As hurricane season approaches, most Virgin Islanders know the routine without needing much reminder. We check the cistern. We buy extra water. We look for the flashlights, batteries, canned goods, medication refills, insurance papers, and all the things we hope we will not need. We look at the shutters, we listen for whether the generator sounds right, and start thinking about who in the family may need help if a storm actually comes.
For many of us, hurricane preparation is not just a checklist, but an emotional process. It brings back memories of long lines, hot nights without power, cold showers, damaged roofs, blocked roads, lost workdays, and the deep uncertainty that comes after a major storm. So yes, preparedness begins at home; but, in the Virgin Islands, it cannot and should not end there.
We also have to think about what protects us outside of our homes. Our reefs, mangroves, hillsides, guts, trees, beaches, and coastlines are not simply the beautiful backdrop of our island lives. They are part of the system that helps us survive. They help slow water, hold land in place, reduce flooding, protect shorelines, support fishing and tourism, and make recovery possible after the storm has passed. This means that environmental protection is not an abstract issue for scientists, policymakers, or activists alone; but, it is a daily Virgin Islands issue. It is connected to whether a road floods, whether a home is damaged, whether a beach disappears, even whether a small business can reopen, and whether families can get back to some sense of normalcy.
My most recent research looked at how Caribbean residents think about environmental risk. As a licensed psychologist and faculty member in the Department of Psychology at the University of the Virgin Islands, I wanted to better understand what shapes people’s concern for the environment and how that knowledge can support better public education and stronger local policy. One of the clearest findings was that people who understand humans and nature as being connected are more likely to take environmental risks seriously. That may sound simple, but is actually quite profound. When we see the land and sea as separate from us, environmental protection can feel like someone else’s issue. But when we understand that our health, safety, homes, culture, economy, and future are tied to the health of this place, the conversation changes.
The research also showed that political beliefs can shape how people view environmental risk. This is relevant because environmental messages in the territory cannot sound distant, partisan, or disconnected from real life. They have to speak to what people already care about, which is family, faith, work, home, culture, safety, and the ability to recover after hardship.
A hurricane reminds us very quickly that we are not in control of everything. We cannot decide where a storm will go. But we can make choices about what we protect, what we neglect, where we build, how we prepare, and what we leave vulnerable. So as we prepare our homes this hurricane season, we might also ask a wider question: what parts of our environment are helping to protect us, and how are we protecting them in return? In the Virgin Islands, caring for the environment is not separate from caring for people. It is part of caring for our home.
— Dr. Sheena Myong Walker is an Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of the Virgin Islands and a licensed psychologist with Mind/Body Health & Psychology, LLC. Her scholarship and clinical work center on global mental health, cultural identity, environmental risk perception, and the development of psychological services in underserved communities. Living and working in the Caribbean has shaped her commitment to research that is not only academic, but also useful to the people and places it seeks to understand. The study referenced in this op-ed is available here: ScienceDirect article. (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590291126004122)
Editor’s Note: Opinion articles do not represent the views of the Virgin Islands Source newsroom and are the sole expressed opinion of the writer. Submissions can be made to visource@gmail.com.
