August 24th 2024
The Trinidad and Tobago Mangrove Festival is back for the second year!
Ecosystem Approach with the support of the United States Agency for International Development Presents the 2024 Trinidad and Tobago Mangrove Festival!
There will be live entertainment by the amazing local band Skulkyd, performances by the Saraswati Girls Hindu College Interact Club, Laden Vine, Tassa drumming by Yaniv, poetry reading, story telling and guest speakers. There will be local food and drinks for sale!
Join us for an entertaining and educational experience!
August 2023
The Trinidad and Tobago Mangrove Festival took place at the Felicity Community Center on Saturday 5th August, 2023. The event included a live acoustic performance by Yasha, a young musician who understands the importance of mangrove conservation, a traditional dance by Angel, a recycled costume competition and discussions on various topics focusing on mangroves.
Key government organisations such as EMA, BES-NET, Adopt A River, ODPM, SWMCOL brought their games, and displays. A range of eco-friendly products were available to purchase from Moy’s and My Beach My Water.
The festival was a feature in the Trinidad and Tobago Guardian.
Integrating culture with conservation
Angel is a traditional dancer and entrepreneur from Felicity. She joined us at the festival because she sees the value in the Trinidad and Tobago Mangrove Festival and how it can help her performing arts business. Angel also supports the purpose of the event because she wants her little girls to enjoy a clean and healthy Caroni Swamp in Felicity. Angel’s performance not only signified a blend of a cultural activity that is common in Felicity, she was able to represent her love for mangroves in her two homes countries, Trinidad and Tobago, and Guyana, through her custom made salwar, which she made for her mangrove festival performance. As a frequent user of the Caroni Swamp in Felicity, Angel has gained a lot of local knowledge and has personal interest in the mangrove. This makes her one of the best advocates for mangrove conservation.
Closing the gap
The Trinidad and Tobago Mangrove Festival fulfilled the goal of bringing scientists, experts, government organisations and community members together for a shared experience.
Guest speakers discussed a range of topics focused on mangroves. Mertrina Mermaid gave and insightful speech on Mangrove Ecosystems, Dr. Lena Dempewolf gave an interactive lecture about the Importance of Pollinators on Healthy Mangrove Ecosystems and Mr. Westley Basdeo spoke about Youth In Mangrove Conservation. Our very own Mangrove Conservation Project Lead, Vieanna Tirbanie, discussed Community-Led Mangrove Conservation, which is an application Ecosystem Approach using to create a generational change in the way Caroni Swamp in Felicity is used.
The Trinidad and Tobago Mangrove Festival Banner was hand painted by our talented Guardians Of The Coastline volunteers and students of Saraswati Girls Hindu College, Miss Shania, Miss Avika and Miss Aryanna. This banner served as the focal point in the festival and was a true representation of Caroni Swamp in Felicity.
Recycled Costume Competition
Our recycled costume competition is an interactive learning tool to raise awareness on the types of waste that is produces that can potentially end up in the mangroves, as well as highlight key features of mangroves. The theme this year was, “Life in Caroni Swamp”. Participants were expected to wear their costume and explain their piece to judges on how it communicates the yearly theme, on the main stage for a chance to win prizes.
This year, Laden Vine Community Group won first place with their portrayal titled, “The Manga”. Made entirely of recycled materials, their entry depicted the mangrove ecosystem and was presented with an amazing poem and song. They had everyone singing along to, “mangroves, mangroves”.
Second and third place winners were portrayals of “Batman” and “Butterfly Princess” .
