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How Bahamian Music and Education Inspire Ocean Conservation · How To Protect The Ocean

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  How do you get people interested in
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  learning about the ocean?
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  We're going to be the focus of today's
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  episode on how to
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  protect the ocean podcast.
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  We're going to be talking to Jevon Hunt,
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  who is a songwriter and
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  artist and working with
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  a nonprofit organization that teaches
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  kids to learn about
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  their own backyard in Bahamas
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  and understand how the ocean plays such
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  an important role in not
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  only in their protection,
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  but in conservation as
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  well as biodiversity.
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  We're going to talk about that all in
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  today's episode of the How
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  to Protect the Ocean podcast.
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  Let's start the show.
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  Hey everybody, welcome back
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  to another exciting episode
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  of the How to Protect the Ocean podcast.
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  I'm your host, Andrew Lewin.
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  This is the podcast where you find out
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  what's happening with the ocean,
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  how you can speak up for the ocean,
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  what you can do to
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  live for a better ocean
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  by taking action.
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  And today's episode is a great one.
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  We are talking to Jevon Hunt,
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  who is an artist, a
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  music recording artist,
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  a songwriter, an environmentalist,
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  and somebody who works
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  with nonprofit organization
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  that works with young children
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  to discuss how
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  important the ocean plays a role
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  in their lives.
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  And it allows them to
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  reconnect to their backyard.
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  And we discuss a lot of different things,
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  including taking for granted what we have
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  in our own backyard,
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  including myself here in Canada.
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  We have a lot of green spaces.
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  We have a lot of blue spaces.
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  And a lot of the times I sit in my house,
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  I sit on my phone and
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  I'm scrolling and scrolling
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  to find out what's
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  happening in the world,
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  realizing that I have, or
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  not realizing that I have
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  a beautiful place
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  just in my own backyard.
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  And I need to look at more.
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  And I feel the same way that Jevon does
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  in terms of getting people out and
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  connecting with nature
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  so that nature becomes an
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  important part of their thoughts.
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  It becomes part of our culture.
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  It becomes part of ways to realize
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  that the environment is important to us,
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  not only for our
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  protection to provide food
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  and to provide peace is
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  really what it comes down to.
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  So we're gonna talk
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  about Jevon in just a moment.
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  If you want more information like this
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  and you wanna find out more
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  about how you can protect the ocean,
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  you can go to our
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  website, speakupforblue.com.
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  But here's the interview with Jevon Hunt.
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  Enjoy the interview and
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  I'll talk to you after.
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  Hey Jevon, welcome to the "How
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  to Protect the Ocean" podcast.
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  Are you ready to talk about
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  music and ocean conservation?
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  I am ready.
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  Right on, I'm very,
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  very excited about this.
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  I think this is the first
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  time where I have somebody
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  on the podcast who is combining music
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  and entertainment
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  with ocean conservation.
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  And also on the island of the Bahamas,
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  the beautiful Bahamas.
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  And I can't wait to see what you guys have to say.
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  I can't wait to dive into this.
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  We're gonna talk about
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  why music is important,
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  why you incorporate
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  music, how you got into music,
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  but also how your
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  relationship with the ocean has stemmed
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  from being a young boy in
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  the Bahamas all the way to now,
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  being a grown man, teaching it to others
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  and making sure that's an
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  important part of their education
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  and an important part of
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  sort of their lifestyle.
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  So I'm looking really, really forward
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  to learning more about that.
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  But before we get into all that,
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  Jevon, why don't you
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  just let us know who you are
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  and what you do.
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  As you said, Andrew, first off, thank you
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  for having me on your platform.
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  I am thrilled to be here.
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  Like you said, my name is Jevon Hunt.
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  I'm from the island of Grand Bahama,
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  which is in the Bahamas.
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  For those of you that don't know, the
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  Bahamas is an archipelago.
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  There's over 700 islands in the Bahamas
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  with about 30 to 40 being inhabited.
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  You know, typically people only hear
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  about an island in the Bahamas
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  when like a celebrity buys an island or
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  something like that.
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  But there's a lot
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  that's inhabited 30 to 40.
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  Like I said, we're a small population.
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  Like I said, I grew up on
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  the island of Grand Bahama.
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  I've always been into
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  music, the environment.
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  I grew up basically outside, you know,
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  typical island family.
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  Our parents would just shoo us outside to
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  entertain ourselves.
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  Gotcha.
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  You know, they'd say, just
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  just boy, go outside and play.
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  So typically we spend
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  the majority of our days
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  outside, you know, playing ball, playing
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  anything that could be played.
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  I could actually remember the first time
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  we got like cable, which was just
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  which was like in the early 90s.
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  You know, typically we had those antennas
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  that you'd have to go
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  outside and spin it.
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  So so we had no entertainment like that.
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  We had no phones or well,
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  we did have a rotary phone.
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  But, you know, yes.
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  You know, I watched
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  technology progress over the years.
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  And now everyone has a
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  cell phone in their hand.
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  Go figure.
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  But anyway, but I was always into music.
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  My family is a musical family.
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  They all play in bands and such.
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  We sang in church.
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  And eventually I progressed
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  to want to take it further.
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  I performed a lot of places in theater,
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  again, my own band and stuff.
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  And I threw a series of events, ended up
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  somehow, somehow I ended up into the
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  environmental field.
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  And I never saw it coming.
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  I just never saw it coming.
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  Right.
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  A big part of who I am
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  now is I love to mentor.
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  So I always mentor it again
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  in church groups and stuff.
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  And I ended up being a part of a youth
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  environmental program.
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  And through that, I was introduced to the
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  whole world of advocacy and
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  learning and teaching about the
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  environment, like things
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  that I took for granted.
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  It was like, oh, my
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  gosh, this is important.
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  Yeah. So I was in that shoe where I
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  didn't know a thing.
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  Oh, I took it for granted.
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  You know, see those beaches that people
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  love to say the Bahamas is known for.
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  I live on the beach.
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  So I didn't see it as
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  nothing that's so important.
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  It's just a beach, you know.
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  And so sometimes it just baffled me when
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  I saw like tourists or
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  especially we have a lot of Canadians
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  that come down and have second home.
