The Island School and The Embassy for the People’s Republic of China celebrated a growing partnership this summer as the Embassy welcomed Bahamian Environmental Steward Scholar alumni (BESS) and Island School alumni Garneisha Pinder (F’10) and Bradley Watson (F’08). Pinder a rising sophomore at The College of The Bahamas and Watson a rising senior at College of Charleston, attended the Training Course on Bio-gas Technology for Developing Countries on May 15th – July 9th. You can hear more about their experiences on our previous blogs about biodigestion, genetic engineering, and making biogas from straw.

The focus of the training was how to effectively create and utilize bio-gas—a process which takes organic wastes like sewage and agricultural runoff and converts them into methane gas, a clean-burning fuel with many applications, such as cooking and heating. This end product is a renewable energy source for both urban and rural areas of China and can be applied anywhere else in the world.

The partnership between the The Embassy for the People’s Republic of China and The the Island School has continued to grow since a visit to campus by the His Excellency Hu Shan last April. During the visit, His Excellency Hu Shan helped open the Cape Eleuthera Institute’s Hallig House and toured the school’s pilot first-in-The-Bahamas biodigester and biodiesel facilities. The school plans to use both human and pig waste to generate enough energy for cooking food and heating biodiesel. Seeing the work being done at the Island School prompted the Ambassador to offer scholarships to two Bahamian students for the 56-day training course.

The students’ aim of the program is to share and implement the renewable energy technologies that they they learned in China in their local communities and throughout The Bahamas. Both Pinder and Watson were exceedingly grateful for the opportunity and experience. “We learned so much about sustainable energy production, with applications for right here in The Bahamas, and I’m excited to put it into practise,  Development in industry, and agriculture should not compromise the environment and I can see biodigestion technology playing a part in reducing the negative impact such development can have on countries like the Bahamas.” said Watson.

On my return from a semester of studying Buddhism and Plant Taxonomy at the College of Charleston I received an email offering me an opportunity to go to China and study Biogas production at the BIOMA institute. At first I was filled with disbelief and then excitement took its place. This course that the Chinese Government offered for two Bahamian students would include people from other developing countries like Dominica, Columbia, Ghana, Niger, Venezuela, Nepal, Tanzania, and others. The last time I heard about biogas production was at the Island School while I was mentoring students during its first summer semester as the first stages of their bio digestion project began. The first time I was exposed to the concept of producing methane gas from organic wastes like sewage and agricultural by-products must have been in some documentary or reading that is now only a foggy memory. I had no idea that I would get a chance to gain a technical understanding of how these systems work from such seasoned practitioners as the professors of the BIOMA Institute who had taught 47 of these courses previously. With my goal of improving the sustainability of the Bahamian lifestyle in mind I could hardly imagine all the benefits of two young scientists being exposed to such a program, and for 56 days!

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One of the benefits I could imagine was an improved waste treatment system to reduce eutrophication of our reef ecosystems due to the “soak away” systems conventionally used on our islands. Another was the ability to produce methane gas on family islands reducing their dependence on and importation of propane gas for cooking fuel. The course would be worthwhile even if a bio-digester simply provided a use for all the food “waste” that would be discarded otherwise, even though it was originally imported at a high economic and environmental cost when it was considered useful food. The immense responsibility of implementing such systems made this opportunity a great honor, and one I could not turn down no matter how much anxiety I felt.

Now here I am in China after having my eyes opened to the practicality, beauty, and necessity of economically, socially and environmentally sustainable systems at the Island School. Although I am intimidated by the qualifications of my classmates my experiences as an intern at the Cape Eleuthera Institute (CEI) add to my confidence in this research oriented setting. After working with the Bahamas Reef Environment Educational Foundation (BREEF) I am excited about the challenge of encouraging the implementation of small scale bio-digestion systems in any practical application in the Bahamas. I just hope I can live up to the expectations of my fellow Bahamians, and the others who have invested their time and resources in my education and the development of sustainable systems our country as I act as an ambassador of my government on this course and when I return to our shores.

Thinking of Home,

Bradley Watson

The Cape Eleuthera Institute (CEI) welcomed government officials, Bahamian dignitaries and esteemed guests to the grand opening of its Hallig House. The event was celebrated within the context of the One Eleuthera Foundation’s Earth Day Weekend, as a symbol of how community partnerships with shared vision can support a future of sustainable development in The Bahamas.

Chris Maxey, co-founder of the Cape Eleuthera Island School, encouraged event guests to envision the impact of innovative green design technologies: “Imagine building systems that are a net exporter of energy and water, that use the sun to heat water and to cool living spaces, that process waste in a responsible way that helps restore ecosystems and beautify the seascape.”

Hallig House was designed as an educational model for island nations. Led by Warren Wagner of W3 Architects and designed by a team of conservation systems specialists, the building features innovative elements, which solve specific regional issues. The building’s structure and shape, construction materials, and renewable energy and waste management systems all demonstrate how local and national development can maximize locally available resources while minimizing impact on local environments.

The opening marked the first time that the Cape Eleuthera Island School has been honored by the presence of His Excellency Sir Arthur Foulkes Governor-General to the Commonwealth of The Bahamas. He gave the keynote address at the event, seen in the video below. 

His Excellency thoughtfully articulated the history of The Bahamas, its current economic and environmental state, and warned “the beauty and abundance and richness that we take for granted are in danger. Our coral reefs, the source of marine wealth, are in danger.”

He placed the Cape Eleuthera Island School’s sustainability initiatives within the context of a greater global movement. “Among the peoples of the world who have reason at all to answer the call to mobilize in order to save our environment and the future of humankind of the planet those of us who live in these blessed islands should be at the forefront.”

He recognized the achievements of the organization, adding that “what is happening here at the Cape Eleuthera Island School is, I believe, not only exciting but essential and, perhaps, even indispensable to meeting the environmental challenges confronting us.”

Honored dignitaries who spoke at the opening also included Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People’s Republic of China Hu Shan and President of the Senate  Lynn Holowesko. Also in attendance were The Honorable James Oswald Ingraham Member of Parliament for Central and South Eleuthera, representatives from the U.S. Embassy, and Her Excellency Giulia Broghese Ambassador and Plenopotentiary of San Marino.

CEI and the commitment to research, education, and outreach have been growing since being formed in 2007. Early on, the Board of Directors identified the need for a space to house scientists, donors, researchers, and other special guests on campus to share the expertise of their work. The multifunctional and collaborative space—Hallig House—now provides a context for idea sharing and educational collaboration.

The creation of Hallig House was made possible by a network of partnerships including local contractor John Norris Carey, and through the charitable contributions of Bobbie Hallig, Daniel Prigmore, Francesca Forrestal, Sally Searle, and Fred Danforth.

His Excellency finished his keynote address by congratulating all benefactors who were responsible for the creation of Hallig House, calling it a “magnificent experiment” in building and design.

Visitors are invited to tour the Hallig House and the Cape Eleuthera Institute’s ecologically designed campus. For more information on design systems or educational programming, visit ceibahamas.org