Protect Our Future: Advocating for Sustainable Development

Weeks later, a new photo appeared on social media — two students standing on a battered section of Seven Mile Beach, the shell of a large building development looming behind them. Together, the two young men held a white sheet with a simple but powerful message: Ignorance Decides Our Future.

The photo was posted by Protect Our Future (POF), a student-driven activist group that champions Cayman’s ecosystems and advocates for sustainable legislation. Over the years, they’ve gathered at other locations across Cayman to snap similar photos with phrases like 'Mangroves Secure Our Future' and 'Our Future is Not Single-Use'.

February 2024's passing storm illustrated some of POF’s greatest concerns. For example, the more we prioritise larger builds and over development, the more damage these storms will cause. Simply put, when we build close to the coastline and disrupt our native mangrove forests and trees, we deplete our natural barriers against the wind and sea. “While the impacts of climate change vary across the globe, scientists agree that overall, human-caused warming is supercharging these extreme events,” AP News shared in an article on severe weather. If we don’t take action now, later generations of Caymanians will suffer the consequences. As Protect Our Future has been determined to show us, some of these repercussions have already begun.

What is Protect Our Future?

In 2018, four passionate students decided to create a campaign against over development in Cayman. What began as a small school project quickly evolved into a buzzing conservation group – one that now hosts island-wide events and is often featured in the local news. From humble beginnings, Protect Our Future was born, and today, it stands over 60 members strong.

POF provides a platform for the Island’s youth to discuss Cayman’s growing environmental changes, offering a voice to those with questions or concerns. The group meets weekly to brainstorm solutions for local issues. They also plan eco-friendly events, like beach clean-ups, work on environmental social campaigns and draft letters and press releases to help educate people in the community.

Protect Our Future’s work can be divided into three key areas: Protecting Cayman’s natural habitats through changes to legislation, promoting cooperation within the community, and educating people on how their behaviours influence the world around them. The driving force behind these goals is the concept of sustainable development. But what does that mean?

Sustainable development aims to balance economic, social and environmental factors to meet the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. It means considering the broader scope of each idea or decision and factoring in the potential ripple effects of every action. As the POF Handbook states, “We take a proactive approach to preserving the natural beauty of our surroundings.”

Projects & Campaigns

Coastal Erosion & Development

One of POF’s biggest topics of concern is unregulated coastal development, which can lead to severe cases of erosion. It can have serious repercussions for those living on the beach and will affect Cayman’s tourism industry in the coming years. Most importantly, though, erosion disrupts the vital ecosystems that allow our native flora and fauna to thrive.

Turtles, in particular, often suffer the consequences. Erosion can significantly affect their hatching zones, leading to large areas of habitat loss. Light, noise, vibrations and dangerous equipment involved in coastal development can impact their life cycle, harming conservation efforts.

POF has also noted that current planning regulations in Cayman require a single survey to establish the mean high water mark. This limited information is used as a reference point for identifying coastal building lines. The process is problematic because Cayman’s coastlines are dynamic and constantly changing, especially along Seven Mile Beach. Ensuring building lines are at the correct distance from the water is imperative for the health of our shorelines, and decisions should not be rushed. Changes to our coastline will only worsen as thirst for coastal development persists, so taking action is crucial.

Mission Blue

Protect Our Future recently had the honour of working with Dr Sylvia Earle, a renowned oceanographer and marine biologist. Earle founded the organisation Mission Blue in 2009, and it now consists of more than 200 ocean conservation groups and like-minded organisations from around the world. Mission Blue aims to create a wide-spread network of marine protected areas or 'Hope Spots'.

George Town Harbour was designated a 'Hope Spot' in 2019 after plans for a new cruise ship pier fell through following a stream of local backlash. The pier would have damaged George Town’s intricate reef system, and Protect Our Future was at the forefront of the campaign against its creation.

POF now serves as the champion of the Mission Blue Hope Spot in George Town, and members of the group even joined the founder of Mission Blue for a dive beneath its rich waters.

Conservation

The conservation of Cayman’s natural habitats is always top-of-mind for Protect Our Future. Three main areas of focus are seagrass, coral and mangroves.

Seagrass is crucial for many of Cayman’s creatures, especially sea turtles. Aside from being an important food source, these underwater meadows also improve our water quality by trapping sediment and absorbing nutrients. What's more, patches of this grass can store carbon, helping to mitigate climate change. Beyond that, seagrass helps create lively marine life ecosystems, supporting Cayman’s tourism and fishing industries. Protecting seagrass ensures biodiversity, sustains livelihoods and safeguards environmental threats.