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  Especially during a winter season.
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  Oh, my gosh, when they come on and for us
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  in our winter season, quote unquote,
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  we're wearing jackets.
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  We have, you know, with the fur, you
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  know, we can't wait for
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  the cold so that we can
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  put on our boots because the only could
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  do it like one weekend
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  out of the whole year.
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  And here's the Canadians and they're
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  jumping in the water
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  like, oh, this feels so good.
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  And we're thinking these crazy people.
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  Like that water is cold and
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  it's like 70 something degrees.
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  Like that's super cold.
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  Us, you know, and they're like, oh, we
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  just left us, you know, we've snowed in.
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  We're hurting to see snow and they're
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  running away from it.
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  So, you know, in our mind, young boys, I
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  can know these people are crazy, you
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  know, crazy tourists.
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  So anyway, I ended up learning so much
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  about the environment, learning so much
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  about the things that make us special.
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  I'm learning so much about all the things
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  that we take for granted, like conch and
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  the different varieties of fish that we
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  can just go and have.
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  And it's not until we speak to people
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  from other parts of the USA, Canada and
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  all the other parts of the world, you
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  know, to learn that they have to get a
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  permit to fish or to learn that, hey, you
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  can only catch so much
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  fish in a fishing trip.
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  And there's someone to watch you as they
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  measure your fish to make sure it's the
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  right length. Whereas in the Bahamas,
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  anyone can just go with a cool and some
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  fishing line and catch a whole cooler of
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  fish because there's
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  such an abundance of it.
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  Well, it wasn't until I went into
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  advocacy and learning more about the
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  environment to learn how all of the
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  construction and coastal construction and
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  businesses and how that
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  affects us, affects the ocean.
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  It wasn't until I got into this that I
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  realized how the ocean is our livelihood,
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  the things that we took for granted, like
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  the salt water, the seawater, the, you
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  know, being able to swim like we're such
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  what's it called snobs
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  when it comes to beaches.
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  Like I visited both coasts of the US and
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  they're saying, oh, let's go to the
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  beach. Now you're okay. Let's go to the
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  beach, you know, and, and, you know, to
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  have close friends warn me now when you
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  get to this beach, don't act brand new.
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  Don't act like, you know, because you're
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  used to seeing through the water, you
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  won't be able to see through this water.
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  I'm like, it can't be that bad. Only to
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  go to the beach. And I'm like, oh, no,
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  I'm not getting in that.
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  I'm like, why? I can't see my feet. You
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  have to see you have to see jaws coming
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  in order to run from you know, or what
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  was really shocking for me
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  being an island boy again.
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  And, um, the docs and like, I remember
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  being in Rhode Island on the coast and
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  I'm like, is this real sound like I
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  thought it was fake and they're like, I'm
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  the only guy there
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  just digging in the sun.
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  And you know, a whole crowd is forming
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  like, why is this guy just digging in the
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  sun like this? Because I'm like, you have
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  sparkles in your son. Like, this is so
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  cool, you know, versus I was used to
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  powder sign, you know,
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  it, it gets everywhere.
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  So to us, it's annoying. It's a tourist.
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  They're like, the one like snow angels,
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  you know, long story. You're like, this
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  is gonna get all over the house is gonna
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  get everywhere. All my clothes in every
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  crevice that you can imagine.
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  It's there. You know, so, so we get used
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  to that stuff. Yeah. And I'm on an island
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  and I think my beaches are great. But
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  then some other islands have even less of
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  a population and they're untouched.
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  Like no one's on the beach to us if like
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  10 people is on the beach. I'm like, Oh,
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  it's so crowded. Let's go to another
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  beach versus I'm going to this beach and
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  you could you have to like tip around
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  people. It's so much folks. Yeah. And
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  then and then, you know, it's all new to
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  me. So it's all eye opening and stuff. I
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  see these huge seagulls. I've never seen
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  them that huge because they're not that
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  huge, you know, by us and they're like
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  fighting people for
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  food like, hey, yeah, yeah.
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  They're aggressive. So yeah, I mean, to
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  say it was an experience. It really was
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  an experience. But you know, I'm all over
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  the place. But when I I started doing a
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  lot more environmental work and working
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  with the children, and I saw that the
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  best way that I could teach them is
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  through what I know, which is music. And
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  I kind of stumbled into that as well.
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  But I needed to find a song or write a
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  song as a teaching tool. And I wrote a
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  couple and I was low, you know, not
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  ashamed, but I was a little shy to show
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  it course. But when I did, you know,
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  everybody's like, Okay, okay, I see. You
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  know, and then I had to come up with a
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  simplified version, which is what I
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  taught you earlier. Yes. And if you don't mind, I could do it with.
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  Absolutely. Please do. So the simplified
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  version is for I use it for preschoolers
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  and young kids, sixth grade and under,
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  but I found that the adults love it even
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  more. But they like to pretend like they don't, you know, so I get them clapping, clapping.
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  And then I get them like, okay, when I
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  say four types here, I want you to say it
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  with me. Yeah, so come on. And four types
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  here. And it's all good. Come on, I do
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  red, black, white and black.
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  And so it's so catchy. It is catchy. I'm
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  probably gonna say it later on after. I
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  know. But I love it because, you know,
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  because we get you talking about the four
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  types of mangroves that
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  are here in the Bahamas.
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  And then, you know, after they get that
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  little piece, then I'm able to go in
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  depth a little bit about each one of
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  those mangroves and why it's important
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  and why, you know, a lot of the fish
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  species and stock come to the mangroves
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  to have their young, you know.
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  So if we destroy the mangroves or if
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  they're destroyed, then these fish,
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  these, you know, mammals or these animals
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  have nowhere to go to bring their young,
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  which is a direct
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  reflection on our food source.
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  So if those are destroyed, the things
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  that you like to eat, they're not there
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  anymore. You know, so conch the fish, you
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  know, and sometimes when we go into the
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  mangroves, we see so many turtles in
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  there. We see a lot of bird species, some
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  fish jumping out of the water.
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  Like it is amazing when you go there,
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  like it is I can't even begin to describe
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  how peaceful it is in areas where people
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  don't go. And and yeah, and then you see
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  the land being built because the
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  mangroves tend to attract a lot of
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  sediment and you see
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  these little islands forming.
