Mettes, Christie

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Position / Title
Lecturer
Department
Faculty of Hospitality and Tourism Management Studies and Organization, Governance and Management (Faculty of Arts and Science)
Email Address
christie.mettes@ua.aw
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Author Name Variants
Fields of Specialization
Environmental Sciences
Small Island States
Sustainble Waste Management
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Last updated January 12, 2026
Introduction
Expertise
Biography
Christie Mettes is a lecturer at the University of Aruba. She lectures Introduction to Environmental Science at the Faculty of Hospitality and Tourism Management Studies and Organization and Small Island Developing States (SIDS) in the Organization, Governance and Management of the Faculty of Arts and Science. Outside of the University, she leads the Metabolic Foundation in Aruba, through which she co-founded Brenchie's Lab and Plastic Beach Party and developed the Mo-B Lab program in Aruba. Her main employment is as project coordinator of Metabolic Foundation. Christie led the circular economy team in Aruba's 2020 Master Plan and sits on the board of the Sociaal Economische Raad (SER) as an independent board member (2020-2023). As a professional Christie is also affiliated with Metabolic in Amsterdam, and is part of the Fab Lab Network. She has worked on open-source replicable interventions for the transition towards more sustainable communities. She also holds the teaching certification of Certificate hospitality education from American Hotel and Lodging Education Institute (CHE).

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    Metabolism of Islands
    (International Society for Industrial Ecology (ISIE), in partnership with Metabolism of Islands (MoI) and the Climate Adaptation and Resilience (CLARE) program of the U.K. and Canada, 2025-10) Acevedo, Diego; Mettes, Christie; Mijts, Eric; de Scisciolo, Tobia; Ulacio, Alexandra
    Metabolism of Islands: This 34-minute documentary explores the provocative question: Can a small island truly achieve sustainability? Drawing on the powerful analogy that islands, much like living organisms, metabolize materials and energy to sustain their populations, the film reveals how unsustainable resource-use patterns—an “island metabolism” out of balance—can weaken resilience and amplify vulnerability to climate shocks. The “Metabolism of Islands” introduces a ground-breaking, evidence-based systems perspective that moves beyond short-term fixes toward holistic strategies for long-term sustainability. Featuring voices from across the world’s small island nations, the documentary brings together science, storytelling, and lived experience to illuminate both the challenges and pathways to resilience. Conceived and directed by Simron Singh, and edited by Alexandra Ulacio, the film is a collaborative global effort produced and funded by the International Society for Industrial Ecology (ISIE), in partnership with Metabolism of Islands (MoI) and the Climate Adaptation and Resilience (CLARE) program of the U.K. and Canada.
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    PublicationOpen Access
    Ocean Literacy Principles and low-cost hands-on science experiments for kids from kindergarten to highschool
    (2025-05) Mettes, Christie
    In 2021, the United Nations launched their Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030), The ‘Ocean Decade’, provides a convening framework for a wide range of stakeholders across the world to engage and collaborate outside their traditional communities to trigger nothing less than a revolution in ocean science. A key tool in achieving the goals set out by the Ocean Decade is Ocean Literacy, a concept that has been developed by UNESCO as 7 key principles for understanding the ocean. The National Marine Electronics Association (NMEA) has worked to develop a teaching guideline for taking these 7 principles to students at 4 different grade levels: K-2, 3-5, 6-8 and 9-12. However, educational material specifically connected to each Ocean Principle and grade level is still hard to find. As a small island state, Ocean Literacy is of key importance for Aruba. However, after sitting down with different teachers we found that it was not yet an element within the local curriculum. To work towards this issue, Metabolic Foundation has turned NMEA's guidelines and a set of open access educational Canva templates from World Ocean Day to develop a series of 28 educational booklets, one for each grade level and ocean principle, adjusted to the Aruban context. We are currently in the process of testing the activities with kids, and the next step is to translate the booklets from English to Dutch and Papiamento.