Youth Awardee Passionate About The Environment

The Prime Minister’s Youth Awardee for Environmental Protection 2021, Colleen Dawkins, has always been passionate about the environment.

“I love nature; it calms me. Even from high school days I’d always try to choose the window seat or the seat near the door, so I could always look out and be inspired by the mountains, the birds and the trees,” Miss Dawkins tells JIS News.

She also recalls joining clubs in high school that led her to engage in activities that would deepen her affinity for the environment.

“I was a part of the Environmental Club at Immaculate [Conception High School], and being engaged in environmental protection activities, such as beach clean-ups, really helped fuel my passion,” she says.

 

Miss Dawkins points out that it was those clubs that really helped her to understand the importance of environmental protection and being an advocate for the environment.

“That’s when I realised that this beautiful gem that we have, earth, we’re not taking good care of it and if we don’t, we’re going to lose it and we’re going to miss out on a lot of opportunities as it pertains to security for things like water and food, because climate change threatens all of that,” she adds.

Miss Dawkins’ love affair with environmental matters continued when she began working with the Jamaica Information Service.

“My appreciation for the environment and love for it grew even more because I was assigned to the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation (MEGJC), which had oversight of the plastic ban,” she notes.

She points out that at the time, the Minister without Portfolio in MEGJC, now Minister of Science, Energy and Technology, Hon. Darryl Vaz, had portfolio responsibility for matters pertaining to the environment, and Minister without Portfolio in MEGJC, Senator the Hon. Matthew Samuda, had moved the motion for the ban on single-use plastics.

“I had to work with them and that’s when, seeing all the statistics and attending all those meetings at Jamaica House, I began to realise the real impact of us mindlessly living and selfishly living… eating a box food and just throwing away the Styrofoam box with no regard for the environment,” she laments.

“Until a natural disaster hits or there is heavy rain and we have flooding, then we complain about how the gullies need to be cleaned without realising that if we clean up after ourselves, that would help the environment and help our plight,” the nature enthusiast adds.

She says it was after attending those meetings and working on the public education campaign for the plastic ban that she was convinced it was time for Jamaicans to do better and transformed herself into an environmental champion.

“I would tell every single person I know to say no to plastic and encourage them to make the switch from plastic ‘scandal’ bags to recyclable bags. I would tell them to use wooden forks and metal forks instead,” Miss Dawkins explains.

She says that the resource materials from the campaign became very important tools in her arsenal, as they were very effective at showing the deleterious effects of negative human action on the environment.

“I’d show them how gullies and marine life are being affected, how the turtles are eating plastic bags, which they can’t digest,” the Youth Awardee notes.

She recalls getting very emotional about one image from the Hope Zoo, which has a rehabilitation programme for crocodiles. She has vivid memories of the photos from an autopsy on one crocodile, which revealed that there were about 20 plastic bags in the reptile’s stomach.

Miss Dawkins highlights that while activities such as beach clean-ups have their place, it is more effective to be proactive rather than reactive about environmental protection.

“Sending everybody out there to go walk on the beach in the hot sun to pick up plastic is just one way to help, but how about recycling those containers when you order take-out. How about instead of taking plastic bags when you go to collect items you take your own reusable bag. How about collecting the bottles in one bag or a bin and once or twice a month, however often you accumulate them, you take them to the recycling post or station. Simple acts like that, they add up and they can make a difference,” Miss Dawkins argues.

The Youth Awardee is of the view that there is much more to be done globally and bemoans inaction in this area.

“I feel like we spend too much time talking about climate change as opposed to taking our adaptation and mitigation efforts seriously. I feel like we belabour it. Yes, climate change is real, and we do all this research, but we’re not putting in the action and we’re not encouraging and inspiring persons to buy into it,” she says.

According to Miss Dawkins, the issue must be tackled at the level of the people on the ground.

“You need to go into the communities, have a discussion with the people, the farmers. I must commend Minister [of Agriculture] Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr. and members of the Ministry, the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) and the Forestry Department for their programmes that include community involvement and social behavioural change, because if we’re going to talk about climate change, we need the buy-in of the citizens,” she says.

She argues that the next generation must be made equally aware of the challenges and urges that the education and socialisation begin from the early-childhood stage.

She highlights the impact of natural disasters on global supply chains and points out that it could affect matters such as getting medication and other key supplies.

Miss Dawkins intends to use the award as a launching pad to partner with organisations that share her views towards the environment and making Jamaica a better place.

“Vision 2030 is not just a vision. I believe that it will become a reality, especially as it pertains to environmental protection, if we just get all hands on deck and continue to inspire our countrymen to do their part,” she says.

Miss Dawkins has partnered with Marketing firm, Esirom, and will be co-hosting the Earth Hour concert on March 26.

She explains that Earth Hour is an annual event where, on the last Saturday of March, supporters in more than 190 countries and territories unite to take action and raise awareness of the issues facing the earth.

“People around the world come together to acknowledge the impact of climate change and global warming. The hour is marked by turning off all electricity for one hour across the world to show the importance of managing our resources,” the Youth Awardee says.

Miss Dawkins recently participated as a guest speaker on the United Nations Development Programme’s Archipelagic and Island States Forum, Caribbean Youth Talk on Natural Disaster Resilience, and how natural disasters affect youth.

She will also be partnering with the Sandals Foundation to do some work in the area of environmental protection, which is one of the pillars of the Foundation.

Miss Dawkins thanked the Prime Minister for the recognition through the award and vowed to continue to champion the cause.

“I am so grateful to the Ministry of Education and Youth, the Secretariat and the Prime Minister, who saw it fit to nationally acknowledge the work I’ve been doing. That is such a wonderful feeling and a blessing for me. It’s like a magical wand making me a protector of the earth and I guard that responsibility fiercely,” she tells JIS News.