There is a move to sensitise Barbadian primary and secondary school children to the importance of protecting the marine environment, especially coral reefs.
Word of this came today from Acting Executive Director of the Caribbean Conservation Association (CCA), Andree Griffith, as students and teachers of St. James, St. Albans and Erdiston Primary Schools and St. James Secondary and the Alexandra School met at Folkestone to modify a manual for Barbados, as part of the Junior Coral Reef Ambassador Programme.
Describing the manual as “a document that can cut across a lot of academic areas”, Mrs. Griffith pointed out that it included aspects of science and social studies and had relevance to the schools’ curricula.
She explained that after today’s meeting, teachers from the pilot schools would return to their classrooms and implement various facets of the manual, adding that the information could be used in their general teaching programme.
“We are focusing on the children because they are up and coming and in a lot of instances they influence change and behavior in their parents. If we create the interest in children from now, we will see it blossoming,” Mrs. Griffith stressed.
The programme forms part of the Community-based Coral Reef Monitoring and Management Project. It was developed by the CCA to strengthen the participation and capacity of stakeholders to improve management of coral reef biodiversity and related resources at Folkestone Marine Reserve. It is funded by the United Nations Development Programme- the GEF Small Grants Programme, and is being implemented by CCA in conjunction with the National Conservation Commission.