EAST focuses on the youth of the Virgin Islands as part of our educational campaign. We have raised funds to support Eco-camps for elementary school students to promote our natural resources and understanding of tropical ecosystems. In the past, the camps have been offered at no cost to the participants.
EAST conducted two successful Whale Watches March 23rd & 30th, 2003. EAST members and guests enjoyed a full day sail aboard the catamaran Allura while eco-guides provided educational information about whales, dolphins, sea birds and other marine life (see March 23, 2003 St. Thomas Source© article). We have also produced successful eco-hike activities, such as the Neltjeberg Hike held in June 2002 (see June 2002 Virgin Islands Daily News© article). Visit our EAST Activities site for more information on hikes & other events, or to join the EAST Activities Committee.
Our vigilance in advocating environmental preservation and responsible development has been demonstraed in our vocal position on such development issues as: the proposed Benner Bay development, the Ritz Carlton expansion, disposition of dredged material from St. Thomas Harbor, and our most current issues, resort and subdivision development at Botany Bay. For all of these projects, with the exception of Botany Bay, EAST was successful in convincing developers to adopt many of our recommendations.
EAST
is currently appealing the CZM permit issued to Botany Bay Partners for development
of a 125-room hotel, 80-unit condominium complex, 80-unit timeshare complex,
and associated resort amenities before the Virgin Islands Board of Land Use
Appeals. Botany Bay is a pristine coastal watershed located on the west end
of St. Thomas. It has been designated an Area of Particular Concern (view the
APC Assessment Report) and has been
recommended for preservation as a territorial park on numerous occasions since
the early 1960's. The site encompasses the entire Botany Bay watershed, consisting
of over 360 acres of minimally developed forest land, two beaches located at
Sandy Bay and Botany Bay, two sites listed on the National Historic register
(a colonial sugar mill, slave quarters and well), a large slave cemetary, and
numerous pre-Columbian sites that have yet to be investigated. It is home to
federally endangered sea turtles, the locally endangered red fruit bat, iguanas,
bats, deer, parrots, and other fauna, as well as five locally rare or endangered
plant species.
To assist us with our appeal we successfully identified and negotiated pro-bono leagal representation from local counsel Attorney Karin Bentz (Law Offices of Karin Bentz), the nationally-recognized environmental advocacy organization, Earth Justice; former EAST Executive Director & attorney Katherine Harsch-Kinsman, and Attorney Andrew Torrance, Harvard Law professor and attorney for the Boston office of the national law firm Fish & Richardson, P.C. A press release detailing EAST's concerns and issues for appeal of the Botany Bay development can be found at the Earth Justice News Room.
In 1996, EAST was awarded $20,000 Environmental Justice grant from the US Environmental Protection Agency to train members of the public housing communities and other organizations to conduct their own neighborhood meetings on solid waste issues affecting St. Thomas. The program began June 1, 1996 with ten groups participating and ended in November of 1996. The purpose of the project was to equip members of the community-at-large with the information that they will need to become more politically aware and active regarding the issue of solid waste management. Due in great part to the St. Thomas landfill currently operating beyond its capacity and the burning due to a decade-old methane fire, the Environmental Justice project attracted a lot of interest from the St. Thomas community.
It
was also due to the fire and burning at the landfill that EAST contacted the
US Department of Health 's
Center for Disease Control (CDC) and requested that they pay a visit to the
island in an attempt to conduct a preliminary health assessment on the effects
that the smoke from the landfill fires may have on nearby residents. As a result,
the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease
Registry (ATSDR) visited the island in late August 1996 and gathered data
which is now being used to conduct a health consultation on the site. The consultation
will allow ATSDR to make conclusions about public health hazards and recommendations
for actions to protect the public' s
health. ATSDR recommendations can contribute to a number of actions the most
important being a site clean up. In late April. ATSDR upgraded the consultation
to a full health assessment. The results of the PETITIONED
PUBLIC HEALTH ASSESSMENT, BOVONI DUMP, ST. THOMAS, U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS were
published in May 1997 and are available online at the ATSDR website.