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  And when we get people out there for the
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  for the like minute or two or for the 30
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  minutes or for however long they're out
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  there, we see the shift happening. We see
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  them saying like, oh,
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  okay, this is important.
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  Okay, this is this is a good reason why
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  we should protect this area, you know,
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  because I'm sure it's the same for you
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  and everyone else listening that you
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  know, you tend to have our habits. We go
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  from work to home, grocery store, you
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  know, if you have children to, you know,
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  PTA is and all that stuff.
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  And that tends to become your world and
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  you kind of block out, you're in your own
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  bubble. So what we do is we through fun
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  ways and through different ways, reach
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  the audience so that we can tell them
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  like, hey, I know you're in your bubble,
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  but let's take five
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  minutes to sing a song.
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  Let's take five minutes to see how
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  important this ecosystem is to us. Let's
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  let's take 10 minutes, you know, and then
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  we attract them to our youth program,
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  which then goes in depth.
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  And I'm proud to say that in our 13th
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  year, we were able to get a lot of the
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  Bohemian students interested in
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  environmental careers. And a lot of them
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  are choosing to learn more and come back
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  and teach. So it's having some sort of
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  impact, which is even great, better and
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  stuff, you know, and, and also those who
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  just trapped in their everyday bubble,
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  they're able to just think outside of the
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  box and say, okay, this is important.
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  Okay, let me not litter or my
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  environment. Okay, I might have I bought
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  this property. I don't have to tear down
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  every single tree that's on this
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  property. So just to get them thinking
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  along that lines and making small choices
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  leads to bigger results.
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  Bigger result.
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  100%. It's so important to get people
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  connected back to the ocean. I mean, even
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  we talk about that here in North America,
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  all the time, Canada, US, you're right,
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  we're always just in our own little
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  bubble. And we just have to go to the
• 1:14:46
  grocery store, and I have to go bring our
• 1:14:47
  kids to here. Now I got to go here, now
• 1:14:49
  go here. And a lot of times, we don't
• 1:14:50
  even take a take time out of the day,
• 1:14:52
  just be like, I live in a pretty cool
• 1:14:54
  place. You know, I live in a place where
• 1:14:56
  there's lots of trees, lots of greenery,
• 1:14:58
  and they just kind of pass by it, because
• 1:15:00
  I have to go do some stuff.
• 1:15:01
  And if we don't take time out of our day
• 1:15:03
  or time out of our week to go and connect
• 1:15:06
  with nature, in your case, like in
• 1:15:09
  Baham's case, you know, the ocean and
• 1:15:11
  enjoy what you see around there, it takes
• 1:15:14
  you know, you can just bypass and you
• 1:15:16
  don't you lose that, that connection that
• 1:15:18
  want and that understanding of why it's
• 1:15:20
  important to protect the ocean unless
• 1:15:22
  some disaster comes by and you realize
• 1:15:25
  how important it is needed.
• 1:15:27
  And then you're like, well, what happened
• 1:15:28
  to these programs and stuff, but the lack
• 1:15:30
  of that connection takes away that that
• 1:15:33
  memory of this, this is an important
• 1:15:35
  part, you know, having mangroves, you
• 1:15:38
  know, having coral reefs, having
• 1:15:39
  seagrasses are very important in tropical
• 1:15:41
  systems to protect the coastline.
• 1:15:44
  And without that connection, without
• 1:15:45
  bringing people in and I think it's
• 1:15:47
  really interesting because we talk about
• 1:15:48
  it a lot, you know, we go away to the
• 1:15:52
  tropics, we go away because we love the
• 1:15:54
  water, we love the beach, like we go, I'm
• 1:15:56
  like that tourist, right?
• 1:15:57
  If I went to the Bahamas, I'm out there
• 1:15:59
  and like, it's 70 degrees and the water's
• 1:16:01
  like probably 60 and I'm like, yes, I'm
• 1:16:03
  in, like, let's do it.
• 1:16:03
  And you're on the beach, be like, what is
• 1:16:05
  wrong with this guy? Because you just
• 1:16:08
  love it so much and it's such a different
• 1:16:10
  part of your own. Like, it's not your
• 1:16:11
  country, you're in a different country,
• 1:16:14
  it's warm, what you're normally used to
• 1:16:16
  and it's such an important part.
• 1:16:18
  But a lot of times we talk about, you
• 1:16:21
  know, going somewhere to reconnect with
• 1:16:22
  the ocean, like going to the Bahamas or
• 1:16:24
  going to Hawaii or going, you know, other
• 1:16:26
  places. But when you, the people that
• 1:16:28
  live there, it's so important for the
• 1:16:30
  people who live on those islands.
• 1:16:32
  And even like for me to live in Canada,
• 1:16:34
  to not take for granted the nature that's
• 1:16:36
  around me, but especially for you, when
• 1:16:38
  you first started building the program,
• 1:16:41
  we're getting the idea to build the
• 1:16:42
  program, was it difficult to recruit
• 1:16:43
  people from the Bahamas, like, Bahamians
• 1:16:47
  to come out and like, you know,
• 1:16:48
  even the kids to get people to have
• 1:16:50
  permission to come out and connect with
• 1:16:53
  with the ocean. Was that a was that a
• 1:16:54
  challenging process for you?
• 1:16:57
  Yes, it was. And first, I want to say the
• 1:16:59
  first three or four years. Yeah, we had
• 1:17:02
  students that wanted to keep coming back
• 1:17:05
  because we were developing the program.
• 1:17:07
  And when we went to all of the schools
• 1:17:10
  and gave the letters and such, no one was
• 1:17:12
  really interested because they didn't
• 1:17:14
  know what we were about.
• 1:17:15
  And, you know, and so once they're like,
• 1:17:17
  hey, this is an environmental
• 1:17:19
  organization. We were lucky that one of
• 1:17:23
  our senior members, he was a principal at
• 1:17:28
  a high school for over like 20 years.
• 1:17:30
  So he knew all of the teachers and he
• 1:17:33
  just bullied his way inside that, hey,
• 1:17:35
  I'm doing this environmental program and
• 1:17:37
  you have to help Mother Earth. So you're
• 1:17:40
  signing up and they'd be
• 1:17:41
  like, yes, sir. Yes, sir.
