“De Sea Bleeding. We have to fight it. We have to stop it. We have to clear it and throw it away. De sea is de source of we daily bread and we must defend it today.”
This was an exciting Climate Change education awareness theatre production, staged on Saturday, 1 July 2017 by the La Poterie Uprising Community Organisation in collaboration with the Heritage Theatre Company. The performance presented at the La Poterie (in Hope) Pasture heightened the awareness and importance of community members to work together and come up with a solution to dealing with the Sargassum seaweed.
Due to the effects of climate change, the situation is only getting worse as our oceans are getting hotter causing an increase growth in the sargassum seaweed, as they thrive best in warm sea water. Consequently, there is a need for affected communities to take immediate action rather than waiting on the government to come up with a solution. Climate Change is real and its effects are being felt every day. A recent study showed that 40% of Grenadians still do not know what it is and as such the Environmental Unit through the UNDP Integrated Climate Change Adaptation Strategies (ICCAS) project has created a platform for discussing climate change in rural communities throughout Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique.
Approximately 50 persons from the community of La Poterie and other areas braved the inclement weather to be present at this event. According to the La Poterie Uprising Community Organisation President Kanasha Rogers, “it is anticipated that individuals within the community will have a better understanding of what is happening in their home town and what they can do to help”. Through this production, individuals throughout Grenada will be energised to take action and make a difference in their communities to reduce their practices in order to adapt to the effects of climate change.
This activity is part of their Climate Change Education Awareness Project that is currently implemented by the Environment Unit of the Ministry of Education Human Resource Development and the Environment on behalf of and with funding from the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB) under its International Climate Initiative (IKI), to assist Grenada to adapt to climate change.
