The Trini Environmentalist

What is Hail? Hail is a form of precipitation where ice called hailstones falls from the sky. It is usually associated with colder climates or the winter season. Hailstones begin as water vapour that is condensed into small water droplets. At the top of a thunderstorm, temperatures reach between -50 to -60 o C, and these tiny droplets are swept up into this zone where it freezes and forms layers of ice around the initial water droplet as more water comes up into this region, thereby producing hail. Video 1: Showing someone in the Arouca area picking up hail in their yard (2021) Is Hail in the T&T Normal? The occurrence of hail across Trinidad and Tobago is not exactly unheard of. In the last 3 years, there have been many reports of hail in areas such as Maraval, Diego Martin, Arouca, Trinicity, San Fernando, and many more. Although we live in the tropics and usually experience warm temperatures, the thunderstorms we experience bring the temperature down low enough to freeze t...

What are pollinators? Pollinators are anything that aids in the movement of pollen from one flower to another. Pollination can be done by animals or wind. Pollination is essentially the transfer of pollen between two flowers of the same species which initiates fertilization and the growth of fruits and seeds. When insects and other animals come into connection with flowers, the pollen gets stuck to their bodies and is transferred to other flowers of the plant. The wind also is a main method of pollination. Pollen is swept up by the wind and transferred to other flowers in this manner thereby pollinating them. Figure 1: showing bees devouring nectar (Nirvana Rajaram 2021) Why do pollinators matter? In the world of agriculture, approximately one thousand (1000) plants are grown for the purpose of food, beverages, species, fibres, and medicine all of which require pollination to produce crop yields. Without pollinators, our diet will be extremely limited. We would not have 80% of th...

In Trinidad and Tobago, we are fortunate to be located in the Southern Caribbean just below the equator (Latitude: 10 o N, Longitude: 61 o W). When storms form in the Atlantic Ocean they rotate in a clockwise direction which projects the storms north-westerly, hence we are usually spared from bad weather. However, recently we have been experiencing intense weather conditions that were seemingly not there before. These once rare occurrences are becoming more frequent. Figure 1: showing the weather patterns in the Atlantic Ocean (Trinidad and Tobago Weather Centre 2021) Why are we experiencing this weather? Let us discuss the role that Climate Change has on the increasing weather intensity. Climate Change refers to the abnormalities that occur within our normal climate. For example, in Trinidad and Tobago, we have two seasons, the dry season and the wet season. This year we have had an extremely hot dry season, and we are currently experiencing torrential rains in our wet season. We ...

What are mangroves? Mangroves are trees or shrubs that grow in marshy or swamp-like areas that range from freshwater to saltwater. These areas are typically low in dissolved oxygen and the water moves very slowly. In Trinidad and Tobago, there are 8 species of mangroves that can be found at the Caroni Swamp, Nariva Swamp and 43 other locations throughout the length and breadth of our islands. It is estimated that we have 7,000 hectares of mangrove left in Trinidad and Tobago. Figure 1: showing Mangroves in Caroni Swamp (Shutterstock 2021) Why are mangroves important? I am sure we have seen or heard something about mangrove conservation, but why should we conserve the mangrove we have left? To answer this question, we dive into the many ways that our mangroves protect us and our wildlife. Firstly, mangroves act as our first line of defence when it comes to oceanic waves. When the seas are rough or there is a tsunami coming our way, the mangroves’ dense and complex root system wi...