Les Pied dans L’eau

Celebrating Marine Week with The Crags | Western Cape | South Africa

Hardly able to contain our excitement, the kids and I quickly lost our shoes and rolled-up our pants. Gone the neat attire, we were ready for the surprises Natures’ Valley had reserved for us.

The Crags Primary School at the Natures’ Valley Beach during Marine Week 2014

I’ve been playing Dora the explorer for the past few weeks, months even, and “Marine Week” was no exception. Joining hands with Natures’ Valley Trust (NVT), SANParks organised a day at the seaside for The Crags Primary school grade 7 students. This year’s National Marine Week theme was # OCEANS 70/20: Decoding Mysteries, Optimising Opportunities. Yes, I know… not even the OCEANS can escape social media nowadays (hashtags everywhere!).

Ruth Moeti (wearing the white hat) from NVT, 

teaching kids about the influence of oceans on climate

Anyhow, in this context though, the acronym OCEANS was derived from the phrase “Opportunities for Community and Economy: Advantages from Natural Services”. Talking about communities and opportunities, South Africa is celebrating 20 years of freedom this year. My interpretation; equal opportunities for every member of the community, yay! Hence, the theme also reflecting what has been achieved in the past 20 years by the South African government and what is being planned for the 20 years to come.

Answering questions just like in a “normal” classroom

And, if you were wondering about where the 70 fits in? Well… it’s for the 70% of Earth’s surface that’s covered by the mysterious oceans, waiting to be explored, understood and utilised in a sustainable manner. Humans have been collecting seafood and making use of the oceans’ resources and services for tens of thousands of years. However, the ways and extent to which we exploit those marine resources have undergone great changes over time. Given the ever-growing list of scientific discoveries and innovations, it became easier to make use of once inaccessible resources. Thus, now more than ever, we need to understand the difference between “use” and “abuse”. Not only do we benefit from substantial harvests, but amongst other tourism, recreational activities and climate regulation depend heavily on healthy oceans.

R. Gewers (green hat) busy interpreting

In an attempt to teach our little leaders of tomorrow the importance of oceans and why we should optimise instead of maximise our use of the seas, lagoons and coasts, we organised small lessons on the beach for them. Assembled around a rock pool, the 7th graders were scrutinising each and every mussel, anemone, sea urchin, Kilpvis, etc…, that Richmond Gewers, Tsitsikamma National Park’s People and Conservation officer, was fervently describing.

Yanga (NVT) facilitating the MPA lesson

That day, my new maatjies also got to learn more about nature’s complexity and species interdependence (humans included) by taking part in interactive games. Through an enactment exercise, in which the children themselves portrayed major organisms of specific marine food chains, the latter were introduced to the concept of ecological pyramid (producers and primary, secondary and tertiary consumers). Each and every one of the species they playacted are integral part of their biological communities and the slightest disturbance could eventually wobble balanced ecosystems.

Published in South African Network for Coastal and Oceanic Research Newsletter #207 page 18.