Greenlight gets Green Fund $upport for Plastic Recycling

Planning Housing and the Environment Minister Emily Dick-Forde, right, chats with the first recipients of grants from the Green Fund yesterday. At left are president of the Greenlight Network Elspeth Duncan and managing director, Fondes Amandes Community Reafforestation Project, Akilah Jaramongi. Photo: Karla Ramoo

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Green Fund $$ for 2 projects

After several years of existence, Government distributed yesterday more than $2.7 million from the Green Fund to two community organisations. Planning, Housing and Development Minister Dr Emily Dick-Forde presented cheques totalling $1,914,806 and $852,281 to Fondes Amandes Community Group and Greenlight Network, respectively, for two projects. Fondes Amandes will use the money to continue its reafforestation initiative in the Fondes Amandes watershed in St Ann’s.

The funding is to complete the project within WASA’s lands in the watershed, upgrading infrastructure of the facilities on the site and to continue outreach/educational activities. And the Greenlight Network’s will use its funds to undertake a plastic recycling initiative. It’s the first project of the kind being undertaken in T&T. Citizens will be able to dispose of their household plastic waste in a manner that will ensure protection of the environment.

Dick-Forde, in addressing the ceremony at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, on Wrightson Road, Port-of-Spain, said legislation was expected to be amended shortly to allow a larger number of community groups to apply for grants under the Green Fund, which was established in 2004. The fund provides grants to community groups and organisations for projects such as environmental conservation, reafforestation or remediation.

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"I DO 2" trailer (literally)

Click here to see a short video clip of the I DO 2 bride as she takes her first steps onto the streets of Arima on the morning of Saturday 2 September, 2006.

I DO 2 - photo recap

This time around it felt like a real wedding. The "bride's" mother was fussing over her early in the morning, people were running late, some cancelled, a bouquet had to hurriedly be made by Terscha's (the bride) mother who happens to be a florist.

Terscha helps her mother with the bouquet, crafted from an assortment of rubbish.

Upon arrival in Arima

After a slightly later than anticipated start, we reached to Arima. The small entourage accompanied the bride along the designated route: From corner Queen & Sorzano Streets, Arima, down Queen, past the dial to the market and back up to Sorzano via the other block. We were joined along the way by a few other Greenlights and friends.

Terscha's footwear made a fashion statement and kept her comfortable on her bridal trek

Trying to find some shade.

It was a really hot day ... and it couldn't have been easy walking in that hot, heavy dress.

The trail. By the time we reached the market, not many bottles were left.

The bouquet

Note the garbage in the drain. We stood here for a while talking to some people. During this time one of the women from the stores came and swept up the rubbish and put it in a bin. Talk about instant impact.

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Photos courtesy Elspeth

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GENERAL OBSERVATIONS

PUBLIC SUGGESTIONS

Generally the vibe in Arima was different from that in POS. Apart from having a different bride, different entourage of people, etc., the people seemed to be more interested in the idea and what was going on. Very many of them offered useful suggestions which we will incorporate the next time. Some of these included:

1. Have a sound system (e.g. megaphone) announcing her arrival, what she represents, reciting the pledge, etc.

2. Print the pledge to give to people along with Greenlight contact information for those who want to join

3. Have a bigger entourage to accompany the bride, along with music ( incidentally we were planning to have a rhythm section using rubbish items like tin cans and bottles. This will be incorporated in the next stint).

4. One man pointed out that awareness is one thing ... but people need bins in order to throw their garbage away. he was making a good point. There were hardly any bins ... but that doesn't mean the drain should act as a substitute.

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IRATE CITIZEN

A few people seemed to be not too taken with the idea of a bride walking on the sidewalk dragging bottles behind her. They either sucked their teeth and moved on when we explained what we were doing or simply cast disdainful looks as they passed us. One woman, perhaps not looking where she was going, tripped over the bottle trail and began shouting. Part of her brief tirade included: "What is dis?! CARIFESTA?!!!" (Well, actually we have discussed letting the bride make an apperance or two at selected CARIFESTA events)

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NOT AS DIRTY

Arima is not as dirty as POS. By the time we had finished the walk, the hem of the dress was only slightly dirty ... as opposed to when Gab did it (it was black).

