By Caciques Brendan and Marius

Today was a particularly important day at The Island School. It was the first time showers were turned off and strong restrictions were placed on water. We were starting to run out of it! In an effort to be more sustainable, the school collects rainwater run-off from the roofs and stores it in large underground cisterns for future use. Since our semester takes place during the rainy season, we usually don’t have to strongly conserve water. But something happened a few days ago. There was a leak. Over the weekend, toilets in the library ran; the school lost 15% of the water supply. Sea showers are now enforced; we have to bring biodegradable soap and shampoo into the ocean with us and bath there instead of our indoor or outdoor showers. As lovely as it is to wake up in the morning and then go bathing in the sea, my peers and I quickly realized that the salt stays on. All day. I learned a lesson today; every resource here is valued.