Major donors:

1. Florida Caribbean Cruise Association Foundation for the Caribbean.
2. The Ocean Conservancy.

• To work with young people and teachers to give them access to information on ways to protect and preserve what is left of the pristine Bahamian environment.

Our main focus is on the island of Grand Bahama in the northern Bahamas. We also work in Bimini, Abaco, Andros and New Providence.

Memberships:

We have approximately 400 members. Annual memberships are available for $10 US.

Benefits of membership:

Access to any materials we have in video/electronic or printed form, and our newsletters.

Projects:

1. EARTHCARE Marine Pollution Prevention Mural/Literary Contest

   For the EARTHCARE Marine Pollution Prevention Mural/Literary contest project, EARTHCARE and The Ocean Conservancy visited ten high schools on Grand Bahama Island, where educational brochures about preventing marine pollution were distributed to all of the students. Each school was asked to submit a mural which would depict why we should prevent marine pollution, and individual students were invited to submit essays, poems, and songs on the same topic. The winning schools received computers and gift certificates for educational supplies.

2. Save Bimini

   For over a decade, various NGOs and interested parties have been trying to stop or minimize the impact a mega-resort development is having on North Bimini, a very small island in the Bahamas. At one point, the development site was slated to become a Marine Protected Area (MPA). With funding from the Global Greengrants Fund, this project hoped to start legal action to stop, slow down, or minimize the detrimental effects the development is having on critically important mangrove nursery habitats in the North Sound lagoon. As funding has become temporarily unavailable, the project activities have stopped.

3. Grand Bahama Island Sea Turtle Awareness Campaign

   This campaign implemented awareness programs in many schools on the island of Grand Bahama. At the time of our grant application, our government had promised that the current legislation that allowed the harvest of sea turtles would be changed on April 1, 2009 to ban the harvest of sea turtles. Unfortunately, the laws were not changed. Conservation groups increased efforts to demonstrate that Bahamian citizens supported a ban on sea turtle harvest so that the Bahamas can be considered an ecotourism destination. EARTHCARE made numerous presentations and distributed printed materials in 33 schools, colleges, universities, and libraries on Grand Bahama (and one on New Providence island), networked with teachers, and encouraged students to write to the Ministry of Fisheries. Thankfully, the Bahamian government listened and implemented legislation to ban the harvest of sea turtles on September 1, 2009.

• Our most popular campaign was the coalition to stop long-line fishing. Many organizations worked together to lobby the Government to change the laws granting foreigners work permits to long-line fish our limited fisheries resources. Three days of sustained demonstrations in front of the House of Assembly at Rawson Square in Nassau resulted in a change of legislation in 1993.

Our volunteer base consists of students from all of the schools on Grand Bahama, teachers, and a core group of concerned citizens.

  Publications:

• Precision Media. "117 Grand Bahama youths receive GGYA Awards." The Bahamas Weekly. June 5, 2011.
• Woon, Gail. "Sharks, Friend or Foe One Student's Educational Experience". The Bahamas Weekly. 28th January, 2011.
• Whachell, Robbin. "A conversation with Pierre Cousteau". The Bahamas Weekly. 14th January, 2010.
• EARTHCARE. "Happy 21st to Tourism Concern." Page 19. InFocus Autumn/Winter 2010.
• Woon, Gail, EARTHCARE. "25th Anniversary of International Coastal Cleanup Day at Xanadu Beach draws many enthusiastic students". The Bahamas Weekly. 26th September, 2010.
• EARTHCARE. "25th Anniversay of International Coastal Cleanup Day 2010 at Xanadu Beach draws many enthusiastic students." Bahama Islands Info. 27th September, 2010.
• "Cleaning up Xanadu Beach". The Tribune. 30th September, 2010.
• Woon, Gail, EARTHCARE. "25th Anniversay of International Coastal Cleanup Day at Xanadu Beach draws many enthusiastic students". Taste of Grand Bahama. 28th September, 2010.
• Woon, Gail. "EARTHCARE completes Grand Bahama Island Sea Turtle Awareness campaign, SWOT outreach grant." GrandBahamaInfo.com. April 19, 2010.
• Woon, Gail. "EARTHCARE completes GB Island Sea Turtle Awareness Campaign." The Freeport News. April 20, 2010.
• Woon, Gail. "Coastal Awareness as it relates to Grand Bahama Island and Bimini." Thebahamasweekly.com. April 17, 2010.
• LIS 5th Grader Melissa Hucal. "Lucaya International School 5th grader writes 'How we celebrated Earth Day' and sends letter to the PM". Bahamasislandinfo.com. April 29th, 2009.
• Maycock, Denise. Call for Animal Protection and Control Act to be law. The Tribune. March 27th, 2009.
• Maycock, Denise. Groups speak out against proposed expansion of Martin Marietta Bahama Rock. The Tribune. October 8th, 2008.
• Armbrister, Angelo. Group voices concern about blasting by Bahama Rock. The Freeport News. October 6th, 2008.
• Woon, Gail. International Coastal Clean-up Day at Xanadu Beach, a resounding success. The Bahamas Weekly. September 26th, 2008.
• Nancoo-Russell, K. Ministry of Tourism heads beach clean-up campaign. The Freeport News. September 22, 2008.
• Woon, Gail.  Residents in uproar over Martin Marietta Bahama Rock plans for expansion.  MAP News 201st Edition Part 2 of 2 July, 26th, 2008.
• Bahamas World Wetlands Day 2008 Report, http://www.ramsar.org/wwd/8/wwd2008_reports.htm, February 2008
• Nancoo-Russell, K. "Williams Town beach clean-up in commemoration of Earth Day."  The Freeport News, April 2007.
• Armbrister, Angelo.  Students educated on value of sustained ecosystem.  The Freeport News, September 2006.  

