School (On The Beach)'s Out

Our environmental education program on Bangka Island has come to a close for another year. It’s been a whirlwind ten weeks. We’ve learned and laughed, sang and snorkelled, and instilled a passion for this beautiful, tropical ecosystem in another group of ocean ambassadors at Lihunu Junior High School.

We partnered with Seasoldier North Sulawesi to deliver the lessons. Run by young, local conservationists, Seasoldier were perfectly placed to bring the programme to life for our participating students. Estrid and Andreas, our two teachers, are both passionate conservationists and did a wonderful job teaching Lihunu’s young people about the different habitats on their island home as well as the importance of looking after them and reducing their plastic use.

Let’s take a look back

Throughout the ten weeks, we did a few classroom based lessons to set the scene for students before heading out to see the habitats up close. Let’s take a little look back at how we structured the program.

Week 1: Intro

Our first session was all about getting the kids excited about what was to come over the next ten weeks. Bangka lies at the heart of the Coral Triangle, one of the most diverse marine ecosystems on the planet. We wanted to make sure that the students were proud of their island home and fully aware of how important it is to look after the fragile ecosystem. Introducing No-Trash Triangle and Seasoldier, we also picked three volunteers to be our representatives in the school. The volunteers were asked to make sure their fellow students (and teachers!) were committed to managing their trash in the right way, whilst collecting their classroom’s bins so they could be sent to our sorting station.

Week 2: All About Mangroves

Mangroves line the beach at Lihunu and so are ever present in the students’ lives. We covered just how important these fascinating trees are as a habitat and natural barrier. We also properly introduced our teaching partners from Seasoldier. Andreas and Efrid are both passionate local conservationists and activists, and did a great job of connecting with the young people of Bangka.

Week 3: Trip To The Mangrove Forest

It was time to get our hands dirty and head out into the mangroves. We showed the students the different varieties of mangroves, collected some samples to take a closer look and had fun on the beach playing games afterwards.

Week 4: Seagrass and snorkelling

We took another trip to the beach to get to know seagrasses a little better. After a quick intro to this fascinating habitat, we divided the students into groups and did some snorkelling. They were tasked with collecting some samples in between splashing about and having fun.

Week 5: Coral Reef

Back in the classroom, we started learning about coral and the reef system surrounding Bangka Island. Many of the students knew a bit about coral, but as is often the way when you’ve beauty on your doorstep, hadn’t fully appreciated just how special this habitat is in the global marine biodiversity story. We also covered off some theory on seagrasses following the previous weeks snorkelling adventure.

Week 6: Coral - A Deeper Dive

Having scratched the surface of corals in the previous lesson, we taught the students about the different types of coral and the various animals that call the coral reef home. Linking together the corals with the fish and creatures that call it home helped bring the importance of the ecosystem to life for the students, many of whom come from fishing families.

Week 7: Tasini and Reef Snorkel

Thanks to our kind partners at Making Oceans Plastic Free, we were able to gift each student participant a free reusable Tasini bag. The bags fold down into cute cuddly sea creature key rings which the students loved. We hope they’ll wear and use them proudly within their communities, inspiring change and conversation. We headed over to Coral Eye where the students were split into groups and kitted out for a snorkel. The Coral Eye house reef is particularly impressive and we were able to spot lots of familiar fish and marine life as well as the various coral types.

Week 8: Beach Clean Up

Busa Bora beach is at the mercy of the plastic waste that washes up with each and every tide. Having learned about the dangers plastic and humans pose to the various marine habitats on Bangka, we decided to take action. The students collected a mammoth amount of plastic waste, all of which will be sent to our sorting station and recycled or disposed of correctly. Once we’d finished at the beach, we took a trip to the sorting station where Rini and Eby, our sorting queens, took the students through their work, talking about the different types of plastic and how they treat it.

Week 9: Preventing a Trash Triangle

Having seen the impact of the waste first hand on Busa Bora beach the previous week, we taught the students a bit more about the different waste types and encouraged them to take responsibility for their own rubbish. We hope that they will take this lesson away and spread the word amongst their families and friends. And of course, there was time for some fun and games afterwards.

Week 10: A Celebration

Our final week was the same day as the class’ graduation ceremony. We tied in our program end with this celebration, congratulating the students on all they’d learned and contributed to over the previous nine weeks with a certificate pronouncing them Ocean Ambassadors. This was a chance for us to consolidate what had been learned and encourage the participants to bring about change and positive action in their communities. Armed with the knowledge and sense of responsibility, we hope we’ve helped create a new generation of change makers!

So what next?

Well, we’ve had an incredible response to our education program this year. Schools on other islands and across Manado have reached out to ask if we can offer the program to their students during the next academic year. Right now, we’re taking stock and making plans. But we know for sure that we want to continue to build on this year’s success, expand the program and inspire more young people to take action and protect their environment!