Steff McDermot is a 19-year-old environmental advocate from the Cayman Islands and a founding member of Sail for Climate Action (S4CA). She has a deep passion for ecological and social justice, which led her to develop many public and private campaigns. Steff is a champion of the Ocean Heroes Network, having participated in the 2018 and 2019 Ocean Heroes Bootcamps and now launching the Ocean Heroes regional Bootcamp - Caribbean in December of this year. Steff was invited as a guest on episode two of 52 Hertz - the Lonely Whale podcast, where she shared how she goes against the current, working to elevate the often-ignored voices in the Global South and to strengthen bonds across the Atlantic Ocean. Here she reflects on her path to climate activism, S4CA, and what the future holds.
My journey to climate activism
I grew up snorkeling, fishing, climbing trees, exploring the bush, and observing animals. As a child, this passion led me to participate in a few marine camps that opened my eyes to the world of conservation, and I participated in a program called the Young Environmentalist Leadership Course with the Central Caribbean Marine Institute.
But it was a deeply personal and traumatic incident that truly motivated me to get involved in the environmental movement—the time I tried to take my own life due to sexual trauma. I experienced an incident of sexual assault at the age of 15. Due to this, I had been suffering from depression, a panic disorder, and anxiety, and I was bouncing from medication to medication. A miracle saved me as I should’ve died from my attempt, but on the day I was released from the hospital, I went straight to the beach and I made a promise to myself that, “From now on, I will do everything I can to protect and preserve the ocean.”
This line of work has saved my life. It has given me a sense of purpose, and a reason to stay alive.
Sail for Climate Action
Getting involved with Sail for Climate Action was a game changer for me. While attending the UN Climate Change Conference (COP25) in Madrid in December of 2019, I met Jorge Sánchez Hernández from Sail to the COP. One of my crazy and ambitious dreams was to create a regional youth sailing program to unite the Caribbean region. When he told me about Clara [von Glasow’s] idea for Sail for Climate Action, I was immediately hooked. She had no Caribbean partners at the time, so I offered to help connect her with Caribbean organizations. I wanted to boost Caribbean representation, and build unity between those from the Global South and the Global North.
Once back at home, I chose to forego signing up for my semester at the University College of the Cayman Islands. I pretended to go to school for my mom’s sake, but in reality everyday I went to the public library to bring Sail for Climate Action to life. We needed to raise CI$50,000 (Cayman Islands dollars) in eight weeks’ time and I wanted to find sponsorship for at least five Caribbean delegates. The Boggy Sands Club, Red Sails Sports, Peripheral, and many community members donated. In total, the Cayman Islands community raised CI$15,000 of the CI$50,000 project goal.
Amidst this, I managed to secure a meeting with Deputy Premier and Minister of District Administration, Tourism, and Transport in the Cayman Islands, Hon. Moses Ian Kirkconnell, JP, MLA. Mr. Kirkconnell listened intently to my proposal and asked many questions. He was impressed with the diplomacy and passion expressed by a young Caymanian woman for environmental and cultural preservation. After almost three hours of negotiating, he agreed to financially support me and endorsed the project. He also gave his word that he would tell other UK Overseas Territory Ministers about the program—which he did. A few days later, Devon [Carter] from Anguilla told us that he had government sponsorship too.
Our mini society on the sea
Once on the ship, we had to face the same old problems of the wider world, but on a small scale. We learned to communicate to understand, rather than just communicating to reply. We also faced language barriers on the ship so translators were necessary at every session. Despite their efforts, the emotion and true meaning of the message was often lost in translation. Communication is not just verbal.
One event that kicked off intense conversation and the need to communicate better was the time when we (the Caribbean delegation) had KFC in Jamaica and shared a group selfie of us eating the chicken in the S4CA chat. Some crew-mates were shocked and upset that we had gone to KFC. They argued that this supported capitalism, that fast food chains contribute immensely to climate change, and that the chickens are kept in horrendous conditions. The Caribbean delegation argued that Jamaican KFC sources their chicken locally, that it provides jobs for a lot of Jamaicans, and that it gives people access to affordable food. Several also felt that activists should find a way to work with such businesses to help guide them towards sustainability, rather than shunning them.
