Hurricane Beryl - a manifestation of climate change, writ large

On Union Island, I met Katrina Coy, Roseman Adams and their team from the Union Island Environment Alliance, who have an incredible depth of wisdom and passion for how best to protect their island. The last remaining patch of tropical dry forest here is the only place on earth where the Union Island gecko can be found, but it is threatened by poaching, deforestation for development, and, more poignantly than ever, climate change. They showed me around their precious forest and introduced me to the enchanting bejewelled gecko, that weighs no more than a pinch of salt.

Katrina and Roseman have been working tirelessly with a number of organisations, including Fauna & Flora, Re:wild and the local government to recover ecosystem biodiversity and save their endangered reptile. The Union Island gecko was only discovered in 2005, and almost immediately it was classified as endangered. But thanks to their efforts, in just ten years, numbers increased from 10,000 to around 18,000 individuals – a remarkable feat in the face of so many threats.

On the island of Mayreau, I met Marion Isaacs, an extraordinary young woman who founded the non-profit organisation, We Are Mayreau, to improve the lives of her community and conserve the wildlife of the island that she cares deeply about. She brought together a team of fishermen who boldly learned to scuba dive, so they could save their coral reefs that have been decimated by pollution, disease and climate change.

Together we attached fragments of healthy elkhorn corals onto special frames beneath the waves, so they could grow and, in time, be out-planted in areas of bleached ‘coral graveyards’ to replenish the reef. With recovering reefs, fish and other marine life can return, and the livelihoods of the local fishing community have a chance of being restored. To play a small part in this work, and witness how the community came together to protect their corals is something that will stay with me forever. It is incredibly hard and often demoralising work to offer a crucial lifeline to reef habitats as the ocean continues to heat up and the risk of coral bleaching is ever-present. But Marion is not the sort of person to ever give up.

Katrina, Roseman and Marion are individuals who implicitly understand the importance of protecting nature so that all life on earth can thrive. I learned so much from them and was humbled by their dedication and resilience. In the face of great challenges, often with very few resources, they forge ahead with their work, convinced that a better world for people and wildlife is entirely possible.

Paradise, interrupted

So this past week, I was horrified and heartbroken to hear the devastating news that both Union Island and Mayreau have been decimated by Hurricane Beryl. Katrina was interviewed in the news, reporting that 90% of homes on Union Island had been destroyed, making most people homeless. The Union Island Environmental Alliance offices were razed to the ground, and much of the equipment they need to carry out their conservation work has been lost. Marion forwarded me shocking images of the destruction on Mayreau too, with islanders in desperate need of shelter, food, and all basic supplies.

We don’t yet know the extent of the damage to the forest that the Union Island gecko calls home, or to the corals that were already under pressure due to marine heatwaves. But with this latest climate change-induced onslaught, their protectors will now be grappling with a new reality, and a mammoth challenge to rebuild and recover that will consume them for months, if not years.