – it wasn’t entirely true. [Garbage in the ocean] can go to any beach, especially in Eleuthera.”
Ambrose corralled a group of students that would go to the beach with her and help collect data on the trash accumulation and distribution.
Every time that she took the children to the beach, Ambrose would jokingly shout out:
“This is the Bahamas plastic movement, guys!”
Ambrose told Nassau Guardian that she never thought anything of it, but over time – and as the project developed – she continued to dream of helping to create a nation that was free of plastic debris.
Finally, one night sitting on her couch, Ambrose decided that she would officially start a non-profit.
“And I did, and Bahamas Plastic Movement was the name,” she said.
One of Bahamas Plastic Movement’s greatest goals and achievements was the phasing out of single use plastics and Styrofoam food containers in The Bahamas in 2020.
The Bahamian government said: “Rethinking solid waste management, this ban provides an opportunity to reduce plastic and Styrofoam waste sent to landfills which although used for approximately 15 minutes, take between 500 and 1000 years to break down.
“Additionally, plastic and Styrofoam waste affects human health, animals, and the environment. The overuse of plastics and Styrofoam has resulted in the widespread pollution and contamination of our environment that threatens our marine and terrestrial biodiversity.”
By implementing the plastic and Styrofoam ban, The Bahamas joined over 40 countries around the world that have already or are in the midst of formulating bans on certain plastic and Styrofoam products.
Ambrose said that she wished to give a major shoutout to the Minister of the Environment, Romauld Ferreira, for his due diligence in that regard.
“The minister of the environment attests to the fact that, even though [the government] had been working on it behind the scenes, seeing the young people being so passionate about their future and advocating for a cleaner ocean and healthier seas – it really put the fire under him.”
She commended the government on their media strategy, campaign efforts, and for introducing the plastic ban two years prior to when it would take full effect, which allowed for Bahamians to prepare and slowly phase out the material without feeling forced.
However, being a realist, Ambrose digressed, “I know for sure that there are still single-use plastics in the supply chain.
“I think that there still needs to be more enforcement and more emphasis put on waste management because even though we’re phasing out single use plastics, it’s being replaced with something else right?”
Ambrose said that even in light of The Bahamas’ recent efforts and subsequent strides taken in battling plastic waste, the question still stands of how to truly and effectively manage waste in the country.
“There is a lot of work to do, but we’re moving in the right direction and that’s what matters.”
Ambrose explained that her hard work has opened so many new doors in her life but, above all, she has learned the most about herself and truly understands the meaning of partnership.
“Even though my face is on all of this, I can’t take all the credit – it’s not just me, you know? It’s my friends and the children and the whole country that supports me. So I’m very grateful.”
Receiving the Goldman environmental prize already has and will continue to result in major recognition and exposure for all the work done by Ambrose and her team.
She said that receiving this award acts as a reminder from the world, simply saying: “we see you, we acknowledge what you’re doing”.
Ambrose said that is part of what encourages her to keep going and push forward.
“But more so, it’s being a black woman from the Caribbean that’s the face of an environmental issue that’s empowering people that look like me to take up space and talk about the need for environmental protection and not leaving it to some other class or race,” Ambrose said.
“I think that’s really important, so some young Bahamian girl or boy that sees me knows that I came from the inner city, knows that I didn’t go to private school.
“I had to work for everything that I wanted, and I still managed to do something, to make a difference.”
The post Bahamian wins major environmental award appeared first on The Nassau Guardian.
source https://thenassauguardian.com/bahamian-wins-major-environmental-award/
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