• 1:17:42
  You know, because they trust him too,
• 1:17:44
  right? They just he had a great
• 1:17:47
  reputation, you know, and and so we had a
• 1:17:51
  lot of folks that signed up. And then,
• 1:17:53
  you know, then you have
• 1:17:55
  to to work with parents.
• 1:17:56
  And because of his reputation and the
• 1:17:59
  reputation of the team, they said, you
• 1:18:01
  know what, we're going to keep our
• 1:18:03
  children coming back because it looks
• 1:18:04
  like they're doing a lot.
• 1:18:07
  We were able to once they graduate from
• 1:18:10
  the youth program, we had a cadet program
• 1:18:12
  where we one of the requirements is that
• 1:18:15
  they get scuba certified. Oh, so we get
• 1:18:19
  them in the water and
• 1:18:20
  they have to go in the water.
• 1:18:21
  And it's like, okay, okay, it's it's
• 1:18:24
  good. It's good. And as some of the
• 1:18:27
  facilitators, we also had to get scuba
• 1:18:29
  certified. Of course. Yeah, so we wanted
• 1:18:32
  the children to go in there. So we had to
• 1:18:33
  do it as well as my first time. And of
• 1:18:35
  course, I was nervous. I was nervous. I
• 1:18:38
  was so nervous. I won't even lie, Andrew.
• 1:18:39
  I'm breathing underwater is not natural.
• 1:18:42
  Let's be honest, right? It's not natural.
• 1:18:44
  I know. And then, you know, we watched
• 1:18:46
  those those movies, you know, like Jaws.
• 1:18:49
  And there's one particular place called
• 1:18:50
  Shark Junction. Right.
• 1:18:53
  We had to dive, you know. And so I I'm
• 1:18:56
  trying to say to my folks, my family,
• 1:18:59
  like, how do I tell them that I'm going
• 1:19:01
  to willingly scuba dive with sharks
• 1:19:04
  without alarming them?
• 1:19:06
  So I'm like, hey, I just wanted to say I
• 1:19:09
  love you. And I put a tremble in my
• 1:19:16
  voice, you know, and when we got out
• 1:19:18
  there, the sharks are like, humans, like,
• 1:19:20
  you know, it was like we were intruding
• 1:19:22
  on their territory, but they didn't care.
• 1:19:25
  You know, and the instructors were so
• 1:19:27
  cool. They were so they taught me in a
• 1:19:29
  way that I needed to learn. And they got
• 1:19:32
  a few pictures of sharks in the
• 1:19:34
  background with me not even noticing them
• 1:19:36
  there. And I'm like, you know what, thank
• 1:19:38
  God, you're gonna tell me turn around.
• 1:19:41
  Because I don't know what would have
• 1:19:43
  happened, but it might have been
• 1:19:46
  embarrassing. But, you know, after five
• 1:19:50
  dives, and I got certified, it was like,
• 1:19:52
  okay, it's nothing to fear. And I was
• 1:19:55
  able to even get back into
• 1:19:57
  the classroom and say, hey,
• 1:20:00
  it's even more reason for us to protect
• 1:20:02
  our reefs, protect our oceans, because
• 1:20:03
  underwater is a completely different
• 1:20:06
  world. And it's so beautiful. So just,
• 1:20:09
  just imagine being underwater with all of
• 1:20:12
  those colors and all those coral reefs
• 1:20:14
  and, and like, all of the colors on the
• 1:20:16
  fish, I felt like I was
• 1:20:19
  seeing Dory from what's the
• 1:20:22
  name Dory? I felt like I found Dory.
• 1:20:25
  A number of times probably.
• 1:20:28
  A number of times, yeah. And, and just
• 1:20:32
  all of the misconceptions I had about
• 1:20:34
  sharks and rays. And you know, there's a
• 1:20:37
  guy here called the thing Ray Whisper.
• 1:20:39
  And I've done his tour like three times.
• 1:20:42
  And he showed us how to safely interact
• 1:20:43
  with wildlife. And you know what I mean?
• 1:20:47
  And it was like, oh my God, all, all of
• 1:20:49
  these years, people were telling me that,
• 1:20:52
  hey, you saw what's happened to Steve
• 1:20:54
  Irwin, don't get next to
• 1:20:56
  those dangerous wild animals.
• 1:20:57
  Yeah.
• 1:21:00
  But you know, I'm thinking though, like,
• 1:21:02
  why would you want to intrude into that
• 1:21:04
  space without, you know, without doing it
• 1:21:06
  in a safe way, you know, so it just led
• 1:21:08
  me to think about things in a different
• 1:21:10
  way. And, you know, it's just my whole
• 1:21:13
  world changed, my whole world changed.
• 1:21:16
  But back to the answer to your question,
• 1:21:17
  it was a little bit difficult at first.
• 1:21:19
  But after parents and the wider community
• 1:21:22
  saw that, hey, they're these children are
• 1:21:27
  getting some amazing opportunities. You
• 1:21:29
  know, we've had different folks come out
• 1:21:32
  and, and now the current generation,
• 1:21:34
  they're more interested in choosing
• 1:21:37
  environmental careers.
• 1:21:38
  So they're finding us.
• 1:21:39
  Yeah, you know, yeah, they're coming back
• 1:21:41
  to teach, which, which I think is great,
• 1:21:44
  because that's even more of an
• 1:21:45
  opportunity to mentor, because they
• 1:21:48
  become leaders then. Right. And so
• 1:21:50
  they're able to lead other children to go
• 1:21:54
  and then they learn how to be leaders. So
• 1:21:56
  whether they stay in environmental jobs
• 1:21:58
  or not, they have, it's become a big part
• 1:22:01
  of their lives. Plus, they've had an
• 1:22:03
  opportunity to lead, which I think is
• 1:22:05
  such a, as a, as a, I'm a sports coach, a hockey and football player.