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TRINI TIME

The police never turned up. They called as we were well on our way back home to ask where we had reached and to announce that their men had reached to work late. Oh well. (gayelle couldn;t make it, but ...) one of the TV stations called around the same time as the police to find out where we were! "We are on our way home ..." Did they both think we meant "Starting time 8:00 p.m.?"

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Special thanks to:

Mother Nature for great weather.

All who braved the hot sun and traffic to be a part of it.

Members of the public who participated and showed interest.

Terscha for playing the bride/Environment.

Terscha's mum for making the bouquet.

Glen for transporting the entourage.

Terscha's friends/relatives for letting us park in their yard.

Chanzo for the pistachios.

I DO 2 ... the route

Dear Greenlights,

The following is the route for Saturday 2 September

Gather at Sorzano Street, walk down to Queen Street, cross the Arima Dial, down Queen to the Arima Market, turn right to the Arima Council Car Park (opposite FCB).

The other alternative (if you don't know Arima and are not good with directions) is that we meet on Saturday morning at 7 a.m. at Glen's hosue - 21 Lyndon Street, Curepe - and do a car pool to the meeting point. Those interested in doing this, please do either or both of the following:
(a) Send us an e-mail
(b) be at the meeting on Thursday 31st, 6 p.m., 21 Lyndon Street, Curepe

Important meeting for I DO 2

Dear Greenlights (and anyone else reading this who is interested),

Image of the bride representing the Environment - I DO (part 1), Port-of-Spain, Trinidad - 5 August, 2006

There will be an important meeting this Thursday 31 August at 6:00 p.m. at Glen's house, 21 Lyndon Street, Curepe.

The purpose of this meeting is for us to work on the bride's bouquet and tiara and finalise details (map, transport and any other elements) for the I DO (part 2) procession on Saturday 2 September in Arima (further details and map of route to come by end of week).

Please respond to this if you will be able to make it to that meeting. Please also give us an indication of how many people plan to come to the procession in Arima so we can try to organise transport or car pooling if necessary.

I DO 2

A quick reminder that the follow up to the I DO project will take place on Saturday 2 September 2006 in Arima. So keep that day open if you intend to be a part of it. The exact meeting time, route and other details will be supplied closer to the date.

What has been done:
1. Yesterday a new bridal trail was made out of the plastic bottles
2. The wedding dress is being cleaned for its second incarnation as "The Environment"

What needs to be done:
1. Michelle to make the bridal boquet and confirm that she will wear the dress and play the bride/Environment
2. Write letter to police requesting permission
3. Plan route
4. Videotape event
5. Photograph event
6. Article
7. Environmental Commitment Vow to be printed an photocopied
8. At least 5 - 10 people to volunteer to be vow-readers/tiers of bands on the day.

Please contact us with any confirmation, suggestions and/or questions concerning the event. Thank you.

I DO photo recap

(The vow):

Do you _____________ take the Environment to be your lifelong companion, to protect her and cherish her, respect her and honour her through all seasons, in good times and in bad ... forever?

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For those who were unable to make it this morning to the I DO procession, here are a few of the many photos of what turned out to be a very enjoyable and impactful morning.

The Environment (symbolised as a bride) was played by Gabrielle Hosein. Here she stands in her 'dressing room' (the bandstand in Woodfrod Square) just before we hit the streets of Port of Spain. Thanks to Tersha and her mother for making the bridal bouquet out of all kinds of junk and rubbish (cigarette boxes, aluminium cans, cardboard things, tissues, plastics, etc. In other words, things we often see floating in the drains).

Walking across the grass of Woodford Square with her trail dragging behind her.

A pity we didn't see this earlier. We might have been offered free parking.

Yes, it would be a wonderful world if people wouldn't litter (among other things).

Self explanatory.

Crossing the street at Independence Square

Janessa ties a commitment band around the hand of a citizen. Many people committed to the environment. There were those who really looked as though they meant it, those who were into it for the fun/curiosity, those who wanted to be on TV, those (male) who wanted to simply gawk at the bride.

Say it loud.

A group of youths dressed in green gravitated towards the bride. Several of them were among the many for the day who said I DO and cut bottles from her trail to free her from the 'strangulation' of garbage.

Homelessness. Another issue.

