Marine photographers donate image library

(CNS): Award-winning photographers, William and Donna Goodwin are hoping to inspire Cayman’s young people about their own marine environment. The husband and wife team have donated five DVDs to the Education Ministry containing more than 800 images and video clips of marine life and underwater scenery taken just off the coast of Cayman Brac. The couple said with the pressures of climate change and man’s impact on the environment, the marine world was changing rapidly and they want to enthuse young Caymanians to understand what they have beneath the waves before it is all lost.

“Most kids may never have an opportunity to dive and experience Cayman’s marine beauty for themselves,” Donna Goodwin explained. “With all of the environmental changes, we wanted to capture some of that beauty before it’s gone, but we also hope to inspire the kids to take charge and become advocates for their environment.”

The images have been loaded onto the Education Department’s interactive Studywiz web portal, where both teachers and students can access them for lessons and projects. They have been dubbed the Cayman Islands Underwater Image Bank for Students and are under copyright for use as educational tools only.  The images and videos will also help supplement resources in the Central Caribbean Marine Institute’s ocean science programme. They can also be used in the biology component of GCSE science; GCSE leisure and tourism studies; and any other areas deemed relevant by teachers.

The idea for the donation was born following a chance meeting between the Goodwins and the Education Minister during the grand opening of the Alexander Hotel in Cayman Brac last year.  

 “I think that this is a good indication of what can happen when private citizens, who are simply doing what they love, use their talents to assist our school system,” Rolston Anglin said. “For them to have stepped up and done this, completely free of cost, is highly commendable and we really just want to thank them.  They have demonstrated that it’s possible to assist our education system without spending a lot of money, and that all of us can have a profound impact on our children’s education by simply sharing our own work and interests with them. I encourage others to partner with the education system in similar fashion.”