Bahamas News
BAHAMAS: High School Students Learn About Renewable Energy
#Nassau, December 18, 2018 – Bahamas – Local high school students are being introduced to the principles of renewable energy through the Energy Academy, an initiative introduced by St. John’s College High School (SJC) to promote green power throughout the Commonwealth of The Bahamas. It is a programme endorsed by the Minister of Public Works the Hon. Desmond.
“Lots of people are complaining about the cost of energy in The Bahamas,” he said. “What is important now is to find innovative ways to be able to harness energy in this country.”
He shared some of the ideas for renewable energy with the first class of graduates who recently completed eight weeks of training at the Energy Academy.
“There is a group of Bahamians who are creating a waste to energy facility. You are going to see the dump turn into a waste to energy facility. All of the garbage we have been throwing out will be used to create energy – create power that you can harness to have energy in your home. That is an amazing thing.”
The graduates, their parents and school officials learned that in Andros there are Bahamians planning to cut down casuarina trees, an invasive species, which will be used to create energy.
Furthermore, in Abaco, there is an “amazing” bush that will also be used as an alternative energy source.
“The potential is unlimited. Young minds like yours are going to make a difference. You are the ones who are going to decide what The Bahamas is going to look like in the next 10, 20, 30 years,” Minister Bannister told the students.
Fr. Shazzbazar Turnquest, Physics and Designer Technology teacher at SJC, said the nucleus of the Energy Academy was a solar car that students built and raced in 2016 at the Solar Car challenge in Dallas, Texas.
The competition resulted in the receipt of a grant from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Small Grant Fund to disseminate information about renewable energy.
“We have demonstrated it and now we need to educate others about it,” said Fr. Turnquest. “We got a small grant to launch this Energy Academy among other things. We sourced educational material from the USA, the kits that we have on display to provide a different approach to teaching children about renewable energy rather than writing it on the board.
“We want them to build their kits, let them see the power output, let them learn about hydrogen and so forth.”
Fr. Shazzbazar and a cohort of eight students, who have since completed high school, comprised the first team from the West Indies to be invited to the challenge. They competed with other elite high schools from the United States and passed four days of testing and completed four days of racing. They covered 42 laps around the Texas Motor Speed Way totalling 115 miles.
“That was the start of our renewable energy career,” said Fr. Shazzbazar.
“We gave them challenges each week where they were in teams. For example, they had to build a little solar car model and they raced it against each other. We made hydrogen out of an electrilizer and we used the hydrogen to power a fuel cell to complete a task. They built solar powered pumps and they had to pump water up into a reservoir. We made a game out of learning for them.”
The students, ranging in age from 10 to 16, were presented with certificates by Minister Bannister and Bishop of the Diocese of The Bahamas and The Turks and Caicos Islands the Rt. Rev’d Bishop Laish Boyd.
“We want to get people excited about renewable energy because it is something we need to take advantage of in The Commonwealth of The Bahamas.”
The students are using the frame of a used, sand sniper dune buggy donated to them by Rocksound Properties as a nucleus to build a new solar car which they will race in the Bridgestone World Solar Car Challenge.
“The Ministry of Public Works gave us a summer programme where we built a model to get children thinking about how we are going to build this car because we are not going around a track anymore we are actually going across country – 3,000 kilometres in the outback of Australia. It is rugged and we had to modify it to make it completely solar and electric powered,” said Fr. Turnquest.
Once the car is designed and built to specification it will make a six weeks journey to Australia and go through a scrutineering process to check the functions and systems to ensure its ability to sustain the journey across the outback. Following approval it will be allowed to race from Darwin to Melbourne.
“It is imperative that they learn this because they will be citizens of the global economy, of the fabric where the fossil fuel platform is being phased out,” said Fr. Turnquest.
“These are the home owners who will have solar panels on their homes, who will be driving electric cars, who will have to live in a climate that has been destroyed by pollution due to fossil fuels and we have to compensate for it. These are the children who will live in low lying island states that need to be mindful that global warming is going to threaten their very existence.
“The students are very keen. Bahamian children are naturally brilliant and creative. The approach that we use to teach them is very boring and frustrating. You only need to demonstrate to them once and then they can go and do. The more creative ones will actually modify and come up with something even better than you would have demonstrated.”
By: Kathryn Campbell
Release: BIS
Photo Captions:
Header: Fr. Shazzbazar Turnquest, students and guests view the dune buggy which will be transformed into a solar car to race in the Bridgestone World Solar Car Challenge.
First insert: Minister of Public Works the Hon. Desmond Bannister addresses the audience at the graduation ceremony.
Second insert: Bishop of the Diocese of The Bahamas and The Turks and Caicos Islands the Rt. Rev’d Bishop Laish Boyd and Minister of Public Works the Hon. Desmond Bannister view some of the presentations by the students of the Energy Academy.
(Photo credit: Lyndon M. W. Sweeting)
NASSAU, Bahamas — Caribbean Bottling Company (CBC), local producers and distributors of Coca-Cola and Dasani products concluded their 10 weeklong Twist To Win campaign with four $5,000 Mall at Marathon shopping sprees.
The campaign which was available throughout the entire Bahamas allowed consumers to enter by purchasing a 20oz bottle with a yellow cap
from the following brands: Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola No Sugar, Sprite, Fanta Orange, or Fanta Grape. Each yellow-cap had a unique alpha numeric code underneath which they submitted to the Twist To Win WhatsApp number.
With each qualifying purchase, participants residing in The Bahamas were entered to win instant prizes and into a grand prize draw to win one of four $5,000 shopping sprees at the Mall at Marathon.
Participants also enjoyed exciting instant prizes such as: Airpods, JBL Speakers, premium Coca-Cola merchandise, $500 Visa gift cards and Amazon, Spotify and Apple Music digital gift cards.
