Essays

Christine Young-George - 2005-2006
"Wisdom is discerning the way in which knowledge is to be used" - C. George 2006

It is the last week of my program and I wonder ...where did the time go already! Time does fly when you are doing something you love. And to be honest that is exactly what I am doing. The Center for Environmental Management and Natural Resources Management at UWI Cave Hill Campus, Barbados aka CERMES, has become more than an institution for me. It has become a way of life. The CERMES building I have made my home and the students and academic staff are my family. Most of my colleagues are not just Bajans, but "hardcore" Bajans who you would hear screaming "cheese on bread!!!!" every few minutes. My other colleagues are nationals of countries like Guyana, Bermuda and St. Vincent. A true CSME experience!

Our cheery faces and relaxed demeanor would easily mislead a stranger into thinking that we have a lot of free time. The fact is we DEFINITELY don't! Classes begin at 9 am or thereabouts and finish at 12 noon, or sometimes a bit later.

But don't be fooled, the work has only just begun.

The course, like any other Masters Programme requires extensive reading and initiative on the part of the student. I love this style of teaching as it allows for much more flexibility and thinking outside of the box, two attributes which I can certainly say I possess. So I said goodbye to the "spoonfeeding" I once took comfort in from undergraduate days. The program is very intense and highly competitive, with students who attended  undergraduate schools in Canada, England, Florida, Guyana and other parts of the Caribbean.

The first semester started off with a bang…an island tour of Barbados and then a boat tour around Barbados. The lecturers took this opportunity to highlight some of the landforms and features that we would later be exposed to at some point in the program. At the end of the day though, we all got a bit of paradise as we did a bit of snorkeling and were up close and personal with some curious Green Turtles (which are by the way endangered!). That semester consisted of mainly introductory courses and a lot of coursework, critiquing multi lateral environmental agreements and seeing how well or how not well they are working. We did Statistics ( nobody's favourite, but definitely a must) Environmental Planning and Project Management.

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