Elijah Sands is Senior Communications Officer at the Bahamas National Trust (BNT), a nonprofit that effectively manages Bahamian national parks and protected areas. In April 2021, our incredible monthly donor community, The Tide, is supporting the BNT’s Vibrant Oceans Initiative to advance marine protection and management in The Bahamas.
Read on for Elijah’s story and become a member of The Tide today to support ocean changemakers like Elijah and organizations like the BNT.
In his high school biology class, some of Elijah Sand’s classmates nicknamed him “Google,” because they could always rely on him for internet-fast information.
“I was a little nature kid,” Elijah says, reflecting on his interest in the biological world. “I was always playing with some creature.” He traces this disposition back to having a lot of siblings and not always wanting to be in the house. He wanted to be outside exploring the bush. “Where we lived, we weren’t connected to water, but my granddad was a fisherman and he was always telling me stories about fishing and farming and how great it can be.”
However, like many Bahamians who grow up near the water but don’t always have accessibility to it, Elijah’s opportunities were limited. That’s why in 2015, as a high school student, he started researching programs that overturned these barriers. First, he applied for scuba certification from Stuart’s Cove, a renowned dive operator on New Province Island, and earned his spot via an essay competition.
Despite this, on his last dive to get certified, which is an open water dive with sharks, he was so terrified that he pretended to be seasick. But with positive encouragement from his instructor, Elijah dove in. “The dive was with 50 to 60 Caribbean reef sharks and it was the greatest experience ever at the time. It was so magical. I’ve had a love of sharks ever since.”
A month later at a career fair, Elijah learned about a summer environmental program with the Bahamas National Trust (BNT), a nonprofit that manages The Bahamas’ national parks, and put his name on their sign-up sheet. Elijah then proceeded to circle back to their booth… Seventeen times.
“The lady working actually counted!” Elijah says. “But I told her, ‘I can’t miss this. I want to do this so badly. Can you please make sure that this happens?’ Then the lady just put three extra stars by my name.”
Elijah was eventually awarded a spot on this eco-camp trip, after filling out the full application and writing a “very, very, very, very, very long” response to how he would improve the environment. For one week, on Andros Island, he got to camp, swim, snorkel, and spend time outdoors. “I’d never been on a plane or to another family island. It was the perfect opportunity—I really got interested in the idea of national parks.”
After this trip, Elijah went to the BNT Director of Education and asked how he could stay involved. The watershed of Elijah’s volunteerism that followed is staggering: he helped at science conferences, got a sea turtle internship, helped establish a BNT Navigators Program at his high school, assisted with beach cleanups, did coral restoration, removed ocean debris, raised shark awareness, withdrew invasive lionfish, advocated for queen conch, helped with hurricane cleanup efforts, and got certified as a Bahamian naturalist.
Upon graduating from high school, he thought, “I don’t want to work anywhere other than the BNT.”
Thinking about the job, Elijah says, “The main challenges I face are focused around marine protected areas (MPAs) because there is a negative stigma associated with them from a lot of people.
"Everybody has a general understanding of protection, right, but MPAs are linked to people’s livelihoods. Many Bahamians depend on the ocean to survive, not just for food, but for revenue. So it’s all about collaborating and working with local communities to bridge the understanding between protecting and harvesting food. We have to find common ground so that the local community can get what they need to feed their families, and we can ensure these resources are around for the future.”
“Another big challenge,” he continues, “is connecting people to the national parks and instilling a sense of pride in them.”
Concerning this positivity and optimism for his country, he is also realistic about the hurdles at hand, especially after the catastrophic effects of Hurricane Dorian, the impending threat of more oil drilling in The Bahamas, and the Covid pandemic.
“With something like Dorian, by building resilient ecosystems, we are creating refugees for wildlife displaced by the storm. With Covid, and people being confined to their homes, we know that spending time outdoors is beneficial to our mental, emotional, and physical health, and national parks protect and create these spaces for people to enjoy. And the foundation of that in The Bahamas is MPAs; the foundation of a blue economy is protecting your marine environment. My job is to take the science and the technical stuff and translate it to the messages that inspire people to care and learn more. Because that eventually turns into advocacy.”
And there may be no better person to continue spreading this essential message throughout The Bahamas than Elijah.
Read more about The Tide’s support for Elijah and the Bahamas National Trust: this project is supporting the monitoring and protection of over 3.2 million hectares of marine habitats.
Every month The Tide community supports an ocean project that is good for people and for nature. Join Elijah, the Bahamas National Trust, and some of the world’s most determined changemakers to help rebuild ocean life, tackle the climate crisis, and shape a better future.
