In Conversation with Gail Woon

The Environmental Educator on Her Activist Legacy, Community collaboration, and Drawing Hope for the future from working with Children.

Interview with Gail Woon. January 2023. Photographed by Alex Kudryavtsev, Cornell University.

Gail Woon has been a pillar in the Bahamian environmental community for over thirty years. After a long absence working as a biologist in Florida and Australia, she returned home to  Freeport in 1988 to continue her research. Lynn Kirk, a primary school teacher, sought out Woon to speak to her second-grade students about the ozone layer, a highly relevant subject at the time. Although initially skeptical about the interest of young children in the complex topic, Woon agreed. She crafted a digestible lesson, accompanied by visual aids, and was incredibly pleased to see that the students were engaged and understood the material. After this positive experience, she received countless requests from other schools and teachers, which prompted her to enlist her friends in the field to join in to expand the educational outreach.

Thus, EARTHCARE was born.

EARTHCARE 3rd Underwater Cleanup volunteers with marine debris. September 10th, 2016.

Since its inception in 1988, EARTHCARE has hosted approximately 144 coastal clean ups and raised generations of educated and empowered environmental stewards. Woon explains, “We started out by visiting classrooms across age groups to teach lessons based upon teacher’s requests. Now, we have our own program called Eco Kids, which runs from September to April. We invite principals to send five students from their schools, and we cover topics ranging from invasive species and climate change to pollution and sustainable practices.” She described this year’s activities focused on mangrove ecology including field trips to Lucayan National Park to see healthy mangroves and the distressed mangroves at Dover Sound after Hurricane Dorian. 

Gail Woon explaining the importance of removing marine debris from our oceans and how to fill out the data cards to high school students and Eco Kids.

Woon identified the pivotal role of children’s education in fostering a sustainable future. “I spent a lot of my career trying to persuade adults to undertake better practices, just to witness the same people throwing garbage out their cars. At a certain point, I just stopped talking to grown ups, and started concentrating my efforts on educating young people. After spending a day with students, I feel so much more hopeful for the future, and sometimes I really need that.”

As a non-profit organization, Woon explained, “EARTHCARE has always operated on a volunteer basis, without funding for salaries or overhead.” She described the strain of undergoing periods of financial difficulty, and the organization’s reliance on grants to fund initiatives. “We’re able to sustain ourselves through the dedication of our volunteers, who are driven by their genuine commitment to the cause, which is crucial for sustaining our work.” She elaborates, “The intention for the program was to be free of cost for the participants to enjoy field trips and other hands-on experiences. When we ran out of money, I had to consider suspending the program. We have to thank the parents who offered to cover the costs to keep the program up and running, because they saw that it was valuable enough to keep going.” 

Grand Bahama kids learn about Habitat Destruction during Coastal Awareness Month. 2016.

Students at EARTHCARE’s Eco Kids Program.

Beyond her pioneering as a community educator, Gail Woon has sustained a legacy as a trailblazer in Bahamian environmental activism. She recounts one of her most memorable moments as an activist. “I made a call to the Human Rights Association and received a permit to demonstrate at the House of Assembly. I organized a protest against long-line fishing, a fishing method which posed detrimental consequences for the wellbeing of our habitats and marine resources. I thought that nobody would show up. I was surprised when passersby shouted words of encouragement, and a lawyer joined me on the steps and shared that our spirit reminded him of his experience at the Vietnam War demonstrations.” 

Woon continued, “We continued for three days, handcuffed to each other with a hook in my mouth, blood painted on our shirts, and black bands around our arms to symbolize the death of our oceans. Eventually, the Prime Minister, Hubert Ingraham, allowed us inside and agreed to listen to our concerns. He later committed to barring long-line fishing.” She recalls this memory with great fondness as an example of successfully rallying together to influence policy. Her advocacy has also included awareness around cruise ship waste dumping and notes with a light laugh that some of her opinions haven’t always made her the most popular. She notes a time when she received death threats and needed security at a conference she attended but stood firm in her beliefs. “I’d simply say, you want there to be fish for your kids and kids’ kids, right?”

With decades of advocacy under her belt, Gail Woon remains steadfast in her vision to foster thriving communities and a healthy environment in The Bahamas. “What needs to be done now is to divest from fossil fuels and make the switch to renewable energy sources. We need to focus on non-polluting alternatives. We’re already one of the top ten countries predicted to be underwater from sea level rise. Why would we make things worse with fuels like liquified natural gas (LMG) which are not only bad for the environment, but also flammable and dangerous?” She hopes to see The Bahamas transition to solar and wind power in coming years and serious investment into climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts to ensure a sustainable future. 

Waynesha Thompson is a student intern at The University of The Bahamas, pursing her bachelor's degree in Small Island Sustainability: Environmental and Ecosystems Management: Marine Science. She is a creative who is passionate about learning, exploring and capturing moments of climate justice, environmental sustainability and sharing her knowledge with the public. She hopes to use her creativity to infuse the world with the importance of climate justice.