We are nature lovers, ocean ambassadors, philanthropists and entrepreneurs living on a tiny island and trying to make this a better world.
We love this place. We explore, freedive, kitesurf, swim and melt with the local culture. The Turks & Caicos Islands have everything you can wish for. From crystal clear waters, amazing wildlife to magical marine life. Hang around with Jojo the local wild dolphin, freedive with resident caribbean reef sharks, glide through the seagrass bed with the friendly turtles and experience closer encounters with the majestic humpback whales. Our challenge is to keep this beautiful island as pristine as possible for future generations.
Our Initiative:
Mudjin Harbour & Rocky Dragon Cay aka Sleeping Dragon. Middle Caicos, Turks & Caicos Islands.
Mudjin Harbour
Discover Salt Cay and Grand Turk
Take a 25-minute ferry ride, and you will arrive at North Caicos, one of the largest islands in the Turks and Caicos. Drive across this lush island dotted with small farms and gardens and cross the one-mile causeway to Middle Caicos. Soon you’ll see a sign for the road to Mudjin Harbour. After parking, look for the winding stone path that will take you to the edge of a high bluff where a jaw dropping view of a pristine beach will appear like magic. Just beyond, you’ll see the jagged spine of Dragon Cay with its prominent head looking as if it’s about to crawl out of the water. Walk along the top of the bluff until the path ends at a natural tunnel. Enter carefully and emerge onto a secret beach walled off from the rest of the world. This path is the beginning of the “Crossing Point Trail” that, back in the day, natives walked to visit family and friends in scattered settlements.
The pristine shores of our island are always vulnerable to plastic drifting through the ocean. Please help us keep the beaches clean by properly disposing of any plastic or trash you have used. We have so much to protect! “Proud of my Island” is a driving force behind the movement to become more conscious of the environment. By choosing reusable bags, you become part of the island’s effort to reduce, reuse and recycle. Let’s all limit our carbon footprint and live a more sustainable lifestyle.
Humpback whale breaching. North shore of Providenciales, Turks & Caicos
The Epic Journey of Humpback Whales
Every year beginning in January, humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) arrive from the nutrient rich coasts off Greenland, the Canadian Maritime Provinces, and New England to the warm waters of the Turks & Caicos Islands. Here, the mothers give birth to calves in the shallow banks and nurture them for the long and arduous journey back in late March or early April. During this period, males compete fiercely to mate with a female, often singing as a distinct form of communication that will travel miles away. Humans too can hear the singing in the water and even feel the vibrations if close enough. The unique patterns on the underside of the fluke (tail) serve as the equivalent of a human fingerprint and allow marine scientists to identify and track them. Weighing up to 88,000 pounds (40 metric tons) and measuring 40 ft (12 m) or more in length, these magnificent cetaceans can be seen arching their backs, slapping the water with their giant pectoral fins, dramatically breaching, as shown in the picture, or just resting beneath the surface throughout the Turks & Caicos. The most popular islands for whale watching are Grand Turk and Salt Cay, with February and March being the best time for viewing or even swimming with these gentle giants under professional guidance.
Whales often ingest plastic in the ocean that can severely harm and even kill them over time. If these whales and other sea creatures are going to survive, we must ensure that our oceans remain clean. By using reusable shopping bags, you are directly helping the environment and reducing plastic that ends up in our oceans. Refuse single-use plastics and reuse and recycle as much as you can to keep our oceans and the planet healthy. Make small, conscious choices every day towards a more sustainable lifestyle.
Throughout the planet there are only eight species of pelican, making us incredibly blessed to have the Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) as a common sight in Turks and Caicos.
Having the Brown Pelican gracing our shores is made extra special by it being an excellent example of species recovery from one that was once on the brink of extinction. Seen as a comically elegant bird; clumsy on land, yet so graceful in flight, rising and falling as they glide along the coastline just inches above the water. While the smallest of the family, it is also one of only two species that feed by plunge-diving at high speed into the water to catch their prey. You can witness this spectacle along Grace Bay and all over the TCI.
This image of a Brown Pelican showing its oversized bill and sinuous neck was taken on the water’s edge at Half Moon Bay on Little Water Cay. The adult Pelican is basking in the first light of the day and the photograph was captured nice and close with a wide-angle lens. Be sure that spotting TCI’s National Bird in all its glory is on your must to do list while visiting the islands.
Kim Mortimer Photography
Hidden on the remote southwest coast of Providenciales, West Harbour Bluff is a highly-scenic attraction in the Frenchman’s Creek and Pigeon Pond Nature Reserve, and brings together geology, flora and fauna, and history. This special coastal area complements the nature reserve, and adds to the natural diversity that makes the protected region a jewel in the Turks and Caicos.
Part of what makes West Harbour Bluff exceptional are the details. There’s Split Rock with its osprey nest, the small cave that has a secret access to the ocean and where Lucayan artefacts were once found, the historical rock inscriptions on the cliffs above left by shipwrecked sailors, a secluded beach, and fascinating wildlife. There’s always something interesting to see. Ospreys, brown pelicans, and white-tailed tropic birds glide by, sharks, stingrays, and eagle rays can be seen from the cliffs, and in the distance on the horizon is West Caicos and the breaking waves at distant West Reefs. Bonefish Point, a sandy spit of land nearby, is another beautiful spot close by, and supports thatch palm forests, starfish, and calm water.
It’s important that West Harbour Bluff is protected and preserved for future generations. As part of a nature reserve, fishing, the taking of any natural or historical object, graffiti, and vandalism is illegal.
Agile Levin
Thanks to our partners Waste TCI, Blue Heron Aviation, Visit TCI, Freedivewithme, Marine Upholstery Express and Ocean Frontiers TCI we made this initiative possible to keep the island healthy and sustainable for future generations. Special thanks to the TC National Trust for trusting and believing in us and our initiative, and for keeping their mission and vision alive: protect, preserve and promote the cultural historic and natural heritage of the TCI.
In May 2019, the Turks & Caicos Government took a huge turn and officially imposed a ban on plastic bags and single-use products. For us, this was like a wish come true.
So yes, we got inspired and saw reusable bags as the perfect vehicle to keep spreading what matters to us. We went above and beyond and loving what we know, we decided to pursue this simple yet essential idea. We got together with local photographers to find the perfect image, one that would feature either unique landmarks, cultural heritage, wildlife or marine life of the Turks & Caicos Islands.
And as you might agree with us, selecting the images was hard enough as all of them were beautiful and worth of showing. In the end, we accomplished our mission.
Somehow, we needed one more step to close the circle and that’s when we realized we could help people in need in times of pandemic through this, our perfect vehicle.
“As you develop your awareness in nature, you begin to see how we influence all life and how all life influences us. A key and critical feature for us to know” –
Tony Ten Fingers ~ Wanbli Nata’u ~ Oglala Lakota
Proud of my Island is an inspiration to “love what you know”, get to know our island better, strengthen the pride of belonging and a call to be part of the natural resources that identify us as an island and that make us unique in the world.