After spending time in the Bahamas doing research as a college student, Dr. Dawn Ford felt drawn to return to the islands and give back to the people there. Since joining the faculty at the University of Tennessee Chattanooga nearly 30 years ago, she has taken hundreds of UTC students to study island and marine ecology at Gerace Research Centre on the island of San Salvador.
The center, which is housed in an old naval base, has strong connections to Tennessee. “Gerace Research Centre was started by Don and Kathy Gerace. Don passed away a few years ago, but Kathy has a home here in Tennessee,” Dawn shares. “And the field station’s executive director is Troy Dexter, who is an alumnus of UT Knoxville’s Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences.”
In 2022, Dawn took the next step to provide educational programs for the people of San Salvador, which is considered an underdeveloped island, and founded the nonprofit organization Bahamas Bloom. The organization takes an educational approach in the mission to improve the lives of both children and adults on San Salvador.
“A few years ago, we were awarded a grant from Walden University to start a community garden and to do some summer programming for the children who live there,” she explains. “That was the first year we offered Camp Bloom, a science-based summer day camp for kids on the island. It is the only summer science education program for the children there.”
At camp, which lasts four days per age group, children learn about their environment with lessons on plants and animals as well as how to live in their environment through snorkeling, hiking, and learning to swim. In addition to offering educational activities, the camp provides transportation for many kids to and from camp each day.
This summer, a family snorkel event was added to the Saturday between camp sessions, and it was a great success. “We provided equipment and help so that parents could learn how to snorkel if they didn’t yet know how,” explains Dawn. “We're really trying to connect all the dots so that adults and children both become more connected to their environment and are comfortable in it.”
Another exciting event happening this fall is the harvest of the community garden, which was planted in partnership with the Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute. “They have a project to improve food security in the Bahamas through gardening of sweet potatoes,” explains Dawn. “They provided sweet potato plants to us and the kids planted the plants this summer during camp. They should be ready for harvest in November.”
With the success of previous camps and programs, Dawn is excited about expanding what Bahamas Bloom offers. “I would love to expand the program to be more scientific and provide opportunities for the kids to do things they may not be able to experience otherwise, like looking through a compound microscope to study marine life,” she says.
Growth for Bahamas Bloom programming means reaching more people and additional opportunities for community involvement through donation of time, money, and supplies. “We have to take everything that we need for programs and camps. Through fundraising and the grant, I've been able to buy kid-sized snorkeling equipment, life vests, and supplies for activities such as arts and crafts,” explains Dawn. “I also need volunteers to help run the camp. I've had UTC students help as well as alumni who have traveled to the island before, but it would be great to connect with others who want to make an impact.”
Bahamas Bloom is a 501c3 nonprofit organization. For more information on how to support Bahamas Bloom camps and programs, visit www.bahamasbloom.com. Also visit mosquitojoe.com/locations/chattanooga to find out how Dawn and her husband work locally through Mosquito Joe of Chattanooga to protect people and the environment through the use of botanically based products.