Saying goodbye to the CCMI staff and each other was sentimental, we have all become friends during our time in Little Cayman. However, we all promised to stay in touch and to make vacations visiting each other across the country, I now have to visit Miami, Texas, California, and Canada!
This trip has taught me so many valuable lessons. I learned from so many people, staff and other interns. This entire time in Little Cayman was a “once in a lifetime experience.” I am so thankful to the people who helped me through the process and helped me get to where I am in school, and in life.
Little Cayman taught me about conservation and how just one person changing their lifestyle to be more conservative can make a difference. If I stop using plastics, whether it is plastic bottles, plastic bags, or microplastics in soaps and toothpastes- this decreases the amount put into the environment. In learning about conservation, we learned about what we can do in order to help the environment- no matter where we are in the world, everything eventually makes it to the ocean. Just because I was staying at CCMI and showering in collected rainwater and being conscientious everything down to the soaps because everything drained right into the ocean, does not mean that I can come back to NJ and forget everything. I am now going to look into products to see the chemicals and microplastics put into it in an effort to be more aware of my footprint on the environment.
Leaving Little Cayman, from the height you can see the sea grass darkness and the reef where the waves break, and then the open ocean. The last picture was the first sight of America, I was already missing the clear blue waters.
I am forever thankful for this experience, thank you!