Description:
The British Virgin Islands are the jewels of the Caribbean. The landscape
is awash with natural wonders and stunning beauty. Recently, tourism and economic
growth have threatened the delicate ecological balance. Lifeworks-BVI bases
its core projects around some of these issues to help sustain a healthy environment.
During the program, we live with the rest of our service team aboard a sailing
vessel, as everyone in the BVI has to move around by boat. Plus, living aboard
allows us to visit most every island while providing a perfect floating home.
It's refreshing to be out on the water where there are cool breezes,
and a great sense of camaraderie comes from working together as a crew. We
start off working with the Darwin Initiative. This organization is involved
in many aspects of monitoring and protecting the environment, and specifically
in the tagging and releasing of sea turtles.
The BVI is home to miles of coral reefs. In collaboration with the Marine
Parks Authority, we will work together as a crew to sail from island to island
and help to protect the more sensitive reefs and their wildlife. We are able
to play a key role in their mission by assisting in the repair and maintenance
of the Marine Park moorings.
Working with the Department of Conservation in Tortola, we help to protect
important mangrove systems by replanting seedlings along exposed shores and
monitoring existing nursery sites and mangrove forests. When we are not working
on service projects, we spend time snorkeling around the reefs and learning
to sail.
Spending time on land is another way to explore the islands. We visit local
schools to run programs, play games, and make crafts with children. Painting
community centers, mapping national park sites, and cleaning up beaches are
some of the other land-based services that Lifeworkers provide.
While service work forms the core of our experience, we'll sneak in
a lot of fun too. We'll find time to snorkel the reefs, climb Mount Sage,
barbecue on the beach, listen to steel bands as the day winds down and swing
in a hammock under the stars while riding at anchor.
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