By Cynthia Drescher From CNTraveler

Charity efforts reach both above and below the ocean’s surface for the Sandals Foundation, which pairs luxury resort amenities with active appreciation of the Caribbean environment.

The most popular tourist site on the Caribbean island of Grenada is actually just off the verdant coastline, below the surface of the azure waters. Some 25 feet down in Moliniere Bay, sit 65 sculptures, a collection of submerged art known as the Underwater Sculpture Park. Day after day, boatloads of snorkelers and divers jump in and extend their GoPros to capture photos of the haunting shapes, which range from still life scenes, like fruit and a pitcher on a table, to a field of 16 human forms lying in the sand.

British artist Jason deCaires Taylor, who began the project, cast many of his figures from actual women and children of Grenada. The most famous of the sculptures, titled “Vicissitudes,” is a ring of children holding hands and facing outwards. Installed in 2007, it’s already home to coral forms which have built upon the art with their own peculiar shapes. The newest sculpture, “The Nutmeg Princess” by artist Lene Kilda, references a character of Grenadian folklore who symbolizes the nutmeg harvest of “The Spice Isle.”

Aside from serving as a background for undersea selfies, the Park has another important duty; it literally plants a new base for the regeneration of Grenada’s coral reefs. Constructed of a resilient, reduced pH cement that promotes coral development, it is working to attract marine life back to an area of the sea floor ravaged by Hurricanes Ivan and Emily, in 2004 and 2005.

Although snorkelers and glass-bottom boats are frequent visitors to this shallow wonderland, it’s scuba diving that makes for the best appreciation of and interaction with the sculptures (not to mention the selfie possibilities).

In order to explore the range of the underwater sculpture park, resort Sandals LaSource Grenada, ranked as one of the best resorts in the Caribbean in Condé Nast Traveler’s Reader’s Choice Awards, offers the incredible amenity of unlimited scuba diving as part of its all-inclusive program. Complimentary scuba diving is actually an exclusive hallmark of all Sandals Resorts, and in Grenada it means the ability to explore the breadth of the Sculpture Park and perhaps even visit a different shipwreck every day. The island has 15 easily diveable wrecks, like the Bianca C,a 600-foot ocean liner which burned and slowly sank after an engine room explosion in 1961, and make Grenada the top wreck diving destination in the Caribbean.

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Even though Grenada was not hit by the destructive forces of Tropical Storm Erika in mid-August, the island of Dominica, further north, suffered a lot. In response, the Sandals Foundation quickly mobilized efforts to aid in donations for the clean-up, rebuilding, and providing overall support for the community. Guests at all Sandals Resorts may actively contribute at their destination as well, thanks to Sandals’ participation in the Pack For a Purpose program. Through this, travelers are asked to bring school supplies, children’s books, and requested educational items—all neatly itemized by destination on the Pack For a Purpose website—and allow their Sandals resort to deliver them to local schools with demonstrated need—all without having to get wet.

IMAGES:
Alamy A snorkeler checks out the “Vicissitudes” sculpture within Grenada’s Underwater Sculpture Park.
Photo by Cynthia Drescher A scuba diver photographs the sculptures, passing the “The Nutmeg Princess” statue.

For more on this story go to: http://www.cntraveler.com/stories/2015-09-16/help-save-coral-reefs-visit-this-undersea-sculpture-park-in-grenada