Environmentalist Rueben Thompson was the guest speaker at the Black History lecture on Thursday evening entitled State of the Environment, Key issues and concerns as seen by EPIC and St. Maarten Pride Foundation" according to Lenny Mussington, coordinator of the debate.
The lecture was held at the EDF recreational center in Grand Case and was organized by the Conscious Lyrics Foundation.
The foundation was catering to the young people, as part of the over-all Black History Celebration theme "Awareness and evaluation."
"It was a moment of consciousness for us, the youths, we learned a lot about recycling, and the importance of the protection of the mangroves," said Jean-Marc Gervais, president of youths association Jeunesse Soualiga.
"The speaker made did great job by linking the history of St. Martin’s environment with present, while sharing it with those who will inherit the future," said Mussington.
The 90 minutes discussion included a questions and answer period. "The young people raised some very interesting questions," said Thompson.
The question of sustainable development, recycling, and cooperation between environmental organizations from both sides of the island were among the questions raised, confirmed Thompson.
"The National Geographic rating St. Martin received in December 2009 was also a concern raised by the young people," said Thompson.
The lecture included a power-point presentation of past photo of St. Martin’s environment, showing how-much of the environment we have destroy in relative short time, concluded Thompson.
The CFL is also encouraging the general public to come-out to the 19th annual Black History lecture, and culmination of the month long celebration of events on Saturday, February 27, 2010, 8 pm at Philipsburg Jubilee Library, with guest speaker Dr. Mervyn Alleyne Professor from the University of Puerto Rico.