Help Us Help Hannah

Home Help Us Help Hannah

Let me tell you about Hannah. Hannah is an exceptional little girl from Andros who loves the environment. She is also the 2017 Bahamian Primary School Student of the Year Award winner – the first winner to come from Andros. Hannah is a proud member of our Discovery Club program. So proud, in fact, that she wore her Discovery Club uniform and all of the badges she earned in the program to accept her student of the year award. Sadly, this past school year might have been Hannah’s last in the Discovery Club.

For twenty years, the BNT has operated the Discovery Club – an award-winning, education program that has touched the lives of more than 10,000 young people, like Hannah. To show you just how much the other young people in the club are like Hannah, the 2018 Primary School Student of the Year Award winner is a Discovery Club kid too!

Each school year the Discovery Club provides a unique experience to 1,500 students between the ages of 7 and 18. It ignites in young people a love of nature, brings to life the science they study in school and uses The Bahamas’ national parks as living, outdoor classrooms. It awes and challenges kids to care about the environment and their rich natural heritage. Discovery Club touches the lives of kids across The Bahamas and 100 dedicated, volunteer teachers lead its activities on seven islands.

To avoid turning kids away, for the last twenty years, The Bahamas National Trust has operated the Discovery Club with a funding gap. Each year this funding gap has grown. The cost of everything associated with this award-winning educational experience costs more, even the paper we use to print the course booklets on costs more. Sadly, the funding gap is becoming unsustainable. We may have to cancel the Discovery Club.

“Why should you care?” you might ask. “These kids will find another extracurricular activity to occupy their time”. They might, but they will not find one like Discovery Club.

Studies show that time spent enjoying and learning about nature helps children in many ways. It:

. Enhances their cognitive ability
. Supports creativity and problem solving
. Improves academic performance
. Improves self-discipline
. Reduces attention deficit disorder
. Increases community and teamwork values
. Encourages them to care about the environment
. Improves behavioral issues

Monique, the parent of a Discovery Club kid said, “I never realized the impact that Discovery Club had on my daughter until she finished the program after six years of involvement. Now, she challenges me to care more about the environment and make responsible, nature-conscious decisions. It is amazing. I can’t believe what the program has done for her.”

You see, that is the goal of the Discovery Club. It helps kids make a personal connection with the environment so that they become inspired to care about it and they inspire their families to care too. This creates a community of awareness and respect for our country’s precious natural resources. No other educational club in The Bahamas does this, which is why the BNT has operated the club with a funding gap for so many years. This club benefits our country and you can help to save it. It is for this reason that The Bahamas National Trust is making an appeal unlike anything it has ever made before.

We are asking you to help us keep the Discovery Club going. You can spark a passion for the environment in a child by giving him the Discovery Club experience during the 2018/2019 school year.

You can turn a child, like Hannah, into a caretaker of tomorrow. Support the Discovery Club.

I am text block. Click edit button to change this text. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.