Cleaning up Cooper’s Island
The annual Partner Re “Dollars for Hours” programme sees local Secondary schools paired up with nonprofits on a variety of projects, for which the schools are awarded $30,000. Here, Aanika Rahman ’15 writes about the BIOS project Year 10s completed.
C
ooper’s Island is a beautiful island and needs to be preserved. Therefore, as a whole year group, we made a worthwhile contribution to the restoration project, sponsored by PartnerRe and conducted by BIOS, with Education Officer, JP Skinner, as our instructor. First off, we were taken on a tour of the different areas of the island and given the chance to learn about, and become familiar with, the different plants. Specifically whether they were native, endemic or invasive, and their particular importance to the island. We also had a look at the comparison between Nonsuch Island and Cooper’s Island and learned that one of the aims of the project was to restore the woodlands and create Cahow habitats, so that it can be a larger replica of Nonsuch Island. Right after the tour, we were split into two groups and went straight to work. The first group had to weed invasive plants, specifically Cane Grass. It was quite rewarding to know that we
collected four massive piles of Cane Grass. The second group collected buckets of mulch from the beach and a hill, which were used to surround plants, particularly those that are near the beach. This was done to make it easier for plants to gather nutrients and keep the area moist.
After lunch on the beach, we began our next task - planting endemic plants. These included Cedars, Buttonwood and Snowberries. Depending on the characteristics of the plants, we had to decide how far they should be planted from the shore. For example, Cedars will die if exposed to too much salt. We all had fun picking names for each tree that
we planted. One we named ‘Hankey’ after a bottle we found on the beach. The location of each tree was also recorded on a GPS.
One of the final tasks we conducted was a beach clean-up. Materials found at a certain distance from the sea were collected and recorded. These results will be analysed and compared to different countries, in order to determine where the items originated. There were literally hundreds of plastic fragments and bits of rope. Certain items that we found were quite surprising, like a shoe estimated to be a decade old. Finally, to end the day, we had a nice long walk along the beach, picking up trash along the way. Later in the week, five students and I worked together to create a presentation about our experience at Cooper’s Island. This was shown at City Hall, where we also met other schools who participated in the Dollars For Hours programme. In return for our service, our school received a cheque for $30,000 from PartnerRe. (We had a bit of fun pretending to run away with the cheque.) At the beginning of the project some us were anticipating a day full of “head- aching” tasks and sand filled shoes, with only a few who were truly enthusiastic. Yet, by the end of the day, we all felt surprisingly satisfied. As a year group, we can all agree that it was an enjoyable learning experience.
Torchbearer Spring 2012 13
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