Belizean Wavemakers Gather for Oceana’s 2019 Annual General Meeting
Press Release Date: October 21, 2019
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Mrs. Yvette Sanker Riverol is Oceana’s 2019 Wavemaker of the Year
Saturday, October 19th, 2019 – Belizeans from across the country came out in waves to the Saint Catherine Academy Auditorium in Belize City to participate in Oceana’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) of its dedicated volunteers, our “Wavemakers”. Over four hundred Wavemakers from Corozal, Orange Walk, Belize, Cayo, Stann Creek and Toledo districts, as well as from Caye Caulker and Ambergris Caye attended this year’s event.
During the AGM, several Wavemakers were awarded certificates of appreciation for their sensational, above and beyond support for Oceana’s campaigns and initiatives over the past year. Among the awardees were Nancy Aguilar from Corozal; Phinehas Sylvania from Orange Walk; Larsha Pascascio from the Belize District; Charlotte Jones from Caye Caulker; the Sacred Heart College Interact Club from San Ignacio; Russel Murray Jr. from Stann Creek and Royoko Kimura from Toledo. Oceana was also proud to recognize Mrs. Yvetter Sanker Riverol as the National Wavemaker of the year.
Mrs. Yvette Sanker Riverol is a teacher at the Corozal Junior College (CJC), where she spearheads environmental activities for both her students and community. She has been volunteering with Oceana for almost ten years, having assisted in the 2011 signature drive that led to the People’s Referendum against offshore oil. Mrs. Yvette also helps to recruit volunteers for Oceana by encouraging current and past students to participate in our activities. She is an active advocate for the ban of single use plastics and proudly encourages greener practices around campus. Ms. Yvette is a strong pillar of support for the CJC Wavemaker base and by extension, the entire Corozal community.
Invited guest speaker, Ms. Stacey Alpuche, an Environmental Engineer by training with a passion for water quality analysis, wastewater treatment plants and lake restoration, presented on the sources and harmful effects of water pollution, control methods as well as its relevance in our environment today, specifically the crisis currently affecting parts of the New River.
Keynote speaker, Mrs. Tanya Mcnab-Fields – Creative Director at McNab Visual Strategies and Green Light Ltd., as well as a founding partner of Plastic Free Reefs. McNab-Fields’ highlighted the peril and pervasiveness of plastics and shared that while the scale of use is overwhelming, the response doesn’t have to be. She stressed that personal action doesn’t need to be drastic to be impactful.
Both presentations were followed by engaging dialogue during the question and answer segment.
Belizean Wavemakers are part of the more than a million Oceana members that support the protection and restoration of the world’s oceans.
For pictures from the event, please click here. To see the presentation of this year’s awardees, click here.
Contact: Martinique Fabro – mfabro@oceana.org
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Oceana is the largest international advocacy group working solely to protect the world’s oceans. Oceana wins policy victories for the oceans using science-based campaigns. Since 2001, we have protected over 1.2 million square miles of ocean and innumerable sea turtles, sharks, dolphins and other sea creatures. More than 600,000 supporters have already joined Oceana. Global in scope, Oceana has offices in Asia, North, South and Central America and Europe. To learn more, please visit www.oceana.org.
