We want to share our knowledge of the “blue planet” with as many people as possible. Marine conservation efforts should not be restricted to academics, researchers and marine biologists; they should be shared with school children and interested resort guests too.
In the Maldives marine conservation is not part of the school curriculum, so it is all the more important to involve the children from a young age in “awareness programs”. Three to four times a year local schools are invited to Banyan Tree and Angsana, where they learn about the significance of eco-tourism and marine conservation. These excursions are not theoretical lessons but require hands-on participation in our marine conservation projects. The children are taken on escorted snorkeling tours of the house reef, take part in cleaning the reef and removing predators that are harmful to the corals; they also transplant broken corals onto the coral garden.
Seeing for themselves how successful marine conservation programs can be, from coral regeneration projects to green sea turtle conservation, makes a great impact on children. It teaches them that everyone can make a difference even when the odds are not looking good. If a school can’t come to the resort, the marine conservation team will visit it with slide shows and interesting reading materials. Often the school children take the conservation message home by sharing their experiences with family and friends on the remote islands.
We also encourage participation by individual travelers in our programs, as well as research from reputable academic institutions. If you are interested in helping out, please contact Mr. Abdul Azeez Abdul Hakeem, our Resident Marine Environment Consultant. |
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Marine biology lesson for school children |
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Escorted house reef snorkeling |
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Drawing competition |
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