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Dr. Ian Walker, Jennifer Gray, Layla Kurt, Florence Graham-Welton, Elena Wright and Lynda Johnson

Florence Graham-Welton, Layla Kurt, and Elena Wright were inspired to clear Pilchards Bay in Somerset, as two of the girls who live in the area observed how much trash had accumulated in the mangroves. They decided to use their project to raise money, and turned the idea into a trash-a-thon. The girls went out to neighbors and friends, who were very positive about their work, and in total they were able to raise $1,000 in pledges.

When it came to deciding where to donate the money they had raised, all three girls agreed on the Bermuda Turtle Project, as they loved turtles and the two girls from Somerset were accustomed to seeing them swimming in the waters near where they lived.

On Wednesday, March 8th, which also happened to be International Women's Day, the three year 9 students from the Bermuda High School for Girls came to the Bermuda Aquarium Museum and Zoo (BAMZ) to donate their check for $1,000 to the Bermuda Turtle Project. The check was received by Jennifer Gray of the Bermuda Turtle Project, Dr, Ian Walker, Curator of BAMZ and Lynda Johnson, Development Officer of the Bermuda Zoological Society.

After having their picture taken, the girls described how during their clean-up, they were able to remove quite a bit of large plastic debris, but they did note that the micro-plastics were much more difficult to remove. They also remarked that they felt Bermuda could do more to reduce our use of plastics to prevent situations like this from arising in the future.

"To have these three young women make the donation on International Women's Day was very fitting," said Jennifer Gray. "They were truly inspiring young ladies making a difference.  They chose the Bermuda Turtle Project for their donation because they were concerned for the well-being of the many young sea turtles that live in their neighborhood bay surrounded by the mangroves. It's wonderful to see the next generation taking action and wanting to make a difference for our unique island environment."