This Earth Day, more than 300 elementary students across nine Caribbean nations traded textbook lessons for immersive outdoor learning, as the Sandals Foundation launched a region-wide mindfulness program focused on nurturing both environmental stewardship and youth mental well-being. Among the participants was a group of Grade 4 learners from St Dominic’s RC Primary School based in Grenada, who gathered at the island’s protected Morne Gazo National Park & Nature Reserve for a day of hands-on engagement with the local ecosystem.
Throughout the event, students took part in guided breathing exercises, shaded nature hikes, sensory observation activities and group discussions designed to deepen their connection to the natural world. The curriculum was intentionally structured to highlight two core objectives: demonstrating the mental and physical healing power of spending time in nature, and empowering young people to adopt small, daily conservation habits that protect local natural resources.
Heidi Clarke, Executive Director of the Sandals Foundation, explained the unique vision behind the cross-regional program. “By combining mindfulness practice with environmental education, we aimed to encourage students to slow down, stay present, reflect, and truly appreciate the natural beauty that surrounds their communities,” Clarke said. “We also wanted to help young people recognize the personal responsibility and power they each hold to protect the natural resources that sustain our islands and the communities that depend on them.”
On the ground in Grenada, the event was coordinated by Sandals Foundation ambassadors from Sandals Grenada Resort, with a team of six volunteers led by resort wedding planner Zina Joseph. Reflecting on the day’s experience, Joseph and her team shared that working alongside the young students offered a meaningful reminder of collective responsibility for environmental care. “Being with the children today at Morne Gazo was a beautiful way for us to reflect on the role we play in caring for our environment. The journey and activities reinforced that protecting our environment starts with our daily actions. When we protect the planet, we protect our future,” the team said.
Kassandra Mahon, a Grade 4 teacher from St Dominic’s RC Primary School who accompanied her class on the hike, echoed that positive assessment, praising the program’s tangible, experiential learning benefits. “It was a fun and engaging activity that benefited the students by providing real-life examples of the importance of forests,” Mahon explained. “It also promoted physical well-being through outdoor exercise and gave many students the opportunity to experience hiking for the first time, helping to build confidence and a lasting appreciation for nature.”
Beyond Grenada, student groups across Antigua, Barbados, St Vincent & the Grenadines, The Bahamas, Turks and Caicos Islands, Curacao, and Jamaica took part in parallel events, exploring local national parks, mangrove forests, resort gardens and established conservation areas. A key goal of the day was to encourage young participants to step away from digital devices, decompress from daily academic and screen-time pressures, and form an authentic connection to the natural landscapes around them.
This Earth Day initiative is just one part of the Sandals Foundation’s long-standing broader conservation and education work across the Caribbean. To date, the organization has engaged more than 177,500 people in formal environmental education programming, planted over 28,000 trees across the region, outplanted more than 38,000 corals to restore reef ecosystems, supported monitoring programs that have enabled the safe hatching of more than 221,000 sea turtles, and provided backing for 23 marine and terrestrial protected areas across Caribbean islands.