Trinidad /// "There's mining on the beach now."
C2C Interview /// University of the West Indies, Trinidad
Do you have a favorite childhood memory of the ocean?
No… My brother would push me into the waves and I was so scared!
What’s your relationship with the ocean today?
Now I absolutely love it because it is really calm and relaxing… it is the most fun thing to do on the island.
What’s Trinidad’s relationship with the ocean?
South of Trinidad is dirty and eroding… no one can go to the beach. It looks like they are doing mining there now. I was just there this weekend and there was no sand to sun bathe or anything. I think it also has to do with rising sea levels. I was just there this weekend on Saturday… it is really sad. They protect the north because that is where the tourists are… but in the south not so much. The north is clean and everything is good. Locals and tourists go to the same beach.
Can you tell me about the Leatherback Turtles?
They are an endangered species… they are being hunted so we have measures in place to protect them but they aren’t really enforced strongly. But there is a lot of tourism too so sometimes tourists are vigilant.
What do you think Trinidadians can do to protect the ocean?
We can not litter and listen to the notifications around the turtles.