• 1:22:07
  So I find it's like, it's such an
• 1:22:11
  important part of a, of a, of some kids
• 1:22:13
  development, right, is to understand what
• 1:22:16
  it means to lead. And not kids don't get
• 1:22:19
  an opportunity to do that, right, which
• 1:22:20
  is so this is this is wonderful. I have
• 1:22:23
  to ask, like you were nervous at first,
• 1:22:24
  when you started scuba diving, which
• 1:22:26
  everybody is, I was as well. When you
• 1:22:29
  scuba dive now, what's the difference?
• 1:22:30
  Um, it's still a little nervous at first.
• 1:22:37
  But, you know, that's just me anytime I
• 1:22:39
  get in the water. But once you get in it,
• 1:22:43
  it's such a calming. Yeah, you'll to be
• 1:22:46
  there. Like I said, it's a whole
• 1:22:47
  different world. It's like, I knew. Yeah,
• 1:22:50
  all of the worries and the stresses that
• 1:22:53
  we carry around with us. Once you submerge not water and you look up and I'm like, Oh, my God, I'm 20 feet in water. I'm not.
• 1:23:02
  And it's like, the only thing you can
• 1:23:05
  hear is your heartbeat. Yeah. And the
• 1:23:08
  calmer you are the less that oxygen you
• 1:23:10
  use. So I try to calm myself even more.
• 1:23:13
  And it feels so graceful to just be in
• 1:23:16
  the water just floating and just
• 1:23:17
  exploring sometimes the instructors have to tell us like, Hey, stay with your buddy.
• 1:23:20
  Don't wander off because you get so
• 1:23:26
  caught up that, you know, you lose track
• 1:23:28
  of time. And one person in particular,
• 1:23:32
  again, the elderly gentleman, my, my
• 1:23:34
  boss, who is the ex principal, he's in
• 1:23:38
  his 80s. And we have to put a tag on him
• 1:23:41
  because he's gone. He's
• 1:23:42
  gone. I'm like, come back.
• 1:23:44
  You know, but then you have to be careful
• 1:23:48
  because the hand signals they they're,
• 1:23:50
  you know, they're thinking there's
• 1:23:51
  something else. So we have to be trying
• 1:23:52
  to stick close to your partner and just
• 1:23:54
  explore together. But yeah, I felt like I
• 1:23:58
  learned a brand new part of the Bahamas
• 1:24:00
  that few people get to see,
• 1:24:02
  you know, being underwater.
• 1:24:03
  Yeah, 100%. I think that's a, that's a
• 1:24:06
  big part of it. Not a lot of people know
• 1:24:08
  what it's like underwater. And you're
• 1:24:10
  right. It's like a completely different
• 1:24:11
  world. When, you know, we talk a lot
• 1:24:15
  about, you know, connecting and making
• 1:24:17
  sure that kids and kids and their parents
• 1:24:19
  understand more about the ocean, how
• 1:24:22
  important it is to, to protect and how
• 1:24:24
  important it is to take
• 1:24:25
  care of that, that time.
• 1:24:28
  What is like, for the average Bahamian
• 1:24:32
  who lives in on your island, like grand
• 1:24:35
  Bahamas, what is sort of the outlook of,
• 1:24:40
  of the beach and of the ocean? Was it
• 1:24:41
  similar to you where they just take it a
• 1:24:43
  little for granted and they don't go in
• 1:24:45
  the water as much because it's always
• 1:24:47
  there and they get caught up
• 1:24:48
  in your, in their own lives?
• 1:24:51
  Yes, that's still the sentiment. Like I
• 1:24:56
  told you earlier, I had that same
• 1:24:57
  mentality, like, yeah, I live on the
• 1:25:01
  beach. The beach is literally two minutes
• 1:25:04
  away from me like I'm at the front of my
• 1:25:06
  property and at the back is my beach. And
• 1:25:10
  it's like, no, no Bahamian would
• 1:25:13
  willingly want to
• 1:25:14
  live on the beach. And my
• 1:25:17
  house is it is it is prize land,
• 1:25:20
  especially for those who like a
• 1:25:23
  landlocked. And you know, when people
• 1:25:25
  tend to to build in the Bahamas, and
• 1:25:28
  they're from a place that's landlocked,
• 1:25:30
  they want to live on the beach. Right for
• 1:25:32
  the average Bahamian, they do not want to
• 1:25:34
  live on the beach. Because saltwater
• 1:25:36
  corrodes everything. Yes, you'll be
• 1:25:39
  changing your fixtures and fittings
• 1:25:40
  yearly. You have to park in a garage
• 1:25:44
  because then your car
• 1:25:46
  will get all eaten up by the
• 1:25:47
  salt. Sand flies, you know, all that
• 1:25:52
  different stuff. It's all the stuff you
• 1:25:54
  never think about not living on the
• 1:25:55
  beach, right? Yeah, having saltwater just
• 1:25:58
  in the air that comes in it comes the
• 1:26:00
  salt comes over. Yeah, just like sand,
• 1:26:02
  it'll find its way over and get all the
• 1:26:04
  stuff you don't want to get. Yeah, and in
• 1:26:07
  the Bahamas is a unique way for people to
• 1:26:08
  tell like, they can look at anyone and
• 1:26:12
  they like, for example, they look at me
• 1:26:14
  and they'll say, you're in
• 1:26:15
  the saltwater a lot. And they'll
• 1:26:17
  and then I know why they say that because
• 1:26:20
  saltwater bleaches your hair, it turns
• 1:26:21
  you here like brown.
• 1:26:25
  So we know the fishermen, we know all of
• 1:26:27
  the folks who were in the water, because
• 1:26:29
  it turns you here brown, like it bleaches
• 1:26:31
  it. Yeah, you know, I get a lot of folks
• 1:26:34
  ask me like, hey, you know, did you
• 1:26:36
  bleach your hair? I'm like, no, no,
• 1:26:40
  I would, you know, we don't do that, you
• 1:26:42
  know, but if you know, you know, yeah,
• 1:26:45
  like you get in the water and it bleaches
• 1:26:47
  your hair. So a lot of my hair is that
• 1:26:51
  that that brown that's that's very, you
• 1:26:54
  know, with going into saltwater. So all
• 1:26:56
  of the fishermen, they have like light
• 1:26:58
  brown hair because they're in the water
• 1:26:59
  daily. Like for me, I might be in the
• 1:27:02
  water weekly, especially in the
• 1:27:03
  summertime, but they're in the water
• 1:27:05
  every day year round.