David reads the vow to some little children.

The little boy cuts a bottle from her trail and deposits it in the bag we provided.

Thanks to:

All of the members of Greenlight who were a part of this.

Gabrielle Hosein (for playing the bride/Environment)

Sonja Dumas (for lending us the dress, which she had acquired from a garage sale)

Gayelle TV (for always being there)

CNC3 TV (to the camera man who could not find us and turned up at the end but still captured a good final moment)

The members of the public who committed

Mother Nature (for giving us great weather)

Route change for I DO procession

Dear Invited Guests.

Instead of meeting on Brian Lara Promenade for the I DO procession (on Saturday 5th August, 2006), we will be meeting on Woodford Square within the 7:30 – 8:00 a.m. timeframe. The bride will begin her walk down Frederick Street, around Cipriani Circle (roundabout near KFC) in the road past RBTT and up Abercromby back to Woodford. This change is necessary since the police only told us today that we also need to get permission from the Promenade Committee and the City Corporation. Got permission from the latter but decided against Promenade as it will cost $1,250. Beyond the budget for this environmental wedding.

The 'I DO' Project

Do you want to be a part of Greenlight Network's latest first-Saturday-of-the-month project:?

I DO.

Do you promise to tell your friends and family about it so that they will come too?

I DO.

This project is interactive environmental street theatre. The 'bride', who represents "The Environment" will walk along the designated route, dragging her trail of plastic bottles behind her. These bottles are symbolic of the carelessly tossed bottles which clog our waterways and cause flooding and which need to be recycled or, at least, disposed of properly.

As 'the Environment'/bride walks from the far west of Brian Lara Promenade to Woodford Square, those of us assisting her will stop random members of the public and read the 'Environmental Vow' to them (see vow written on invitation). Once a citizen says "I do", we will tie a piece of green cord around his/her hand to signify commitment to a healthy environment ... and he/she will get to cut a bottle from the bridal trail and symbolically place it in a garbage bag.

By the end of the 'wedding march', the bride/Environment will be free of the plastic bottles which have been strangling her beauty. The bottles will be properly encased in garbage bags which will then be taken to Recycling in Motion where they will be crushed or chipped for export (to be recycled abroad).

If you would like to be a bridal attendant on the day, please write to Greenlight Network and let us know so that we can prepare a vow on paper for you. All attendants will wear blue jeans and white tops.

(Thanks to Janessa McKell for bringing the invitation concept to fruition).

I DO ... do you?

Dear Greenlights, as you may or may not know ... on the first Saturday of every month we will be having a simple, symbolic, creative event to raise awareness on the streets of T & T. Our event for the first Saturday of July was The REvolution ...

Taking awareness to the streets with the REvolution (July).

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The idea for our next first-Saturday-of-the-month project (August) was brainstormed at this evening's meeting. The resulting project is called "I Do" and signifies the commitment made by each individual to care for the environment. As the idea is brand new, some fine tuning must occur over the month of July ... but for now, these are the basics of the project:

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I DO

1. On Saturday 5th August, 2006, we will gather on Brian Lara Promenade, wearing white t-shirts and blue jeans so that we look like a cohesive unit. The time frame for this project will be 8 - 10 a.m.
2. Each Greenlight will have several pieces of green wool or ribbon, each of which will signify 'the commitment'.
3. Our mission is to approach people on the promenade and briefly let them know that the green band is a symbol of one's commitment to caring for the environment in any way possible. Inherent in this project is the question: Do you agree to make the extra effort to care for our environment in whatever ways you can? The inherent answer is (hopefully): I do.
4. Once the person says "I do", we tie the green band around their wrist. For as long as the person wears his/her green band (and hopefully even after they take it off), that symbolic gesture acts as a reminder that this person has made a commitment to care for the environment. Such awareness is vital. That green ribbon around someone's wrist could be the reason why they decide to toss their chocolate wrapper in a bin and not in the drain ... keep their beer bottle until they get home rather than pelting it out of the car window ... carry a garbage bag to the beach rather than leave a pile of plastic, KFC boxes and styrotex on the sand ...

As project details are developed, we will update via this blog. There is a lot more to come out of this particular venture as the month unfolds. Those who want to be a part of I DO are welcome to sign up early.