• Woon, Gail. EARTHCARE fundraisers ROCK! Bahama Journal. January 2005.

• Woon, Gail. Jana makes a difference. Bahama Journal January 2005.

• Woon, Gail & David Rose. Queen's Cove the Flooding issue. The Tribune. December 13, 2004.

• Woon, Gail & David Rose. Queen's Cove: why the whole island floods now. Nassau Guardian, December 7, 2004.

• Woon, Gail L. 2004 EARTHCARE in the Eco-Index on the World Wide Web. Bahama Buy & Sell.

• Woon, Gail L. 2004 EARTHCARE Earth Day/Coastal Awareness Beach Cleanup. Bahama Buy & Sell.

• Woon, Gail L. 2004 Gas pipelines will pose big blast fears. The Punch. Pg. 46, April 29, 2004.

• Woon, Gail L. 2004 EARTHCARE attends Whale Fest 2004. Bahama Buy & Sell.
• Woon, Gail L. 2004 EARTHCARE Update. Bahama Buy & Sell.
• Woon, Gail L. 2004 EARTHCARE attends SIDS conference. Bahama Buy & Sell.
• Woon, Gail L. 2003. Kudos to Keod, Earthcare applauds ambassador. The Nassau Guardian.

• Woon, Gail L. 2003. EARTHCARE cleans up Heritage Trail Beach. The Tribune. Pg. 8, May 21, 2003

• Woon, Gail L. 2003. Meet the winners. Eight Mile Rock High School gets computer for Art Department after placing first twice in EARTHCARE/Ocean conservancy Marine Pollution Prevention Contest. The Tribune. May 21, 2003

• Woon, Gail L. 2003. EARTHCARE gets education grant from FCCA. The Freeport News. Pg. 4, May 13,2003

• Woon, Gail L. 2003. Prizes for Pollution Prevention contest awarded. The Freeport News. Pg. 4, May 21, 2003

• Woon, Gail L. 2003. FCCA grants EARTHCARE $2000. The Punch. Pg. 24, June 2, 2003

• Woon, Gail L. 2003. EARTHCARE Beach Cleanup. Bahama Buy & Sell. Vol. V No. 11 June 3, 2003

• Woon, Gail L. 2003. Decries ecological damage to Bimini. The Freeport News.

• Woon, Gail L. 2002. Bimini Bay Development is killing more than fish. The Bahamas Journal of Science. Vol.9 No.2 Pp.68-69

• Woon, Gail L. 2001. Bimini's Ecological Disaster. The Freeport News.
• Woon, Gail L. 2001. Small Inns of Eleuthera and Abaco. Junkanoo Magazine.

• Woon, Gail L. 2001. Watch sharks at Pier One while you dine on a gourmet meal. Junkanoo Magazine.

• Woon, Gail L. 2001. Tasty, popular conch is the ultimate Bahamian symbol. Junkanoo Magazine.

• Woon, Gail L. 2001. 3rd Annual Cat Island Rake and Scrape Festival. Junkanoo Magazine.
• Woon, Gail L. 1999. EARTHCARE and Twenty Pearls clean beach. The Freeport News.
• Woon, Gail L. 1998. Sustainable Fishing? EARTHWEEK 98 The Freeport News.
• Woon, Gail L. 1997. Open Letter to the Fisheries Minister. The Freeport News.

• Woon, Gail L. 1997. Dolphins are not disposable items. pp. 124-125.Island Expedition School at Sea Education in Nature.

• Woon, Gail L. 1997. Education in Nature: EARTHCARE. pp. 135-136, pg. 155. Island Expedition School at Sea Education in Nature.

• Woon, Gail L. 1996. Marine conservation as it relates to Tourism. Nassau Guardian. Presented at Eco-Tourism Seminar.

• Woon, Gail L. 1996. Environmental Education in the Northern Bahamas, problems and advances. The Freeport News. Presented at the Society of Caribbean Ornithology Meeting, Nassau, Bahamas.

• Woon, Gail L. 1996. Earth Day Exhibit. The Freeport News.

• Woon, Gail L. 1994. Cruise Ship Dumping in the Northern Bahamas. Island Waste Management Conference & Third Caribbean Marine Debris Workshop, Nassau, Bahamas.

• Woon, Gail L., 1994. Group Reports, 6 th Annex, Group III: Public Awareness and Philip Weech Environmental Education for Sustainable Tourism Development in the Caribbean. Pan American Health Organization pp. 12-13, 307-309.

• Woon, Gail L. 1994. Marine biologist responds to captive dolphin letter. The Freeport News.