• 1:27:07
  And so I find also that the younger
• 1:27:09
  folks, they're mostly in the water in the
• 1:27:13
  summertime, just like us, up until like
• 1:27:15
  October or so when it gets start getting
• 1:27:17
  a little bit nippy. But they also take it
• 1:27:21
  for granted. And so unless they're doing
• 1:27:23
  some type of tik tok, or some type of
• 1:27:25
  something, or even partying on the beach,
• 1:27:29
  because that happens a lot too. That's
• 1:27:31
  the only time people
• 1:27:33
  really go to the beach.
• 1:27:35
  Gotcha. Gotcha. That's cool. That's so
• 1:27:38
  cool. Now, the music aspect of your life
• 1:27:42
  is a big part, as you mentioned, your
• 1:27:43
  family's very musical, you're very
• 1:27:46
  musical, you incorporate into these
• 1:27:47
  environmental programs. How big of a part
• 1:27:50
  is it when you go into these schools?
• 1:27:52
  Like, like, do you, is it come in, you
• 1:27:54
  bring your guitar, you sing, or keyboard
• 1:27:57
  or whatever, and you sing and, and that's
• 1:28:00
  most of the program or like,
• 1:28:01
  how does it incorporate it?
• 1:28:03
  So it depends on what the school wants.
• 1:28:06
  And it depends on how much time we have.
• 1:28:08
  Normally, we block out like a 45 minute
• 1:28:11
  session with students. If I have the
• 1:28:14
  young ones, if I have primary school
• 1:28:17
  level children, I won't take any
• 1:28:20
  instruments or anything
• 1:28:20
  or bring along my crew.
• 1:28:22
  We'll just do that same song. And we'll
• 1:28:26
  engage like we have a at work, they we
• 1:28:28
  wrote this storybook about Manny, the
• 1:28:30
  mighty mangrove. And Manny's adventure.
• 1:28:35
  You know, Manny's adventure in the mind
• 1:28:37
  grove, how he grew up, you know, and all
• 1:28:39
  that stuff. So I would typically have
• 1:28:41
  story time. Yeah, I read it in a very
• 1:28:44
  animated way. You know, it was dramatic,
• 1:28:46
  con gestures and all that stuff. And I
• 1:28:48
  culminate with a song.
• 1:28:50
  So my thing is, I call myself a
• 1:28:53
  storyteller, an environmental storyteller
• 1:28:55
  and rhythm and blues, just a storyteller
• 1:28:59
  period. And so I have to bring this story
• 1:29:02
  alive and communicate this story in a way
• 1:29:05
  that my audience could understand.
• 1:29:06
  So the younger they are, the more wild
• 1:29:09
  and, you know, I have to make this story
• 1:29:11
  big and get it to stick. And so we would
• 1:29:14
  do songs and I would call them up and
• 1:29:16
  say, OK, now you sing it with me. Now
• 1:29:19
  let's do this side. You sing it with me.
• 1:29:21
  And so I'll break them up and we'll do
• 1:29:22
  call in response. Sometimes I bring my
• 1:29:25
  goatskin drum and we play the drums and
• 1:29:29
  they would sing the song. So it's all
• 1:29:31
  about engagement for me.
• 1:29:32
  You know, so as a as a singer songwriter
• 1:29:34
  storyteller, I want to bring that alive
• 1:29:38
  for my students. And then they come up to
• 1:29:42
  our mind grove nursery, which I'm in
• 1:29:44
  charge of. And they get community service
• 1:29:46
  because it's a requirement in order to
• 1:29:48
  graduate community service. Some high
• 1:29:50
  school, like high school or just regular
• 1:29:53
  elementary school? High school. High
• 1:29:54
  school. I think they have to some schools
• 1:29:57
  have up to 75 hours community service.
• 1:29:59
  So after school, some days a week,
• 1:30:03
  they'll come and do community service.
• 1:30:06
  And then I get some little ones who they
• 1:30:08
  don't have quite that attention span. So
• 1:30:10
  I bring out the drums or I play hide and
• 1:30:12
  seek or I have little worksheets with
• 1:30:15
  them. And, you know, we go over some
• 1:30:17
  environmental stuff just so I could, you
• 1:30:19
  know, bait them to get
• 1:30:19
  them in my youth program.
• 1:30:20
  So, yeah, so it works. I have to be a
• 1:30:27
  character to get all this stuff done. And
• 1:30:29
  I love it. I never like I told you
• 1:30:32
  earlier, I stumbled into this career
• 1:30:34
  field. And it's like it chose me. I
• 1:30:39
  didn't choose it. It chose me. And
• 1:30:41
  environmentalism. I always thought that
• 1:30:43
  it was three huggers. Oh, look at this
• 1:30:45
  one. And they just, you know, but then I
• 1:30:47
  became that I became the person that's
• 1:30:50
  protecting these trees. I became the
• 1:30:52
  person that's advocating clean, fishable,
• 1:30:55
  drinkable, suitable waters. Again, I work
• 1:30:58
  for waterkeepers Bahamas. Yeah. I became
• 1:31:01
  the person that's talking to fishermen
• 1:31:03
  and telling them like, hey, some
• 1:31:05
  practices, you really shouldn't do that
• 1:31:07
  because it's damaging to the reef or
• 1:31:09
  talking to developers and telling them
• 1:31:11
  like, it's a way for you to do this
• 1:31:13
  without harming, you know, all of this
• 1:31:15
  stuff. And we get called everything.
• 1:31:18
  Oh, I'm sure. But, you know, at the end
• 1:31:22
  of the day, when there is no food, when
• 1:31:25
  there is no, you know, the protection
• 1:31:27
  from these storms, the coastal protection
• 1:31:28
  at the end of the day, all the things
• 1:31:30
  that make us the Bahamas, like when it's
• 1:31:33
  gone, then what like after hurricane
• 1:31:36
  Dorian, in fact, I want to say we had a
• 1:31:39
  hurricane, I think it was Hurricane
• 1:31:40
  Matthew 2004. So, and we were without
• 1:31:43
  power for two and a half months.
