Make Art Not Waste
A Living Landmark of Conservation and Creativity
Beaches and coastal waters in Montserrat are increasingly affected by litter, particularly plastic waste, which poses a threat to marine life and the environment. The images above, taken at Marguerita Bay on 4rd April 2025, highlights the growing issue of pollution along the island's shores. On the eastern side on Montserrat, Marguerita beach faces into the Atlantic Ocean. This beach represents a small sample of the pollution carried from Europe to the Caribbean.
Make Art Not Waste is designed to be a living landmark and beacon for those arriving to Montserrat.
The installment will be situated outside John A. Osbourne airport combining conservation, community, and creativity.
Visitors and locals interact with a wall of upcycled plastic bottles containing personal messages, environmental pledges, and reflections on Montserrat’s natural beauty, and act as a notice board for upcoming eco-tourism and community environmental events.
Designed from local sustainable materials, it is kinetic, weather-adaptable, and sensory-rich. The wall offers a striking first and last impression of the island transforming waste into a powerful storytelling medium, inspiring shared responsibility and action for Montserrat’s ecological and cultural future.
Monthly messages can be collected in the larger bottles to the lower section of the installment, and scanned on the Fish N Fins and Montserrat Tourism Authority's website for further outreach to promote Montserrat's eco consciousness to the globe. The project also aims to prompt more sustainable development awareness in the construction of Montserrat's new capital at Little Bay
Message in a Bottle concept
Storyboard of concept idea
Initial sketches for the Mark Art Not Waste wall.
Concept: Message in a Bottle
A journey of engaging and communicative conservation with Montserratians as well as previous and future visitors through a ‘Message in a Bottle’.
Ideas of conservation and art can be communally shared and collected over time,
Help scientific spatial investigations.
Inform where cleanup operations are needed.
Further community efforts and reveal areas to concentrate
policymaking.
policymaking.
Community Environmental Stewardship Initiative
Davy Hill Community Children's group workshops
Fish 'N Fins ran educational workshops to children from Davy Hill community, informing the group about turtle awareness, identification and conservation. The first session involved identification workshops for the Green and critically endangers Hawksbill turtle, both keystone species in ecosystem health in Montserrat. We then brainstormed ideas to protect the marine and coastal environments, discussing topics of Marine Protection Areas, pollution, policy, and the importance of stewardship.
The second session with Davy Hill community involved a beach run to gather rocks and shells to form part of an art workshop for children to make their own turtle. The outcomes are fantastic!
Community Environmental Stewardship Initiative
Graphic Design for a one-pager and workbook
Graphic development of the poster for CESI one pager
The aim of the poster is to improve engagement rates and reward benefits for members of the CESI, prompting organisations and individuals to take responsibility for their local environmental impact.
Environmental stewardship encompasses the responsible management of natural resources and ecosystems. In Montserrat, this includes caring for our lush ghauts, vibrant nature trails, stunning beaches, and unique volcanic landscapes.
Effective stewardship involves collaboration among individuals, families, businesses and visitors to ensure these natures treasures are preserved for future generations.
Extracts from the CESI workbook.
The workbook aims as an all-in-one guide to environmental stewardship. It contains information about what CESI is, our charter, our goals, key activities, environmental awareness days, monitoring programmes, media engagement and further resources,. It also contains how-to guides for initiatives on reducing, reusing, advocating and creative storytelling.
Work in the Clubhouse
A look at some of the work I did as part of the in-house volunteer programme at the clubhouse in Montserrat's upcoming new capital, Little Bay.
Please explore Fish 'N Fins webpage and Veta Wade's blog to discover more about this inspiring programme. I'm so grateful to have been a part of it and to continue collaborating with the organisation
