The newly crowned Miss World Cayman Islands, Kelsie Bodden is embarking on a journey of raising environmental awareness during the Miss World competition held in Sanya, China and the Miss World “Beauty with a Purpose” project.  Kelsie’s personal motto is: ‘Go in to the world and do well, but more importantly, go into the world and do good.’  With this in mind, she is doing just that.  Kelsie is using her reign as Miss World Cayman Islands as a platform to work with local environmental non-profit organisations in the Cayman Islands, as well as within the local community to raise awareness about local environmental issues.  Her passion for the environment expands to her personal blog KelsieBodden.com with an all new series, “BE KIND TO OTHERS & BE KIND TO THE ENVIRONMENT,” In the first blog post of this new series, Kelsie discusses her dedication for protecting the environment and the local environmental organisations she has teamed up with alongside Miss World Cayman Islands.  Here is an excerpt from the blog post, “There is only one Earth and we want to be able to enjoy it’s many treasures now and in years to come. Earth provides us with the necessities we need to live. Sometimes we take these resources, like water for granted but its time for us to show mother nature the respect she deserves” (Kelsie Booden).  To read more of her article, click here.  A message that reminds us of the great importance and responsibility we all share in protecting the environment and being environmentally responsible.  There is no planet B, we must take greater care of the planet.  

Prior to winning the Miss World Cayman Islands Pageant 2018, Kelsie along with other Miss World Cayman Islands contestants went on an environmental tour around the Cayman Islands allowing the contestants the opportunity to connect and engage with local conservationists and gain a better understanding of local environmental issues and conservation efforts. Highlights of the tour included special guest speakers: Johanna Kohler from Shark Conservation Cayman, Andrew McGovern from Ambassador of the Environment The Ritz Carlton, Grand Cayman (Developed by the legendary Jean-Michel Cousteau), Douglas Cameron and Paul Lankford from The Lodge & Peripheral, and Kafara Augustine from Health City (Conservation and Sustainability practices).  Overall, the contestants had an eye-opening experience learning about shark conservation, coral reefs, plastic waste, plastic upcycling projects, sustainability and conservation.  Kelsie reflected on the environmental tour by saying, “On our environment tour, I quickly learned that we can all be “Ambassadors of the Environment”.  As I listened to all of the presentations (by Eco Diver Reef Foundation, Ambassadors of the Environment by Jean-Michel Cousteau, Shark Conservation Cayman and the Gentlemen of Peripheral) one recurring topic was that Cayman’s ecosystems both on land and our marine life have always been envied by others, with this in mind it is important that we help sustain our uniquely beautiful islands!” A heartfelt message that encourages us to not take our precious ecosystems for granted.  It encourages us to all think of ourselves as “Ambassadors for the environment” whereby we can all actively do our part to help preserve precious ecosystems, protect the environment and work alongside local conservation organisations.  Director of Miss World Cayman Islands, Pamela Ebanks-Small found the eco tour to be “Very informative and opened my eyes what we can be doing.”  

Kelsie Bodden Representing the Cayman Islands at Miss World Pageant 2018

An empowering and inspiring message from Kelsie Bodden. 

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Photo Credits: Miss World Cayman Islands & Kelsie Bodden