PROJECT NEMO

Children happy with Project NEMO

On Monday, 14 December, over 700 school children took part in Project Nemo. This unique project was set up at the local primary school in the Philippine city of Moalboal, and was made possible thanks to a partnership between the municipality, Magic Island Dive Resort, and the local business community.

The dominant theme of the day was the protection of the beautiful coral reefs and their inhabitants. With the aid of playful tools such as posters, drawings and projects, these primary school students learned more about how this ecosystem works, a system that is literally right outside their doors. Special guests were invited, and came and treated the children to a ‘peek’ under the water’s surface.

In their drawings, the youngest children gave the sea even more colour. Stories were read aloud to the children in the third and fourth year classes. Through these stories, they learned what happens to plastic when it is dumped in the sea: Nemo and his friends eat it, get sick, and sadly, die as a result. The older children were given an explanation about the different marine habitats, from mangroves via the seagrass to corals. They learned which life forms live in the sea, and why all these zones are equally important and must be treated with respect.

It was clear that this was a topic that fascinated these children who grow up near the sea. Everyone involved in the project agreed how successful the day was, and that a continuation of the project will definitely follow in a few months.