Jamaica Environment Trust-News

Earth Notes - JET's Newsletter News Bits - March 2005

Members' Meetings
Thanks to our members who attended our last members' meeting on October 20th at the Terra Nova Hotel. The meeting was co-hosted by JET and the National Environment Societies Trust (NEST) and was focused on Beach Clean-up 2004. Members and volunteers were briefed on the importance of Jamaica's beaches and were shown how to collect and record waste. JET would like to alert members that In 2005, the first members' meeting will be in on the 20th of January.

Christmas Social
On November 18th, JET held an early Christmas gathering that was attended by 33 members and friends. Games and prizes made for lots of fun and a brief presentation was done describing JET's accomplishments for the year. We hope more persons join us next year and we wish everyone a great holiday.

Volunteering at JET

Since September, JET has been fortunate to have the assistance of volunteers Gene Gowdie, Kwame Owen and Raymond Jones, all students from the University of Technology in Jamaica. They have assisted JET on a wide range of activities including beach clean-up, members' meetings, recycling and administrative work. We thank them for their efforts and wish them the best of luck in their studies.

'No Burning' Campaign
In September, after the passage of Hurricane Ivan, JET organized a 'No Burning' advocacy campaign which included a number of public service announcements (PSA) on radio. The PSAs urged members of the public not to burn garbage because of the health risks. The National Solid Waste Authority has been collecting yard waste from roadsides since September and JET hopes that all will be cleared up before the holiday season.

Hurricane Ivan
JET is fortunate that our equipment, books and files suffered no damage after Hurricane Ivan, thanks to the precautions taken by the staff. Nonetheless, Earth House did experience structural damage to its roof and main door. On the grounds, many trees were uprooted, the greenhouse was destroyed, part of the roof on the recycling depot was lifted and branches fell on the power lines, causing JET to be without light for 18 days. JET is currently seeking funds to repair the damages and we welcome any assistance offered by our members to restore Earth House.
Recycling Exhibit for Bob Marley Day

JET welcomes Ms. Michelle Graham as its new Administrator. Michelle has 7 years experience in administration and has worked companies such as Island Homes Ltd., Securicor and recently for OTF Group Inc., a Boston based consulting firm. Michelle has a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from the University of North Florida in the United States.

Kamla Ross-McGregor, the previous Administrator, is now a Project Coordinator for the School's Environment Programme

Student Environment Network (SEN)
On December 9th, members of SEN met at Earth House to discuss how to revitalize the network. Members agreed to invite Jessica Remington from the 'One World Youth Project' to address them. Plans are also underway to host a SEN reunion as a means of recruiting new members. Regularly scheduled meetings for SEN are to start in 2005 and interested persons should contact JET for details.

Holiday Closing
Please note that JET will be closed from December 22nd, 2004 - January 3rd 2005.

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Jamaica Environment Trust
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