To mark this year’s Earth Day, the Sandals Foundation brought environmental education and mental wellness together through a region-wide mindfulness nature trail program, pulling more than 300 primary school students from nine Caribbean islands out of their classrooms and into local ecosystems. Among the participants were more than 50 pupils from Antigua’s Five Islands Primary School, who explored two iconic local natural sites—Wallings Dam and the Johnson’s Point coastline—to deepen their connection to the region’s native biodiversity.
During the guided outings, students took part in a structured sequence of activities designed to blend intentional mindfulness practice with hands-on environmental learning: guided breathing exercises, slow-paced nature walks, sensory observation activities, and group discussions focused on conservation. The program was built around two core goals: helping young people understand the proven mental and physical healing benefits of time spent in nature, and empowering them to adopt small, daily habits that protect local natural resources.
Heidi Clarke, Executive Director of the Sandals Foundation, explained the unique vision behind the combined programming. “By pairing mindfulness practice with environmental education, we set out to encourage students to slow down, embrace the present moment, reflect on their relationship to the natural world, and develop a genuine appreciation for the beauty that surrounds them,” Clarke said. “We also wanted to help young people recognize the personal responsibility and collective power they hold to protect the natural resources that sustain their communities.”
For one fourth-grade student who joined the Antigua outing, the experience was both entertaining and transformative. She shared that discovering Antigua’s natural treasures, from learning about native plant species to uncovering the history of the Wallings reservoir and dam, made the day feel fun while also expanding her understanding of the island’s natural heritage.
The initiative was just as meaningful for the team of 10 Sandals Foundation ambassadors from Sandals Grande Antigua Resort and Spa, who volunteered to support the event. Led by Public Relation Manager Leon Norville, the team walked away inspired by the day’s energy. “The excitement and curiosity from both students and adult volunteers was incredibly motivating,” Norville said. “Watching how engaged young people were throughout the entire tour made all the work that went into this initiative deeply rewarding.” He also credited Tour Operator Refica Attwood of the Wallings Nature Reserve for bringing the island’s ecological history, native flora, and Indigenous cultural stories to life for participants, adding immeasurable value to the experience.
Annetta Alexander-Hunt, a fourth-grade teacher who accompanied the Five Islands Primary School group, highlighted the long-term educational impact of the outdoor excursion beyond a single day of fun. Alexander-Hunt explained that the outing gave students a far deeper appreciation for the ingenuity of historic water management infrastructure like Wallings Dam, a lesson that feels particularly urgent amid recurring drought conditions across the Caribbean. It also helped students grasp the critical ecological role of mangrove forests in protecting coastlines from erosion and supporting vulnerable marine ecosystems. “The educational resource materials we received during the tour will help us reinforce these lessons back in the classroom, extending the impact of this field experience long after the day ends,” she noted.
Across the region, the 300+ participating students visited a range of protected natural spaces, from national parks and mangrove forests to managed conservation areas and Beaches Resorts native gardens. A key unstated benefit of the program was giving students a intentional break from constant digital engagement, creating space to decompress from screen time and form an unmediated connection to the natural world.
This Earth Day initiative is just one part of the Sandals Foundation’s decades-long broader conservation work across the Caribbean. To date, the organization has engaged more than 177,500 people in environmental education programming, planted over 28,000 native trees, outplanted more than 38,000 corals to restore damaged reef systems, supported monitoring programs that have enabled the safe hatching of more than 221,000 sea turtle eggs, and provided critical support to 23 marine and terrestrial protected areas across the region.
Founded in March 2009 to expand on the philanthropic work Sandals Resorts International had carried out for decades prior, the Sandals Foundation is a registered nonprofit across multiple North American and European jurisdictions: it is a registered charity with Jamaica’s Department of Co-operatives and Friendly Societies, a CRA-registered charity in Canada, a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization in the United States, and a registered charity with the Charity Commission for England and Wales. The foundation focuses its work on three core priority areas: education, community development, and environmental conservation. Critically, 100 percent of all public donations go directly to community-focused programs across the Caribbean. More information about the organization’s work is available at www.sandalsfoundation.org.