Out of 76,000 plus submissions, Brian Bethel, Ashia Demeritte, Merlin Adams, and Taraceta Neely won the coveted Mall at Marathon shopping sprees at the following select stores, Kelly’s House & Home, The Sports Center, John Bull, Brass & Leather, and BTC.
Leading up to the grand finale shopping spree, Coca-Cola hosted a Trivia Showdown with the eight finalists to determine the four winners. Finalists were tested on their knowledge of World History, Pop Culture, Caribbean Bottling Company and Coca-Cola Facts!
After a few rousing rounds of trivia, the four winners were declared after each winning their spot in the shopping spree by answering their questions correctly and choosing the “Grand Prize” Coca-Cola labeled bottles at random.
The morning of the shopping spree Coca-Cola gave the winners exclusive access to the Mall at Marathon and its participating stores before
their usual operating hours. Grand prize winners were greeted with wide smiles from Coca-Cola brand representatives and morning bites before the big event.
At the start of the thirty-minute clock the grand prize winners along with each of their Coca-Cola shopping assistants ran to the various stores collecting items in their arms and carts.
Merlin Adams, a husband and father of four was proud to have executed his game-plan at the end of the shopping spree. With toys, a new phone and materials for his home from Kelly’s, Adams felt accomplished in what he gathered.
Taraceta Neely, a winner from Eleuthera collected beautiful bags for herself and relatives from Brass and Leather and Brian Bethel bought matching athletic and outdoor wear from The Sports Center for his family.
The final winner Ashia Demeritte bought linens and household items in addition to a new phone from BTC right in time for Christmas.
Caribbean Bottling Company is proud to share the real magic of Coca-Cola with the grand prize winners and the may instant prize winners across the Twist To Win campaign. For more updates on new products, promotions, and events follow www.cbcbahamas.com.
Bahamas News
The Coca-Cola Art Project Astonishes Art Lovers at The Bahamas Culinary & Arts Festival
NASSAU, Bahamas — Caribbean Bottling Company (CBC), local producers and distributors of Coca-Cola and Dasani products displayed
their astonishing Coca-Cola Art Project (CCAP), during Baha Mar’s five-day Culinary & Arts Festival. Earlier this year, Coca-Cola partnered with The University of The Bahamas’ Visual Art and Design Department for a culturally rich art competition. UB’s art students were challenged to create pieces surrounding the theme, Bahamian music.
As a result, 20 student works of art were made, with four students declared as winners at the CCAP exhibit opening in Baha Mar’s ECCHO: Art Gallery in August. To recreate the culturally stimulating magic felt at the exhibit’s premiere, the CCAP was featured at the FUZE Art Tent during The Bahamas Culinary & Arts Festival.
Nine incredible pieces of art lined the walls of the Coca-Cola Art Project, four of which included the winning pieces from Jhanaisia Cole,
with ‘Gaulin Bride’; Alyssa Pinder, with ‘Shotgun Wedding’; Nelson Gray, with ‘Untitled’; and Jaela Bowe, with the piece ‘Whims of Obeah, a Folktail’. Additionally, an intimate listening room was built. It displayed students’ artistic processes, UB Visual Art and Design representatives, and a recap of the exhibit opening for audiences.
Art enthusiasts also enjoyed premium limited-edition CCAP keepsakes at the booth. Journals which featured a collage of all 20 student submissions on the front and back cover, postcards with an art piece on the cover along with the student’s name, title, dimension and materials on the back and pens designed with the CCAP’s dynamic logo.
Throughout the art festival diverse groups of people visited the art tent taking in the displays while enjoying the artistic insights from the
listening booth.
Community and culture are always at the forefront of Caribbean Bottling Community, and it was boldly showcased during The Bahamas Culinary & Arts Festival for the third consecutive year.
For more details on the Coca-Cola Art Project, events and new products visit www.cbcbahamas.com today!
NASSAU, Bahamas — Caribbean Wines & Spirits (CWS), The Bahamas’ premier wines and spirits distributor delighted Jollification
attendees with bubbles from their Bottega and Bouvet Ladubay sparkling wines and Besserat de Bellefon champagne lines.
Located in the Monument Circle on The Retreat grounds, CWS transformed The Retreat Garden into a lush lounge with Besserat, Bouvet and their latest product addition, Bottega, during the two-day affair.
The festivities kicked off Friday during BNT Member’s Night. Guests enjoyed exclusive offerings from CWS’s catalogue, offered exclusively to members. Complimentary mixes or glasses on the rocks included El Tequileno tequila, Hard Truth whiskey, House of Angostura rum, Cross Keys gin, Nemiroff vodka and a slew of wines such as Fonesca Bin, Bottega and Besserat.
Guests also savored the ‘Jolly Paloma’ cocktail, an instant favorite made with El Tequileno tequila, Schweppes Grapefruit and Domaine de Paris rose wine. To end the night, guests were treated to branded limited-edition wine tumblers as keepsakes.
On Saturday and Sunday, Jollification attendees delighted in glasses or bottles of champagne and sparkling brut or rosé wines while taking
in the comfort of the chic lounge. In addition to purchasing bottles for onsite consumption, consumers were also able to purchase bottles as gifts whether for themselves or someone special.
The sophisticated “bubble lounge” lounge was decked with velvet couches, gold rimmed cocktail tables, blue and pink pillows, and a white floral branded backdrop created for capturing the perfect picture.
Caribbean Wines & Spirits, a historic partner of the Bahamas National Trust was pleased to support Jollification 2025 to kick off the festive season and share their expansive range of spirits.
To keep up to date with all CWS products and events, visit their website at www.cwsbahamas.com today.