Cayman is world-renowned for its beautiful dive spots and coral reefs, but threats like disease and degradation can harm the health of these marine environments. When a coral reef suffers, the entire ecosystem does. To help keep our reefs safe, POF has invested time in educating the public on the importance of reef-safe sunscreen. Regular sunscreen often contains harmful ingredients like oxybenzone and octinoxate. These chemicals can disrupt the growth cycles of coral reefs, promote coral bleaching and lower defences against devastating diseases like Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease (SCTLD).

Finally, mangroves are one of Cayman’s most important assets.

These tropical plants not only act as nurseries for our marine life, but also provide important safety nets for our communities during storms. As climate change issues continue rising, hurricane seasons are expected to worsen. Mangroves are a vital method of protection and naturally help with flood control. POF feels very strongly about the safeguarding of these precious forests and protests against developments that seek to remove them.

Wide Reaching Impacts

Over the years, Protect Our Future has partnered with countless organisations. These include local environmental groups like Plastic Free Cayman, the Cayman Islands Mangrove Rangers and the Central Caribbean Marine Institute (CCMI), as well as international establishments like the Caribbean Philanthropic Alliance, the Captain Planet Foundation and Lonely Whale. Each of these organisations understands the importance of intergenerational discourse.

Some of POF's most impactful partnerships have been with the National Trust of the Cayman Islands and the International National Trusts Organisation. These groups have supported POF's efforts to attend and present at major international conferences, including COP25 in Spain, COP26 in Scotland, COP27 in Egypt and COP28 in the UAE. These opportunities have allowed POF students to reach the international stage, and they have received dozens of awards and accolades in honour of their environmental outreach and advocacy. Most recently, former Protect Our Future leader Dejea Lyons became the first Caymanian to receive the Diana Legacy Award presented by the crown.

How to Get Involved

Want to fight for a better Cayman? Membership is open to all high school students. Regular Friday meetings are held weekly on the third floor of the Cayman International School (CIS) high school building from 3.15pm-4pm. Students outside the CIS student body are welcome to attend but must register with POF first to gain access to the campus. Email: protectourfuturecayman@gmail.com for more information. POF also encourages other schools to create their own divisions and join the movement.

For others looking to create change, Protect Our Future suggests starting in your own community. Educate yourself and your loved ones on sustainable practices, support politicians who prioritise environmental issues, and foster a culture of environmental stewardship in your neighbourhood. Finally, follow Protect Our Future on Instagram @protectourfuture.eco to stay up-to-date on local issues and get notified about upcoming events.

Climate change is a fact of life. The decisions we make now will define the years to come. The POF Handbook states:

Best Green Practices Checklist

• Use reef-safe sunscreen. The chemicals oxybenzone and octinoxate contain particles that can disrupt coral reproduction and lead to coral bleaching. You can buy reef-safe sunscreen at Foster's and Kirk Market.
• Bring reusable shopping and produce bags with you when shopping. Thousands of plastic bags end up in the landfill every year.
• Recycle where possible. There are currently eight recycling depots across Grand Cayman. The following items can be recycled: paper and cardboard; metal food cans (steel and aluminium); household, rechargeable and car batteries; PET/PETE and HDPE plastics (numbers 1 and 2). Be sure to check the bottom of containers for codes such as PET, PETE and HDPE or the 1 and 2 symbols.
• Use a reusable cup or a glass jar for your daily coffee or smoothie and take reusable containers when you get takeaway food.
• Volunteer together as a family by taking part in a beach clean up. Plastic Free Cayman hosts beach cleans ups each month or you can organise your own two-minute beach clean when you visit the beach.
• Reuse where possible and share things with family and friends. Pass clothes, toys, books and games around households or donate to charity shops.
• Introduce children to environmental books, TV programmes and movies. If you can't quite find the right words to help your child understand what our carbon footprint is, why the world is getting hotter, or why fish are disappearing from our oceans, books, films and TV shows are invaluable. Top choices include:
  • WALL-E A film about a robot on a future, uninhabitable Earth in 2805 left to clean up all our rubbish.
  • Here We Are: Notes for Living on Planet Earth A TV adaptation of Oliver Jeffers' book.
  • Our Planet: The One Place We All Call Home The children's book to accompany David Attenborough's documentary.
  • Greta and the Giants A book inspired by Greta Thunberg's stand to save the world by Zoë Tucker.
  • Clean Up! This book follows a little girl whilst on holiday as she discovers the pollution that’s spoiling their island home, by Nathan Bryon.