On Friday, August 7, 2026, the Prevention of Marine Litter in the Caribbean Sea (PROMAR) Project in St. Kitts and Nevis, in collaboration with local NGO Blue Conscience, visited the Vacation Station camp at the Shadwell Gardens Development in Basseterre. Facilitated by Kodi Edwards of Blue Conscience and Elson James of the Clarence Fitzroy Bryant College (CFBC) and PROMAR, the session reached 29 children aged 5 to 13 and aimed to introduce them to marine pollution, its effects on marine life, and the ways they can help protect the ocean.
Vacation Station is a five-week camp that covers a range of environmental topics. 

The campers had spent the previous week learning about the terrestrial environment, including a farm visit to learn about natural farming and organic fruits and vegetables, and they were excited to move on to the marine component. Having already learned about pollution and littering over the course of the camp, they came to the session with a good foundation.

Kodi opened by asking the children what marine pollution means. Their answers showed a clear understanding: polluting the sea, dumping trash into the ocean, and garbage left on the beach ending up in the water. She then introduced the sources of marine pollution through the Treasure Box Game, in which campers reached in blindly, pulled out an item, guessed what it was, and shared ideas and stories about how it might have ended up on a beach.

The group went on to discuss threats to marine life, the PROMAR Project and the national plastic ban, before playing the Plastic Timeline Game, in which they guessed how long it takes an apple and various plastic items to break down. Many were surprised to learn that items such as toothbrushes can take more than 500 years to break down, and that plastic never truly disappears but breaks into microplastics. The campers showed strong interest in beach cleanups and were invited to join Blue Conscience and PROMAR at their one-hour Power Beach Cleanup next month.

The session closed with the microplastics game, which the children took part in enthusiastically. Some were already familiar with it from Blue Conscience’s Blue Economy session with Vacation Station last year, and others had attended the Music Summer Camp and the St. Kitts Yacht Club Sailing Camp, where PROMAR also presented. The campers were encouraged to make sustainable choices, such as using reusable bottles and bags, and promised not to litter and to protect the ocean.

The PROMAR team extends sincere thanks to the Vacation Station coordinators for welcoming them and for their work over the past 15 years to raise awareness of the local environment. Sessions like this one show how interactive, age-appropriate education can build the next generation of ocean stewards in St. Kitts and Nevis.