• 1:31:45
  Two and a half months.
• 1:31:48
  Months. Wow. And, you know, all the
• 1:31:51
  humans know that when there's a
• 1:31:52
  hurricane, the first thing you do besides
• 1:31:54
  secure your property is fill up chugs
• 1:31:56
  with water, fill up chugs, buckets,
• 1:31:59
  everything with fresh water, because at
• 1:32:01
  some point, the water is going to turn
• 1:32:02
  off. Right. And so the next thing to do
• 1:32:06
  is if you have a chest freezer, you're
• 1:32:08
  going to take all that stuff out, you're
• 1:32:09
  going to start barbecuing everything
• 1:32:11
  because without
• 1:32:12
  power, it's going to spoil.
• 1:32:13
  So it's going to spoil, you know, some
• 1:32:16
  people have solar, some people have like
• 1:32:18
  generators, so it'll last a bit longer.
• 1:32:23
  But general rule of thumb is you want to
• 1:32:25
  eat all that stuff. And then, you know,
• 1:32:28
  water is rationed. And bathing water, you
• 1:32:31
  need to have to reuse some water if you
• 1:32:33
  bathe in a bucket of water, but you
• 1:32:36
  shouldn't. That's too much water, you
• 1:32:37
  know, yeah, you then turn it around and
• 1:32:39
  use that to flush the toilets.
• 1:32:41
  But what happened during those two and a
• 1:32:43
  half months, most people had to take to
• 1:32:46
  the ocean, they had to go and swim in the
• 1:32:49
  ocean because we couldn't arbitrarily
• 1:32:51
  just, oh, I want to use all this water
• 1:32:54
  and take a long shot. No,
• 1:32:55
  you couldn't do it. Yeah.
• 1:32:56
  You know, and the good part is the ocean
• 1:32:58
  provided food for us. So stores weren't
• 1:33:01
  open at all, you know, and when they were
• 1:33:04
  as limited resources. So a lot of people
• 1:33:07
  went back to fishing crawfish lobster
• 1:33:11
  time, like we call it all the times that
• 1:33:14
  it happened, like where we were without
• 1:33:16
  power and stuff that lobs those walking.
• 1:33:18
  So people had lobsters for breakfast,
• 1:33:21
  lunch and dinner, you know, the ocean
• 1:33:23
  provided. Yeah, in a big way. So it's a
• 1:33:27
  part of our livelihood. It's a part of
• 1:33:29
  our diet. Again, it's something that we
• 1:33:31
  think about it. Yeah. Coconut water. We
• 1:33:35
  had coconuts and coconut water and
• 1:33:38
  seafood. And that's how we lived. Yeah.
• 1:33:42
  And not bad too. That's not bad. Living
• 1:33:44
  on seafood and coconut water. Not having
• 1:33:47
  power, you know, not being able to, you
• 1:33:49
  know, clean properly and do laundry. Like
• 1:33:52
  it, it really makes us, it really shows
• 1:33:55
  how reliant we are on just general power
• 1:33:57
  and the access to water.
• 1:33:59
  But on an island system where that may
• 1:34:02
  not happen all the time, especially with
• 1:34:04
  some of these storms that are coming
• 1:34:05
  through that can get get hairy at times.
• 1:34:08
  It can get really difficult at times to
• 1:34:09
  live in there. So, yeah. And so now as
• 1:34:13
  you, as this program has been built for
• 1:34:16
  13 years and it's expanding. Do you find
• 1:34:19
  more people are even like the parents are
• 1:34:22
  doing more environmental things, you
• 1:34:25
  know, more
• 1:34:25
  environmentally friendly things?
• 1:34:26
  Yes, we've had a few parents come in and
• 1:34:29
  they say like, what are you teaching my
• 1:34:31
  child? Oh my gosh, because they're coming
• 1:34:33
  into the home now and they're saying
• 1:34:34
  like, hey, like, we might not have
• 1:34:37
  recycling, but you need to put that put
• 1:34:40
  that away like, or if a parent, she's
• 1:34:42
  like, I don't do it. But for some reason,
• 1:34:44
  she went to throw something some trash
• 1:34:45
  out of the window and a child was like,
• 1:34:47
  hey, yeah, let's make smart choices. You
• 1:34:51
  know, and they're, they are the one
• 1:34:54
  that's enforcing the
• 1:34:55
  message in the home now.
• 1:34:56
  Yeah, they had a one like all the stuff
• 1:34:58
  that we're teaching them. They're now
• 1:34:59
  going into the home because when we talk
• 1:35:01
  to adults, you know, it's kind of in one
• 1:35:03
  out of the next. So, you know, adults are
• 1:35:06
  pretty much set in their way sometimes.
• 1:35:08
  And so it's through the children, through
• 1:35:10
  their children, like telling them stuff.
• 1:35:12
  So we've had successes in that way. We've
• 1:35:15
  had parents come back and they had to
• 1:35:16
  come back and tell us, you know, so now
• 1:35:20
  they're making smarter choices.
• 1:35:23
  And so, you know, we had a plastic band,
• 1:35:26
  like a single use plastic band last year
• 1:35:29
  that was enforced in the Bahamas. And so
• 1:35:31
  the students are going to the
• 1:35:32
  supermarkets and grocery stores and you
• 1:35:34
  know, parents are like grabbing for the
• 1:35:37
  plastic bag and it's like, no, let's
• 1:35:40
  purchase the reusable bag. Yeah, let's
• 1:35:43
  use those. And you know, the parents are
• 1:35:45
  sometimes they get really upset. They're
• 1:35:47
  like, yes, but I don't have the time.
• 1:35:50
  You know, and so it becomes a thing where
• 1:35:53
  it's like, okay, there if we don't want
• 1:36:00
  to be that guy or that person to be like,
• 1:36:02
  you know, because, you know, we all have
• 1:36:04
  to live. But we just want to encourage if
• 1:36:07
  you can just do it. You know, I saw your
• 1:36:10
  your podcast where you're
• 1:36:11
  talking about the straws. Yeah.
