St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) with a population of approximately 104,000 people is 150 square miles and lies 60° 56’ West longitude and 13° 15’ North latitude, approximately 100 miles west of Barbados, 68 miles north of Grenada and 24 miles south of St. Lucia. From a morphological point of view St. Vincent shares similarity to the other Windward Islands, consisting of a central axial range of mountains starting from La Soufriere (1,234m) in the north, to Mt St Andrew in the south. The island is entirely volcanic with six main volcanic centres located along its central axis. Like most of the CARICOM member states, with the exception of Trinidad and Tobago and to a lesser extent Barbados, SVG is heavily...

During the 18 months Fighting with The Poor Program , participants both study and take action to fight global warming and global poverty in St. Vincent, Belize and Ecuador. Part of this program is to also to plant trees, organize clean up actions, teach in schools and start vegetable gardens along with a number of theoretical studies to understand the causes of poverty. One of the study tasks focuses on the book "Planet of Slums" by Mike Davis , and here is from the introduction to the study task.   In 2008 the number of people living in cities for the first time surpassed the global rural population. The individual who tipped the scale might be a baby born to a...

Dressing sustainably can be very simple when you know what you’re doing! Commonly known as eco-fashion, it is the concept of taking into mind the long-term environmental and social impacts of our clothing every day. But often people don’t know what informed decisions to take in dressing fashionably without impacting the planet. For many people, this means recycling: instead of throwing away that tee shirt you ruined in the wash, could you make it into something? Could it become a cute pair of sandals, a pillow case, some cleaning rags, or a pair of socks through some careful stitches? In this article I’m going to give you... 10 steps on how to Reduce, Reuse and Recycle your stuff! 10- Second hand shopping...

Richmond Vale Academy, in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Sustainable Development, Chatoyer Garden, and the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Preservation Fund, will launch its home garden project today, June 5. The launch takes place at Richmond Vale Academy beginning at 13.00 with tour of the organic gardens and is open to the public. The Pass-It-On Model Garden Project aims to build the capacity of the local communities to live more sustainably, cost effectively and healthily by creating model gardens for families (or farmers) and for people to pass-on what they have learnt, to inspire others to start their own gardens. This project uses crop diversification and organic principles of production as a means of adapting to the...

New technologies are being introduced by the Ministry of Agriculture, to improve Banana Production in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. The Ministry is partnering with H2K Agro to conduct trials on Banana Farms with the aim of controlling the Black Sigatoka and Moko diseases that have been affecting the banana industry. Speaking at a media conference, Mr. Rex Suckoo, Representative of H2K Agro, pointed out that the Company utilises natural means of strengthening the banana plant. He said that this will create a healthier environment for farmers and possibly open up a market for organic bananas. Mr. Suckoo also said that overall they have demonstrated that the technology works, and he ensured that it would have a greater benefit to...

It’s 9 pm at Richmond Vale Academy, and a small circle of drummers sends rhythms into the darkness of the hills. The stars seem to be on steroids, but we still need flashlights for our dragon quest. Franklyn—the local hiking guide, night watchman, and nocturnal pollinator-in-chief—ambles ahead of our motley group: two young Scandinavian honeymooners, two mature ladies from Barbados, and a burly Dane who is minding a teenage boy with unspecified problems. Franklyn leads us into rows of tall, twisting cacti whose flowers reach full bloom only at this time. Lacking the right moths, they need human hands and a paintbrush to stimulate the production of dragonfruit, Hylocereus costaricensis. The huge white blossoms have a monstrous beauty. Tonight there are...

Over two thirds of the Earth's surface is covered by water. As Earth's population continues to grow, people are putting ever-increasing pressure on the planet's water resources. In a sense, oceans, rivers, and other inland waters are being "squeezed" by human activities—not so they take up less room, but so their quality is reduced. Poorer water quality means water pollution. Pollution is a human problem because it is a relatively recent development in the planet's history: before the 19th century Industrial Revolution , people lived more in harmony with their immediate environment. As industrialization has spread around the globe, so the problem of pollution has spread with it. When Earth's population was much smaller, no one believe pollution would ever be...

Renewable energy or green energy comes from resources that will be naturally replenish within a human timescale.   What does this mean? Well, simply put, renewable energy draws from an infinite bank of resources. Think of tides, sunlight, rain and the currents in rivers! They are not running out anytime soon, and unlike fossil fuels , using them does not entail major environmental risks. Historically, every time there has been an increase in oil prices, the world has turn its eyes towards renewable energy. After oil prices drop, however, things have gone back to business-as-usual. If renewable energy is the best option available why does this happen? Cost and a huge interest from big oil and chemical corporations to not make...

Poverty is a social condition that is characterized by the lack of resources necessary for basic survival or necessary to meet a certain minimum level of living standards expected for the place where one lives. The income level that determines poverty is different from place to place, so social scientists believe that it is best defined by conditions of existence, like lack of access to food, clothing, and shelter. People in poverty typically experience persistent hunger or starvation, inadequate or absent education and health care, and are usually alienated from mainstream society. Poverty is a consequence of the uneven distribution of material resources and wealth on a global scale and within nations. Sociologists see it as a social condition of...

A beautiful aspect of being human is that we have the power to change things that we don’t agree with — whether it is what’s in our food, how animals are treated in captivity, or inequality between genders or races. When you begin to take action to bring awareness to the causes you care about, you become an activist in the process. So, while the seemingly extreme actions mentioned above will definitely get you noticed, they are, by no means, essential for becoming an activist. All it takes to become an activist are passion, knowledge and the a desire to make a change. There are so many ways in which you can be activist for a better world; options are...