It aint’ easy being Green in The Bahamas... but you can help by making one easy green decision everyday!

Being environmentally conscious in Nassau is a bit of a challenge for me.  In fact, it overwelmed me so much after living in Canada for 6 years because I felt that without an island wide recycling program and most people in The Bahamas not making environmentally conscious decisions, that we were doomed and there was nothing I could do. 

However, as with other things living here in Nassau, I have learned it is better to do a little bit than nothing at all.  So, if you are one of those people that find making the decision to ‘go green’ is all or nothing, try some of my tips - and share any others which you may have for the rest of us. 

When I wake up each morning one of my goals are to make at least one ‘green’ decision for the day.  I try to buy as much organic food as possible but it is very costly here.  Another goal I have is to source out more local food products, because we have to start being conscious of the carbon foot print the food items on our table are making.  I even want to start my own vegetable garden but unfortunately not enough time for that at present! One day soon! 

1. The easiest of them all - Grocery Shopping - take your reusable bags to the grocery store.  Try to keep them in the car, or in a spot that you will have to get them before you go to the grocery store.  I usually keep them in the trunk of my car so they are always there.  I also find that taking reusable bags not only benefits the environment but it helps me too - you only have about 4 bags and the handles dont cut into you like the plastic ones do.  And if you are a person like me who would rather come to near death and calamity in order to bring everything into the house in one trip than make more than one (don’t ask me the logic but its how i am!) you can put 2 bags on your shoulder and two in your hands!!!  However, if you happen to forget one week, just save the plastic bags for other household uses. 
2. Reuse your produce bags - I actually have special mesh produce bags, but I have in the past forgotten them and used the plastic ones.  So what I do is just take the produce out and put it in the fridge and put the plastic produce bag back in with my reusable grocery bags to reuse it on my next trip. 
3. Start composting - It took me a while to do this but now I made the plunge I am very pleased about it.  I used to cringe at all the organic waste that was going in the trash.  And when I forgot an item in the fridge only to find it when it was rotten, I felt terrible guilt throwing it away.  At least now I can compost it!  It’s so easy, I purchased two tumbleweed compost bins and imported them.  They are perfect because we have dogs and I cannot have an open compost pit... that would be a delicacy for them and disastrous for us! It is really neat, and I have a compost caddy on my counter with little ‘compost-able’ bags for it, and once it is full you trot it out to the compost bin and dump it in.  No mess, no stress! The reason I ordered 2 bins was because once the bin is full you do have to let it break down for 4-6 weeks.  So we will just add to the other one in the mean time and rotate them.  Then you can just spread the compost material around plants, trees or on the lawn of your yard for happy trees, flowers and grass!  If you are interested in purchasing a tumbleweed please contact me and I could look at putting together an order. 
4. Carry your own water around and stop using plastic water bottles - and what better way than in a Tervis Tumbler!  I never leave home without my tervis.  It is great that a few restaurants like Chives have a big water jug and you can just fill up.  I hope more places will start doing that - but a lot of places you stop into like banks, and doctor’s offices or offices, do have a water cooler with the little cone cups.  You can just fill up your tervis and go on your way!  If you would like to purchase a Baark! Tervis and lid please email me at laura@baarkbahamas.org 
5. Purchase the option with the least plastic/packaging materials or buy the bigger container.  If you can get two rolls of paper towel wrapped together, why buy 2 individually wrapped rolls of paper towel?  Also, I always buy the largest detergent option because those little ones do not last long at all! 
6. Save items - Schools are always looking for used materials for crafts.  In fact, a friend of ours who has a student at St. Andrews gave us a list of items to save.  Just get a cardboard box and put it in your laundry room/car port or somewhere out of the way, and add items until it is full and drop it to a parent or school you know will benefit. 
7. Pack your lunch! and Rethink that starbucks or that take out food - It takes a little prep work in the morning or the night before but packing your lunch is good for the environment, your wallet AND your waistline!  With all those benefits it's a no brainer.  Lunch bags are readily available at many places, and you can use plastic containers that can be used many times over.   In addition, can you can forgo a coffee once a week, or just take a traveling cup in to be served in that would help a lot! Does your office have styrofoam cups that you drink tea in every morning? Take your own mug in and use that! 
8. Eat Fruit instead of a packaged snack - grab a banana, apple, or orange for your afternoon snack instead of a bag of cookies, chips or chocolate bar! Again better for your health AND the environment! 
9. Don’t let water run down the drain!  Water wastage is my biggest pet peeve.  Don’t dilly dally in the shower, let the water run while you are brushing your teeth, and when you wash the dishes, fill up one side of the sink with soapy water, wash them, put them in the other side of the sink and then rinse a bunch of them.  
10. Cans for Kids!  Do you drink sodas? Soda cans are one of the few items that can be recycled here in the Bahamas.  There are several drop off points, one being at the Bahamas Humane Society Shelter on Chippingham.  
11. Cardboard recycling! Get a new big screen tv? or some shipments come in big boxes? Call Bahamas Waste - they now have a cardboard recycling division. 

Please share any additional tips that are specific to life in The Bahamas! 

Tis’ the Season

I love living in the Bahamas.  Even though we do not have the typical seasons where leaves change colour, snow falls, spring arrives and then the joy of summer, we do have seasons.  You just have to look a little closer. 

Growing up here, I was not exposed to the typical change of seasons that northern countries such as Canada experience. I was so excited to ‘experience’ the change of seasons when I went away to school, and cherished every change.  Often walking down the street in the summer enjoying the blue sky, flowers in the gardens and sandals on my feet I would say to myself, I cannot imagine snow being on this street even though I’ve seen it in the past... and then in the winter when the streets were stacked high with snow banks and the trees were bare and the sky was grey, I couldn’t fathom what a summer day would look like in this very spot, even though I had seen it with my own eyes just months before! I never grew tired of that day dreaming. 

But here in The Bahamas, the changes are there.  And every year I cherish them. The heat of the summer tends to lull everyone into a sleepy state but as the tinges of cool start coming in on the evening air, and the air starts to smell a little fresher as  September draws to a close, Nassau starts buzzing with activity and the island comes alive.  

The signals of winter also come through people.  The social calender is packed with events that start at the end of October, and pick up steadily until the end of December.  The stores start filling up, and people have a lightness in their step.  Perhaps its because the heat of the summer has been forgotten and the excitement of the holidays is upon them.  

October brings in the International Food Festival.   With November comes coveted Balls where everyone has the chance to be Cinderella and weddings are plentiful. 

One of my favorite events is the annual Bahamas Humane Society Luncheon Fashion Show put on by Cole’s of Nassau.  I remember hearing about this event when i was younger, looking forward to the day when I had the luxury to attend.  To be able to take 3 hours off during the work day to enjoy a lovely lunch and watch the season’s fashions come down the runway in front of you.  The best part is getting dressed up and catching up with people you haven’t seen in a while.   This year’s event was on November 8th at the British Colonial Hilton.  And it was sold out! 

The Bahamas National Trust’s annual Jollification is another great event.  You get to see just about everyone you know, and probably have not seen since last year’s jollification! 

This year I attended the Lignum Vitae Winter Fest and had a wonderful relaxing afternoon.   While the event is more geared towards kids and families, my Mom and I attended, bought a few wares from the vendors, chatted with some friends, and enjoyed a baked potato on the lawn and soaked up the positive energy in the air from people coming together for a great cause, with great spirits.   And after all, isn’t that what the holiday’s are all about? 

Seasons really do exist in The Bahamas - you just have to look a little closer!