Photo caption:  Portland Marine Conservation Workshop team (Dr. Rowan Martindale, UT Austin (first from right); Dr. Debbie-Ann Gordon-Smith, Department of Chemistry, The UWI, Mona (second from right); Ms. Estefania Salgado, UT Austin, fourth from left); Ms. Denise Henry, Alligator Head Foundation (second from left)) with volunteers from Portland, The UWI and UT Austin.

The ONE LOVE, ONE PORTLAND, a marine conservation workshop was held during November 2021, at the Alligator Head Foundation in Portland, Jamaica.  The workshop was organised by a team of researchers from The University of the West Indies, Mona (Dr. Debbie-Ann Gordon-Smith, Department of Chemistry, FST), The University of Texas at Austin (Dr. Kathy Ellins, Dr. Rowan Martindale and Ms. Estefania Salgado, PhD candidate) and the Alligator Head Foundation (Ms. Denise Henry). The community workshop provided an opportunity for collaborative learning that recognises the links between nature, people, and culture. At the workshop, participants from diverse backgrounds played “Reef Survivor Jamaica”, a game developed by the research team to teach the local community how to build and protect a resilient reef ecosystem. The game was modified to represent the marine environment in East Portland and highlight important connections among the land, people, and the ocean. Game sets were donated to the Alligator Head Foundation, the College of Agriculture Science and Education, the Titchfield High School, Moore Town and The UWI for continued use in community conservation efforts. Other workshop activities included the use of art to communicate Earth systems thinking. In a holistic approach to nature conservation the community recognises Portland as an Earth System where activities on land have an impact on the marine environment, and reciprocally, the health of the marine environment impacts the life of locals.

In addition to community education, the research team is also studying the extent to which contaminants from the land may be impacting the health of the marine environment in eastern Portland. Environmental data and water samples are being collected and analysed to determine nutrient concentrations in the wells, springs and rivers of eastern Portland and at the AHF reef monitoring sites in the East Portland Special Fishery Conservation Area (EPSFCA). The aim is to assess nutrient impacts on the reefs in the EPSFCA. Following the workshop, Ms. Pearl Bergan (MPhil student, Department of Chemistry, FST), Dr. Arpita Mandal, Dr. Donovan Blissett and Ms. Stephanie Parker (Department of Geography and Geology, FST) joined the team and community members for the sampling exercise. Under the project, community members have been trained in the collection of water quality data and samples.

The Faculty thanks the Tourism Enhancement Fund of Jamaica (TEF), UT Austin, and the National Science Foundation for funding the project.