Grenada is in the midst of hosting its second annual, week-long Dive & Conservation Festival, which started on 29 May and runs until 5 June.
The Grenada Dive Festival has grown since its inception in 2018. In 2022, in celebration of Grenada’s aquatic and terrestrial efforts, the festival evolved to incorporate conservation activities. This year’s festival is a partnership and collaboration between Grenada Tourism Authority (GTA) and the Grenada Scuba Diving Association, and several conservation groups including Grenada Coral Restoration Foundation, Ocean Spirits, Sustainable Ocean Alliance, and Women in Cleantech & Sustainability – Caribbean Hub.
“Sustainability is central to our value set as a destination,” stated Petra Roach, CEO of the Grenada Tourism Authority (GTA). “Grenada is leading the way in marine conservation by creating protected areas for endangered species, coral gardening and restoration, regulating plastic waste, and promoting sustainable fishing practices. The Dive & Conservation Festival aims to provide a platform to raise awareness of these efforts and bring together global marine conservation leaders to discuss further ways to protect our oceans. Last year’s inaugural Dive & Conservation Festival inspired many necessary sustainability and conservation conversations and the GTA is proud to lead the charge again this year.”
Tiffany Geer, of Aquanauts Grenada, highlighted the importance of collaboration within the path to sustainability. According to Geer, “We chose to live in Grenada because of the incredible diversity above and below the surface. We saw how many groups were taking action towards sustainability and we knew this would be a place where we could collaborate with other organizations and make a lasting impact towards a sustainable future.”
The 2023 Dive & Conservation festival provides attendees with the opportunity to learn about land and sea conservation practices in Grenada while enjoying conservation conversations and in-person activities throughout the week. The festival started on Monday 29 May with a special screening of Chasing Coral at True Blue Bay Resort and transitioned into a week of activities on land and under water, including wreck diving, reef diving and restoration with Grenada Coral Reef Foundation, lionfish hunting, a beach clean-up, sea turtle conservation voluntourism, culinary farm to table dining, sustainable sailing, bird watching and tree planting.
