Conserve Habitats and Protect Organisms (CHaPO), an organisation championing youth in STEM, hosted the Sargassum Snatch Innovation Competition, where finalists were challenged to design and build simple, low-cost tools to collect sargassum.
On Sunday, three finalists showcased their projects aimed at tackling the challenge of sargassum seaweed overwhelming the shores of Trinidad and Tobago.
CHaPO representative Sarita Mahabir explained that sargassum remains growing threat to our coastlines and livelihoods.
“Sargassum, when it comes to our shores, causes a lot of disturbances to our natural shoreline habitats. It can disrupt turtle nesting, amongst other things. It also disrupts the ecotourism and just recreational use of our beaches. In decomposing. sargassum lets out hydrogen sulphide gas, which is very unpleasant to persons trying to use the beaches recreationally.”
With fifteen submissions, three prototypes advanced to the final on Sunday.
Navita Persad, who took first place, shared how her prototype works: “The idea of my prototype was to use barrels and it was given as a suggestion to me. I found the barrel was the best because it would have collected more than the other options.”
Jaden Forde, who placed second in the competition, said the genesis of his idea was born from observing pool cleaners.
“My design is essentially two scoops on each side of the boat, and they have a mechanism that could rotate the sargassum and anything it collects inside of a net located in the boats.”
Third-place winner Carissa Floyd aimed to create a prototype that used less energy and fewer resources, unlike the ones already in use that cost much to operate.
“My prototype consists of two nets that are situated on either side of the vessel, and it’s meant to collect the sargassum floating in the ocean with as minimal effort as possible. I really came up with this idea from doing my research into inter-devices that already exist and seeing how I could create something that was not mechanised.”
The event on Sunday not only featured the competition aspect, but also showcased projects that could transform sargassum from an environmental burden into an economic opportunity.