TRAINING COURSE ST. VINCENT
“STOP: Save The Ocean Project” is an Erasmus+ Training course held from the 2nd of April 2022 to the 10th of April 2022 in Richmond Vale Academy located in St Vin- cent and the Grenadines (Ea stern Caribbean) with parti- cipants from Italy, Lithuania and St. Vincent.
STOP project aims to take a small step towards better habits and cleaner ocean, helping young people to give a great contribution to our planet.
The project focused on understanding the problem of plastic over-use, identifying the possible solutions and the connectivity of plastic ocean pollution. The purpose was the self-assessment on the plastic use finding solutions to ocean pollution, planning resources, responsibilities and work sharing.
In order to save the ocean we need to change people habits, attitude and behavior towards plastic consumption.
During this training we learnt about the problems and shared good practices from around the participating countries; we looked for ways and solutions to encourage people to use plastic more responsibly, raising the qualifications and competences of youth workers and leaders in the field of environmental protection.
Trough the activities we increase awareness of the problem by creating social campaigns and related public events.
This project was also an opportunity to strengthen the partnership between European and non-European organizations.
St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) consists of 32 islands and cays of which 8 are inhabited and one is a nature resort. St. Vincent is the biggest island with an active Volcan, “La Soufrière”. The other islands called the Grenadines are Bequia, Mustique, Canouan, Mayreau, Union, Palm and Petit St. Vincent.
SVG, also known as "Hairoun (a)#, is located to the south of the Caribbean Sea and has a population of 110,000 people.
The economy is based on tourism and agriculture. English is the official language and Creole is the native.
Climate Change is hitting poorer countries the hardest. Saint Vincent is one of the poorest island nations in the Caribbean and one of the world's most disaster prone countries with a small population and many poorly built and located residencies and limited infrastructure.
Climate Change means more flooding and hurricanes. In December 2013 extreme weather hit St. Vincent and left thousands without public water, with heavy destruction of roads, bridges and houses and left hundreds in shelters. Estimates from NEMO#s records show a loss of USD 211 million on these three events: Hurricane Tomas in 2010, rains/floods in April 2011 and rains/floods in December 2013. After these disasters one flooding after the other has followed.
St. Vincent and the Grenadines has an active volcano that last erupted on 9th April 2021. Prior to that was in 1979. The volcano has now gone down to a dormant state.
Richmond Vale Academy (RVA) is a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) locat- ed in the beautiful country of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, dedicated to create a sustainable future through ecological farming and environmental projects and volunteer programs
Estabilshed in 2002, RVA is a registered non-profit research and training institution situated in the Chateaubelair area of Saint Vincent and the Grnadines ( SVG). Since opening, students from this country and from around the world have participated in courses centered on poverty reduction, environmental conservation and climate change awareness.
The Academys programs give students the opportunity to directly influence positive change on the environment and in communities.
As a consequence of its actions, RVA has been the catalyst that motivates and mobilises - both students and local community members - to build resilience into their lives; whilst simultaneously developing themselves personally, academically and socially.
The RVA has 20 years of experience in community engagement, project management and training. RVA successfully carried out projects in collaboration with partners such as the GEF-Small Grants Program, Canada Fund for Local Initiatives, ERASMUS, EUAID Volunteers and various Government Entities.
