Researchers at the University of the Virgin Islands were awarded $99,411 from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Marine Debris Program to fund marine debris education and outreach programs on the islands of St. Thomas and St. Croix.
The goal of the 18-month project is to reduce land-based sources of marine debris in the U.S. Virgin Islands through educational and outreach programs that engage territory educators, school children, UVI Marine and Environmental Science Masters (MMES) students, and partners from the Virgin Islands Marine Advisory Service (VIMAS), Virgin Islands Waste Management Authority, Virgin Islands Department of Planning and Natural Resources, Southern Utah University, and Oregon Sea Grant.
“This is an exciting opportunity for the U.S. Virgin Islands,” said project leader Dr. Kristin Wilson Grimes, assistant professor of watershed ecology at UVI and director of the Virgin Islands Water Resources Research Institute. “Most marine debris in the ocean and along our shorelines comes from land-based sources, which means that we can prevent it.” More information is available in a news release on the Media Section of the UVI website –http://www.uvi.edu - and from this direct link.