KSLOF Mangrove Program Featured in Seven Seas

Planting the [mangrove] Seed

[2016]

This article by Amy Heemsoth (KSLOF Education Director) about Living Oceans Foundation Mangrove Restoration and Education Program in Jamaica and The Bahamas is recently featured in Seven Seas Magazine.

This article written by Amy Heemsoth (KSLOF Education Director) about the KSLOF Mangrove Program in Jamaica and The Bahamas was recently featured in Seven Seas Magazine.

Planting the [Mangrove] Seed

Seven Seas Magazine
August 1, 2016
Amy Heemsoth

As I quietly walk through the mangrove forest, all around me I observe an ecosystem teeming with life. I hear the shuffling of fiddler crabs as they scurry back to their holes in the ground, I smell rotten eggs (sulfuric acid), and I view the light filtering through the leaves of the mangrove trees. I think to myself, “How do I inspire students to become stewards of this serene and important mangrove ecosystem?” I think back to my most influential educational experiences and the most impactful ones were when I felt like I was making a difference. That is what I wanted to bestow on our youth, a sense of ownership and stewardship over the mangroves for years to come.

I’m here in Jamaica implementing the final installment of our Mangrove Education and Restoration Program called the Jamaica Awareness of Mangroves in Nature or J.A.M.I.N. and the students are bubbling over with excitement…

2025-2026 B.A.M. Student Voices

Throughout the Bahamas Awareness of Mangroves (B.A.M.) and Jamaica Awareness of Mangroves in Nature (J.A.M.I.N.) programs, we evaluate each phase of the mangrove education and restoration process to better understand how students are learning, growing, and connecting with their coastal environments.

Before the programs begin, students share what they already know about mangroves and how they feel about them. As the program progresses, we continue to gather feedback to see how their knowledge evolves from identifying mangrove species and understanding food webs to recognizing the role mangroves play in coastal protection and climate change mitigation.

But the surveys go beyond science content.

We also ask students…

Ten Years of B.A.M.: Rooted in Partnership, Growing in Purpose

Ten years ago, the Bahamas Awareness of Mangroves (B.A.M.) program began with a simple but meaningful commitment: to connect Bahamian students with the mangrove ecosystems that shape and protect their island home.

Since 2015, B.A.M. has been implemented in partnership with Friends of the Environment, whose dedication to environmental stewardship in Abaco has made this program possible year after year. Together, we have worked alongside Patrick J. Bethel High School and Forest Heights Academy to bring hands-on mangrove science into classrooms and out into the field.

What makes ten years remarkable is not just longevity — it is consistency…

Planting the [Mangrove] Seed

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