“For in the end we will conserve only what we love. We will love only what we understand. We will understand only what we are taught.”
Baba Dioum, a Senegalese environmentalist pronounced this wisdom whilst addressing the International Union for the Conservation of Nature in New Dehli in 1968.
His words have been much used, and are relevant to the work conducted in the Cayman Islands by the Central Caribbean Marine Institute and other institutions that aim to teach young people about the myriad wonders of our environment.
CCMI’s mission is to help to conserve the marine environment of the Cayman Islands. Through research, conservation and education we aspire to learn how to protect the Island’s vibrant and beautiful coral reefs, actively work toward their protection and pass on this knowledge by educating our future generations of policy makers and voters.
CCMI runs the Little Cayman Research Centre at Bloody Bay as a top class facility for scientists. So far this year we have hosted researchers studying the luminescence of corals for use in medical advancements, a team conducting an exploratory investigation that turned up 15 new species of microscopic marine worms, and we have created a new in-house study launched to count the Lionfish population in the national marine parks and quantify the effects of the organised culls. New research being conducted at the centre has the potential to produce some far reaching results in the field of coral stress and regeneration.
Often times though, what makes us most proud is the effect that our courses have on the many children that come to the centre. We test their knowledge at the start of their time with us, and again when they leave, we see an average 30 per cent improvement in their understanding of marine ecology and the threats to it. Our young, enthusiastic and dedicated staff teach classes on biodiversity, threats to biodiversity, climate change and the coral reef and threats to marine life.
We deliver a serious message in a fun way and illustrate what the kids are learning with lots and lots of snorkelling trips, scavenger hunts, marine Pictionary and beach clean-ups. We take the students on field trips to demonstrate the extraordinary nature of Little Cayman; a walk on the nature trail, an iguana encounter and a talk at the Booby and Frigate reserve by the National Trust and a magical night time bioluminescence walk where the sparkles caused by their feet in the shallows are a mirror of the spectacular starry night skies in Little Cayman.
Ocean literacy is a topic which is greatly underrepresented in many school curricula. This lack of subject coverage is exacerbated by the vastness of the topic, which could be studied in detail for many years. To help tackle this vast subject, the National Oceanographic & Atmospheric Administration and the National Geographic Society have helped define the ‘Seven Principles of Ocean Literacy’ upon which our project is based.
The institute’s ocean literacy programme is based in Grand Cayman and has seen the creation of the Our Ocean Planet Manual and the Ocean Literacy Project Handbook which have been made available to every school. The programme teaches that the ocean is an integral part of the Earth; our planet’s atmosphere, climate, weather, temperature and productivity are all controlled by the long memory of the ocean. The ocean sustains life on Earth.
The resources that we have created aim to give teachers a scientific framework and support with lesson plans, presentations, visual and audio resources, and classroom activities. The scientific structure of the project can be used in many different ways and tailored to individual class needs. The project structure is the key to ocean literacy – helping to form clear learning objectives for teachers and creating a ‘bigger picture’ for students.
Being ocean literate gives young students the ability to understand the ocean’s influence on them and their influence on the ocean.
With generous sponsorship from KPMG and CUC we work to continue to drive the Ocean Literacy Programme and provide awareness events, training for teachers and children alike in the hope that we can bring about the necessary results of understanding, love and conservation. WH
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