• 1:36:14
  Yeah. And so we got some parents, you
• 1:36:17
  know, they bind their steel straws and
• 1:36:19
  they're like walking around like it
• 1:36:20
  becomes a fashion
• 1:36:21
  statement now like that. Yeah.
• 1:36:23
  The person's like, Hey, look what I have.
• 1:36:26
  Yeah, you know, different colors and
• 1:36:28
  everything. Yeah, different colors. And I
• 1:36:29
  also experienced like what you talked
• 1:36:31
  about, like these messy straws that melt
• 1:36:35
  before you finish your drink
• 1:36:36
  or break up and just it's like,
• 1:36:38
  Oh, yeah. You know, so so we empathize
• 1:36:42
  with that. But it gets us thinking
• 1:36:44
  outside of the box looking at companies
• 1:36:46
  that, you know, have a sturdier product.
• 1:36:50
  And and realize that just innovation.
• 1:36:52
  Yeah, it helps us to be innovative, you
• 1:36:54
  know, absolutely. Yeah. So this is
• 1:36:58
  amazing. And I love to see the work that
• 1:37:00
  that you're doing with with Bahama
• 1:37:03
  waterkeepers. I'd love to see the
• 1:37:05
  environmental programs. I'd love to see
• 1:37:06
  the work with children. And then that,
• 1:37:08
  you know, going into the homes and the
• 1:37:10
  parents are coming back and be like, this
• 1:37:11
  is this is fantastic. We're learning.
• 1:37:13
  They learn because we know kids are
• 1:37:15
  adamant about when they learn something
• 1:37:17
  they want to do it. They want to, you
• 1:37:18
  know, contribute to it because they see
• 1:37:20
  it sometimes as black and white and they
• 1:37:22
  may not see the gray area between their
• 1:37:24
  complexities between. But that helps a
• 1:37:26
  lot of times when the when parents call
• 1:37:28
  you or when kids call out their parents
• 1:37:30
  and it's happened to me. It's happened to
• 1:37:32
  everybody, you know, but it's important.
• 1:37:34
  I think I think it is important because,
• 1:37:35
  you know, we're
• 1:37:36
  leaving this this to our day.
• 1:37:38
  And we have to do the best we can to to
• 1:37:41
  ensure that we leave it in the best
• 1:37:43
  condition as possible. So they have an
• 1:37:45
  easier job than than we left it with. So
• 1:37:47
  I really appreciate you coming on the
• 1:37:49
  podcast to discuss this to introduce us.
• 1:37:53
  And I'd love to have you back on talk
• 1:37:54
  more about the program in the future
• 1:37:56
  because I think this is something that we
• 1:37:58
  need to hear more and more about and have
• 1:38:00
  that hopefulness and that optimism
• 1:38:02
  towards the ocean and and our younger
• 1:38:04
  generation that's coming through and and
• 1:38:06
  being able to be more
• 1:38:07
  protective of the ocean.
• 1:38:08
  So thank you so much for being on the
• 1:38:09
  program. Not a problem. Thank you for
• 1:38:11
  having me. You bet. Thank you, Jevon, for
• 1:38:14
  joining us on today's episode of the How
• 1:38:16
  to Protect the Ocean. It was great to
• 1:38:17
  have you on the podcast and be able to
• 1:38:19
  talk about music here a little bit of
• 1:38:20
  your talent and also talk about how you
• 1:38:22
  get kids interested in the ocean,
• 1:38:26
  especially with, you know, just as he
• 1:38:28
  mentioned, there was this persona that
• 1:38:30
  the ocean is dangerous and it's nerve
• 1:38:31
  wracking to go in it, even with his own
• 1:38:33
  own experiences in scuba diving and
• 1:38:35
  understanding what it's like to be in the
• 1:38:37
  ocean. Once you're there, you can be in the ocean.
• 1:38:38
  And once you're there, it is life
• 1:38:39
  changing. And once we connect with the
• 1:38:41
  ocean, we realize how important the ocean
• 1:38:43
  is to us and what we need to do to be
• 1:38:45
  able to protect it better. And so that it
• 1:38:47
  continues to be a part of us and
• 1:38:49
  continues to provide services for us like
• 1:38:51
  protection, just like mangroves does for
• 1:38:53
  a lot of island communities, just like
• 1:38:56
  salt marshes does for a lot of coastal
• 1:38:57
  communities and temperate worlds and a
• 1:38:59
  lot of other coastal communities, coastal
• 1:39:01
  habitats does for coastal communities. We
• 1:39:04
  just don't see it as much because we're
• 1:39:06
  not out in nature as much. And I feel
• 1:39:08
  that's what I think.
• 1:39:08
  And that's a big part of conservation is
• 1:39:10
  to connect with nature so that you
• 1:39:12
  understand and you appreciate more about
• 1:39:15
  the beauty and protection that nature
• 1:39:17
  brings us. And that's really the message
• 1:39:19
  for the show. So if you want to learn
• 1:39:21
  more about Javan, you can do so.
• 1:39:23
  And just look in the show notes and you
• 1:39:25
  can click on the links to his website as
• 1:39:27
  well as social media pages and you can
• 1:39:29
  find out more about his music as well.
• 1:39:31
  It's always great to be able to support
• 1:39:33
  local artists, especially those who are
• 1:39:35
  in it for the ocean. So I love that.
• 1:39:37
  And if you have any questions or comments
• 1:39:39
  about this episode, you can get ahold of
• 1:39:41
  me through Instagram. DM me at how to
• 1:39:44
  protect the ocean. That's at how to
• 1:39:45
  protect the ocean. Don't forget to
• 1:39:46
  subscribe and click that notification
• 1:39:48
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• 1:39:49
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• 1:39:51
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• 1:39:53
  listening to this on your favorite
• 1:39:54
  podcast app, don't forget. Hit that
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  follow button or subscribe button and
• 1:39:59
  listen to more episodes of the how to
• 1:40:01
  protect the ocean podcast. That's it for
• 1:40:02
  me on today's episode of the how to
• 1:40:04
  protect the ocean podcast.
• 1:40:04
  I'm your host, Andrew Lewin from the true
• 1:40:06
  north strong and free. Have a great day.
• 1:40:08
  We'll talk to you next
• 1:40:08
  time and happy conservation.