There was a lot of confusion and disagreement, and the Caribbean delegation felt like we were being labeled as the bad guys. This was a classic culture clash situation where Eurocentric lifestyle choices were being imposed as the better behavior. But this incident led to one of the most meaningful conversations during the trip—what I now refer to as “the food revolution.”
During this discussion, the Latin American participants shared that they agreed with the Caribbean participants. We had been eating vegetarian on the ship since leaving Cartagena, a decision made by the European participants based on the Sail to COP trip, but many of the Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) participants admitted to feeling hungry, weak, and suffering from headaches because they weren’t getting the type of nutrients they were used to.
From there, we held a group discussion about food security, meat consumption, mass production, sustainable agriculture, and food culture. I learned so much, including that veganism has some negative environmental consequences and that those diets are not suitable for Indigenous communities and the Caribbean Islands. Indigenous communities have small farms to sustain the entire village and the meat they consume is raised locally. Caribbean Islands have local agriculture and fisheries. In addition, most Caribbean Island countries depend heavily on imports for food, so seeing a fast food chain that supports nearby farmers by sourcing chicken locally is positive, and it also reduces the carbon footprint of food shipping.
This was something that the Europeans on board couldn’t really grasp. Through this process, we realized that we all have our own reality.
With this idea, we created a session for the onboard programming called “This is Our Reality,” where we broke into small groups and shared where we were from, the socio-economic situation in our country, our story of ocean activism, and our hardships. Based on these conversations, we initiated several ship-wide changes: we altered the kitchen schedule to ensure that every group had a Latin and/or Caribbean delegate to assist with the cooking and we made an agreement with the captain to cook meat twice a week.
The global pandemic
On the ocean, we learned to always “expect the unexpected,” but no one ever imagined a global pandemic. After we suspended the project, I flew home and had to quarantine alone in a hotel upon arrival in the Cayman Islands. My meals were controlled and I couldn’t even stick my head out of the window. Police guards were always outside and security guards would roam the halls. I felt like I was participating in a social experiment on how young adults would react to solitary confinement.
Before Sail for Climate Action, I was worried about feeling trapped on the ship. But the experience taught me that feeling trapped is a state of mind. This really prepared me to be in the hotel room alone for 14 days. Throughout my time in the hotel, I constantly reminded myself that this was all temporary, but that it was okay to feel sad, angry, or disappointed. My friends on the ship taught me that emotions are not bad, and that we must accept how we feel.
What’s next
Now, I see many blessings in this situation. Through this experience, I learned that I can’t control what happens externally, but I can control how I react to external events.
I am currently working remotely full-time on local, regional, and international environmental programs. I’m focused on the development of three programs: the Cayman Islands Mangrove Rangers, Building Bridges for Climate Action, and Ocean Heroes regional Bootcamp - Caribbean.
In the near future, I hope to see a sustainable shift in society where people continue to apply the things they learned during their time in quarantine. But I never really look so far ahead as our current actions are leading us down a dark path. I mean, that’s why I skipped school to sail across the Atlantic Ocean. These issues are urgent. We have to always expect the unexpected and stay focused on the now.
Ship’s log
My watch (aka sailing shift) was from 1am to 5am. The duties for our shift involved cleaning the kitchen and the coffee machine. My speciality coffee that got me through the night shift was the coco-choco-coffee, a mocha with a double shot of espresso and coconut milk. Despite the hours, I think we had the best watch. Every night we would have deep conversations, tell scary stories, and talk about everything from renewable energy, to hurricanes, to university life. We shared late-night meals in the warm kitchen and we held dance parties under the stars. We watched lightning explode from storm clouds, witnessed lunar rainbows, and saw the sky transition from night to day—from midnight blues to pastel pinks, purples, and deep oranges until the bright yellow of the sun rose above the horizon.
If you reside in the Caribbean, or know a youth leader who does, you can learn more about applying to join the Ocean Heroes regional Bootcamp now. If you are not located in the Caribbean, but are interested in attending the next Ocean Heroes Bootcamp, click here.
