Thursday, March 28, 2024

Belizean Wavemakers Gather for Oceana’s 2019 Annual General Meeting

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On Saturday, October 19th, Belizeans from across the country came out in waves to the Saint Catherine’s Academy Auditorium in Belize City to participate in Oceana’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) of dedicated volunteers, “Wavemakers.” Over four hundred Wavemakers from Corozal, Orange Walk, Belize, Cayo, Stann Creek, and Toledo districts, as well as Caye Caulker and Ambergris Caye attended this year’s event.
During the AGM, several Wavemakers were awarded certificates of appreciation for their sensational, above and beyond support for Oceana’s campaigns and initiatives over the past year. Among the awardees were Nancy Aguilar from Corozal; Phinehas Sylvania from Orange Walk; Larsha Pascascio from the Belize District; Charlotte Jones from Caye Caulker; the Sacred Heart College Interact Club from San Ignacio; Russel Murray Jr. from Stann Creek and Royoko Kimura from Toledo. Oceana was also proud to recognize Mrs. Yvetter Sanker Riverol as the National Wavemaker of the year.
Mrs. Yvette Sanker Riverol is a teacher at the Corozal Junior College (CJC), where she spearheads environmental activities for both her students and community. She has been volunteering with Oceana for almost ten years, having assisted in the 2011 signature drive that led to the People’s Referendum against offshore oil. Mrs. Yvette also helps to recruit volunteers for Oceana by encouraging current and past students to participate in their activities. She is an active advocate for the ban of single-use plastics and proudly encourages greener practices around campus. Ms. Yvette is a strong pillar of support for the CJC Wavemaker base and by extension, the entire Corozal community.
Guest speaker, Ms. Stacey Alpuche, an Environmental Engineer by training, with a passion for water quality analysis, wastewater treatment plants and lake restoration, presented on the sources and harmful effects of water pollution, control methods as well as its relevance in our environment today, specifically the crisis currently affecting parts of the New River.
Creative Director at McNab Visual Strategies and Green Light Ltd Tanya McNab-Fields, as well as a founding partner of Plastic Free Reefs, was the keynote speaker. McNab-Fields’ highlighted the peril and pervasiveness of plastics and shared that while the scale of use is overwhelming, the response doesn’t have to be. She stressed that personal action doesn’t need to be drastic to be impactful.
Both presentations were followed by engaging dialogue during the question and answer segment.

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