A Cayman Islands student will take on a five-mile, deep-water swim in the name of environmental conservation later this month.
Connor Childs, 22, will swim the stretch of water known as the Bogue between Cayman Brac and Little Cayman on 14 Aug. to raise funds for the National Trust for the Cayman Islands.
“I am hoping to raise money so they are able to buy and protect vital ecosystems for generations to come. By protecting our native lands, we are also protecting our own culture and heritage,” he said.
Childs will depart from the western tip of Cayman Brac at 6am and swim towards the Point of Sand on the eastern end of Little Cayman. He expects the swim to take between three-and-a-half hours and four hours.
For almost the entire the swim, it will be far too deep for Childs to see the sea floor beneath him. The stretch is home to pelagic sea creatures like blue marlin, wahoo and yellowfin tunas.
While Childs will be in the water alone, a chase boat will follow him on the journey between the islands.
Childs, who grew up in the Cayman Islands, is on summer vacation from studying environment and geography at the University of Hawaii. He has long been concerned about the environment and wants to do something to help preserve it.
He hopes that people will be inspired by his story and will go to the website of the National Trust for the Cayman Islands to donate to the land preservation fund.
“Anyone who lives here or who is a regular returning tourist can see how fast these islands are changing,” he said.
“We still have a lot of crucially important habitat that is constantly under threat, including the largest contiguous mangrove wetland in the Caribbean.”
The National Trust is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to preserving the natural environment and conserving land in the Cayman Islands.
He hopes that if enough money is raised for land preservation, “We will be able to show our children mangroves, seagrasses and forests instead of showing them where they used to be.”
He added, “You are not donating to me; you are donating to Cayman, so please donate what you can and please share this with all your friends and family so that generations to come will be able to enjoy the same environment that we have been able to enjoy.”
The form for donating to the Cayman Islands land preservation fund can be found by clicking on this link or by visiting the National Trust for the Cayman Islands website at www.nationaltrust.org.ky.