NASSAU, The Bahamas – Healthy or sustainable buildings, an emerging concept, is one of the disciplines that participants in an upcoming Green Tech programme will be exposed to; the initiative was officially launched at the University of The Bahamas Friday, February 23, 2024

The programme is a partnership of Green Tech in collaboration with a global society of sustainable designers, National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) of University of The Bahamas (UB) and the Ministry of Works and Family Island Affairs for senior high school children, university students and professionals. The objective is to expose participants to multiple disciplines in sustainability including the goals of the United Nations.

Darnell Whymns, founder of Green Tech Ambassadors, an architectural designer with specialty in Green Building Design, said the idea is to educate students and encourage them to, “consider the resources that we have and how we use them even after their life cycle.

“One of the things that we learned in sustainable design is that healthy buildings increase not only the health of the occupants but their performance. In schools, take for instance, according to Harvard University, students learn and have higher results as a result of being in green buildings as opposed to the traditional, conventional buildings.

“It will leave a mark in our culture. Green building design affects health, it affects behavior. I studied behavioral sciences and how building design can impact social behaviour. It is very important as we approach design in our country, that we consider the whole -- how would we feel, how would we react and what would be the end result -- performance, pleasure, satisfaction and comfort.  [The sessions will include] how do we look at our resources now, conserve them, but use them to our benefit now and also consider future generations,” said Ms. Whymns.

The programme offers a series of in-person and virtual courses for individuals with careers in the built environment, in architectural construction, electrical engineering and for high school students who are looking for a new approach to career paths.

A pilot programme will be included in public and private schools to address sustainability and the built environment.

Participants in the launch included Perlene Baker, Assistant Director of Education; Dr. Phillip Rahming (author of the Pledge of Allegiance to the Commonwealth of The Bahamas), Jack Travis, celebrity black architect, who gave a virtual charge, and David Whymns, president, NSBE who introduced the organization’s honorees for Black History Month.

Ms. Baker gave a declaration on behalf of the Hon. Glenys Hanna-Martin, Minister of Education and Technical and Vocational Training and Dominique McCartney-Russell, Director.

Ms. Baker said, “Sustainable education is critical for all of us.

“Your programme will indeed be beneficial to the country. Why you may ask?  Because our country needs you; our country needs this.”