Island School Impresses Noted Wildlife Artist

Toronto Star – January 19, 2008
By Robert Bateman

We hope that there is a wind, a constant wind, or else the no-see-ums come out to bite us. And the wind is almost always a presence. We can hear the turquoise sea lapping the beach and old coral outcrops and the rattling of the coconut palm fronds. We can also hear a twittering or swishing sound, like a flock of birds that never gets closer or farther away. That is the quiet voice of the wind-driven propeller cranking out kilowatts for the Island School, on Eleuthera, The Bahamas.

The school is devoid of students just now and our family, all 18 of us, has descended on it for the Christmas holidays. We have the use of the girls' and boys' dormitories and some of the staff quarters since they are mostly away in the United States for Christmas. We also have the use of the bicycles, kayaks, and snorkelling gear, plus their modestly industrial kitchen and open-air dining hall. Our 31-year-old son, Christopher, started teaching at the Island School three years ago.

The real boss and founder is Chris Maxey, an ex-U.S. navy Seal, a Yale graduate and now environmental educator. Maxey's dream, thanks to his energy and the hard work of many, has grown significantly over the school's nine-year history. Its student-driven research has expanded into the Cape Eleuthera Institute and now Cape Systems Ltd. is promoting sustainable systems like solar hot-water heaters in the Bahamas.

Since the Island School started, it has spawned a middle school to offer new opportunities to local Bahamian students. Despite this growth, "small is beautiful" still rings true here. The school has an enviable pupil-teacher ratio of approximately three-to-one, with 48 students and 15 teachers. The kids are mostly 16- or 17-year-old American high-school students. They attend for only one semester but those 3 1/2 months are always life transforming in a positive way.

Since the 1960s, I have been giving talks on the hazards to the planet and individuals of our instant-pudding packaged world; this world might be sweet, smooth, convenient and quick, but it creates problems from depletion of resources to pollution to psychological stress. Children in our society are suffering from "nature deficit disorder" as described in the landmark book, Last Child in the Woods, by Richard Louv. Recent research has shown that bringing children back to nature and the outdoors will decrease obesity, attention deficit disorder, drug and alcohol abuse, depression, suicide and bullying. It also helps to improve academic achievement – just what the doctor ordered.

Our family is here in the Bahamas first and foremost to have family fun, but we will also be very busy learning from the school's philosophy and setting, as well as exploring Eleuthera on land and under water.

With the constant wind comes the constant flapping of the Bahamian flag – blue and yellow stripes and black triangle. The flagpole is in the middle of the central compound and around it, when school is in session, the students and staff gather before sunrise to sing the national anthem of the Bahamas, make the day's announcements and commence the hour-long run and swim – staff included. If anyone is late for the exercises, the assembled group – staff included – does push-ups until the tardy one arrives. After the run, there are campus-wide chores, then breakfast and then the school-day starts with all subjects related to the surrounding environment and culture.

In spite of unorthodoxy, it is fully accredited academically. The research station, dedicated mainly to marine biology, is attached to the school. It has real scientists who involve the students in genuine research projects.

For example, there are fish tanks, including one with tilapia, a very tasty, rapidly growing fish. The filtered tilapia water, still full of nutrients, is gravity-fed to a hydroponic operation for growing lettuce and other leafy vegetables. Vegetable table scraps are composted for the school's orchard and nursery. The nonvegetarian scraps are fed to the pigs. Waste at the Island School is seen only as an opportunity. All of the school vehicles run on biodiesel, which is made on site from the free, used cooking oil that the school gets from the cruise ships visiting a small port facility nearby. Here again, a waste loop is closed.

For the duration of the semester, the school prohibits junk food, candy, the Internet and personal cellphones, those seemingly essential items in the life of teenage North Americans. The semester includes an eight-day ocean kayaking trip, two days of solo time almost out of sight of others on an immense beach.

The students also interact with the local Bahamian community in homestays, community projects, ball games and celebrations.

Thanks to a growing potential for scholarships at the Island School, the student body is diversifying from its original private school set. As these young men and women move into leadership positions in their various communities, they will be able to spread the ideas and philosophy of the school into a wider world. The students grow in physical strength, mind and especially spirit.

On the last day, all of the girls are in tears and most of the boys are, too. But the catch is that many of them have serious re-entry problems getting back into the great American way of life. We were told that some sit in their room and cry for the first few days because the modern lifestyle seems so hopeless and shallow.

Our son and the rest of the staff work with them to devise re-entry programs that would involve volunteering and organizing their friends to find ways of helping others. There is no question in my mind that all the young people of North America, in fact, the whole of society, would benefit from many of the things that the Island School is practising. Even small models are worth looking at.

Our family does our last pig feeding and says goodbye to the friendly barracuda that followed us on our snorkelling jaunts. As we stand around the bonfire singing "Auld Lang Syne," I know that we have been at least a little changed in a positive way for 2008 and beyond. The breeze and the flag wave us goodbye as we head for the little airport.

Top Stories