Devon Carter is a 27-year-old conservationist from Anguilla who is very active in environmental and youth advocacy. He works as a research assistant at the Anguilla National Trust, which was founded in 1989 to sustain the island’s natural and cultural heritage through land management and education. Here he reflects on his path to environmental conservation, Sail for Climate Action, and what the future holds.
My journey to climate activism
I consider myself more of a conservationist than a climate activist, but I have significant experience with natural disasters caused by climate change. I speak regularly about hurricane mitigation, floods, and the carbon cycle to help inform people of climate change—especially kids. Growing up near the beach, I have experienced many different ecosystems and environmental hazards.
Now, at Anguilla National Trust, I keep people informed on sea-level rise. The Trust has done modeling of Anguilla Island to estimate the impact of sea-level rise on our islands. Since our islands are mostly flat, we stand to lose a lot of land mass. To mitigate the damage, we are planting mangroves near palms and coast lines and establishing mangrove forests. Mangroves act as a buffer against storm surges and help to reduce land loss caused by tidal erosion.
Sail for Climate Action
I found out about Sail for Climate Action (S4CA) through an email from the Cayman Islands National Trust that was sent to my boss, the Director of the Anguilla National Trust. He shared it with me and I was interested in participating. The government wanted to support S4CA so the Department of Agriculture and the Anguilla Social Security Board sponsored me. Next thing I know, I’m on a ship sailing across the ocean.
Our mini society on the sea
Since we were a mixed group, we had many difficult conversations on the ship. One of the main discussions was focused on racial diversity. We were trying to get everyone to understand what it means to be a person of color, to be a black man. For a white European who has been so free their entire life, it is different for them to try and understand the struggles we go through—like how we can’t do certain things on specific islands and why we can’t explore certain areas being black.
For example, some of the S4CA participants wanted us to go hitchhiking across an island, but we didn’t feel comfortable with it. For them, it was fun. For us, it would have been dangerous or we could have been refused rides. Overall, this conversation was a culture shock for many on the ship. For me, it caused a shift in my perspective on being a black man. There were language barriers on the ship as well, which accentuated this lack of understanding. In the end, we showed the Netflix series When They See Us to help others on board understand our struggle.
We also had to work through many differences while developing our climate action platform. At first, we all came on board thinking that we would have the same mindset on climate change and how to take action. But we quickly realized that your climate projects and approaches differ based on where you are from. In the Caribbean, we are trying to protect ourselves from hurricanes, to mitigate sea-level rise, and to access renewable energy. Those in Latin America are trying to protect the rainforests and Indigenous lands, while those in Europe are trying to limit their carbon emissions.
We had to find common ground. This common ground became the established need for more representation of Indigenous communities and people of color in the climate movement. Our voice needs to be heard at the table because it differs.
We also had different ways of defining the term “climate activist.” Since I was representing Anguilla and the Anguillian government, there were certain actions that I didn’t feel comfortable participating in, like going on a strike. Anguilla is a small island so I am used to having a conversation with those in powerful positions.
You may not always get what you want, but there is always a middle ground that we can all work toward.
The global pandemic
When the trip ended in Bermuda I was shocked. I didn’t want to go back, but I understood the reasons for the choice. We were finally taking good steps toward creating a better community on board. Everything was coming together as we learned about each other, and then the pandemic kind of killed the momentum.
After Bermuda, I was unable to return to Anguilla because the borders were already closed. Anguilla is a small island without the facilities to deal with the pandemic, so they shut their borders right away and declared the island free of coronavirus. So instead I went to Portland, Maine in the US where I stayed with my cousin for three months.
At first, being in America was strange and boring since everything was closed. I enjoyed connecting with my family, but I wanted to be home. Then the George Floyd situation happened. It was scary being in the US for this because I am black and I am not a US citizen, so I don’t know how Americans act.
Toward the end of my stay, the protests started. When I was walking on the streets, I was always hoping that no police officer would mistake me for a protestor. As a foreigner, I didn’t want any problems in someone else’s country. I was saddened by the whole situation because it was the same as what we had discussed on the ship. As a black man, I have to always look over my shoulder and be extra nice to police officers and strangers.
Since I’ve been back in Anguilla, I went to Carnival (aka Summer Festival) and everything is pretty much back to normal, other than the borders being closed.
What’s next
I am working on the mangrove restoration program and the coastal resilience project, both of which address the effects of climate change. I am also working with the next generation by leading environmental summer camps with kids. I love seeing how much they gravitate toward this topic and I can’t wait to see who they grow up to become.
In the future, I am really hoping to see more representation from my region in future climate conferences, like at the UNFCCC. And I would like more clarification on the terms Global North and Global South. Or maybe we just get rid of these terms. After all, we are all on the same globe. I think we should talk about that more.
