MONDAY MAN – Preserving the world his passion

He is very passionate about preserving the environment and educating others about the importance of doing so.A volunteer with the Barbados Sea Turtle Project, Craig Gun-Munro said he had been giving of his time for the past three years in the preservation of turtles, and there was no stopping now.In fact, this 29-year-old said he was constantly thinking of ways to impart his knowledge and help to preserve the world. He was willing to use every opportunity to educate others, especially children he said .“There are a lot of things I am concerned about that are related to the development of humanity. One of my ideas is to get involved somehow in getting access to technology to kids who need it. I am also concerned about the environment. Look at the amount of littering that goes on here in Barbados we don’t need it.“I want to help to create a more positive attitude generally towards the environment and promoting that positive attitude. I think that is something that is lacking and we can work on a lot here. So environmental . . . and human issues I am very much interested in,” he added.According to Gun-Munro, some people might say there are “bigger issues” to deal with other than trying to preserve the species of turtles but in his eyes it was “very important” and he tells why.“The environment is a very important thing to be concerned about. The Hawksbill Turtles are critically endangered which is at the top of the endangered list. So from that perspective it is pretty much important.“The turtles play an important part in our industry here in terms of tourism. A lot of people come to see them. They provide balance in the eco-system so I think it is an extremely important thing. As I say, people might say they are not important as other issues but we have to start somewhere,” he said.While he gives up his Saturday nights each week to “patrol” the coastlines during the nesting period of the Hawksbill turtles (around June to September), Craig also works Monday to Friday at his normal nine to five job in the Information Technology department of Sagicor Financial Corporation.This Monday Man attended St Winifred’s School at the primary level and later did some of his secondary schooling at the St Michael School. He gained his first degree in Business Computing Systems and also holds a Master’s in management from the Imperial College in London.It was when Gun-Munro finished his training in London that he came back to Barbados and enquired about a project where he could offer his services voluntarily and luckily for him he found one that he was very passionate about, The Barbados Sea Turtle Project.Like any other jobs, the part-time environmentalist said there was one main challenge but that would not deter him from giving freely of his time.“The main challenge is just the nature of the project and the fact that it is overnight so I might miss certain things that my friends are doing on weekend nights. So it impacts my social life but that is a small sacrifice to be doing something good.“So I give the time that I can which is one day,” said Craig, who also spent some of his life in Guyana and the Cayman Islands.He said his motivation came from the fact that he knew he was doing “something good”.“I am motivated due to the fact that I get to interact with these amazing animals and get to see the whole process that they go through up close and personal, and just to know that I am doing good and we get to see the numbers increasing every year. “It is a good motivation for sure. It is also great when tourists and kids come up and actually get to experience it.”Gun-Munro said one thing that was lacking was the involvement of more young people in community based activities.“I think everyone should give some of their time for some causes other than themselves even if it is five minutes every day or per week, whatever amount of time you can spare to help some cause or some community. I think it goes a long way and I think that if everybody did that the island and the world would be a better place.