Children learn more about sharks |22 December 2014

The Green Islands Foundation (GIF) hosted another shark education and awareness campaign during the recent Youth Outreach Programme organised by the Seychelles National Youth Council (SNYC).

Conducted at the Anse Royale fun park by GIF, the Seychelles National Parks Authority (SNPA), and the Wildlife Clubs of Seychelles (WCS), students from Praslin and La Digue econdary schools took part in educational activities on marine conservation.

This project, which is sponsored by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Small Grants Programme (SGP) and the Environment Trust Fund (ETF), has two main components. The first is to educate the community and raise awareness on sharks and their importance as an apex predator in the marine ecosystem.

Educational campaigning is one of the main deliverables for this component, along with the creation of school education packages about sharks for primary and secondary schools, which are currently being developed and are intended to be used for many years to come.

The second component aims to increase local capacity, by developing a shark identification guide and training the Seychelles community in shark species identification to contribute to shark research and data gathering.

GIF is collaborating with many different partners on this project, including the WCS, Save our Seas Foundation, Ministry of Education, Seychelles Fishing Authority, Wise Oceans, Fishermen and Boat Owners Association, University of Seychelles and the SNPA.

The SNYC’s Youth Outreach Programme aspires to promote values, life skills, and environment awareness, but also to create bonds of friendship between students. The event for this December holiday was a great opportunity for GIF to interact with children and get their impressions on sharks in general. With help from Terence Vel from the WCS, Jennifer Appoo from GIF taught students some basic facts on shark habitat, species, and biology. This was done with groups of 20 students at a time, and a total of about 60 students took part in the activity.

Other students took part in activities organised by SNPA. Gilberte Gendron raised awareness about the endangered sea turtles found in our waters and the Seychelles turtle tagging project, while Patsy Theresine and Isabelle Ravinia hosted an activity based on different marine animals. At the end of the day, the children went back to Praslin and La Digue, with a better understanding of Seychelles’ incredible marine life and the need for marine conservation.

GIF hosted a similar activity last month for the Care Club primary students from different schools on Mahé. The children learned about different types of shark teeth in relation to their feeding habits, and the various shark species found in Seychelles waters. There was also a demonstration of the shark tagging methodology being used by SNPA.

GIF plans to continue with these activities, together with its project partners, to reach as many children as possible. This is important so as to provide knowledge on sharks and marine life in general for our future fishers, conservationists and policymakers.
 
The children have shown a lot of interest in the activities, an indication that the project comes at the right time and is aimed at the right audience.

Promoting marine education and raising awareness of our ocean’s treasures is vital to properly manage our fisheries and tourism, which is the main aim of the current Blue Economy strategy. If Seychelles as a nation wants to have a flourishing fishing and tourism industry in the future it needs to understand what makes the big blue work so we can take proper care of her.

Contributed