Smithsonian Channel celebrates Earth Day with “An Ocean Mystery”

After the Storm: Standing with Our J.A.M.I.N. Family in Jamaica

There are moments in this work that feel heartbreakingly familiar.

Two weeks after we completed our Jamaica Awareness of Mangroves in Nature (J.A.M.I.N.) programming, Hurricane Melissa made landfall. A powerful Category 5 hurricane, Melissa is now tied with Hurricane Allen in 1980 for the strongest winds ever recorded in an Atlantic storm. Like Hurricane Dorian, which devastated The Bahamas in 2019, Melissa will be remembered as one of the strongest hurricanes on record in the region.

For 11 years, the University of the West Indies Discovery Bay Marine Laboratory and William Knibb Memorial High School have been more than program partners. They have welcomed us into their classrooms and labs, shared meals and laughter, and committed themselves to educating their students about mangroves and coastal resilience. These colleagues and students are not distant collaborators. They are family.

And they were hit hard…

B.A.M. Turns 10: A Year of Milestones, Resilience, and Growth

The 2025–2026 academic year was one of those defining years for our Bahamas Awareness of Mangroves (B.A.M.) and Jamaica Awareness of Mangroves in Nature (J.A.M.I.N.) programs. It was a year marked by celebration, challenge, growth, and powerful full-circle moments, and a reminder of why mangrove education matters.

In The Bahamas, B.A.M. reached a major milestone: ten years of partnership and environmental education in Abaco. Since 2015, in collaboration with Friends of the Environment, we have worked alongside Patrick J. Bethel High School and Forest Heights Academy to bring hands-on mangrove science into classrooms and into the field. This year, we were proud to expand the program to S.C. Bootle High School, increasing access for students who live…