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On May 4 and 5, 2015, an awareness program for 240 school children aged 10 to 12 in Anguilla taught them about the preservation of marine zones. The project was led by Amandine Vaslet and Dominique Noiré, co-directors of the Saint Martin-based association, «My School, My Whale». With the help of Kafi Gumbs, director of The Department of Fisheries and Marine Resources of Anguilla, they visited nine classes where they gave each of the students one of the 1,527 «Ocean Dreams» comic books and one of the 1,527 posters on cetaceans printed especially for the occasion in English. The idea is that all students in Anguilla will get these two informational items. They were also able to listen to the songs of humpback whales during the projection of a film, before getting information about marine mammals and their characteristics, dolphins, the Megara mission, and the possibility to identify whales by way of their photos thanks to their tail fins, and also were made aware of what menace their marine animals: fishing, noise, pollution, drifting fishnets, aquariums… The children were enthusiastic about their visitors from Saint Martin and asked dozens of questions during the 90-minute session, as seen in the accompanying photo. The Department of Fisheries and Marine Resources of Anguilla, The Anguilla Social Security Board, and the Réserve Naturelle de Saint- Martin financed this project.
College students learn about marine mammals
Les élèves des trois quatrièmes pilotes «option tourisme» des collèges du Mont des Accords, de Soualiga et de Quartier d’Orléans ont tous reçu le diplôme de protecteur des cétacés que leur a remis Amandine Vaslet. Salariée du CAR-SPAW (Centre d’activités régional pour les espèces et les espaces spécialement protégés de la Caraïbe) au titre de la convention qui lie la Réserve à ce centre, la jeune scientifique est également co-responsable avec Dominique Noiré de l’association «Mon école, ma baleine» à Saint-Martin. Elle est intervenue les 26, 27 et 29 janvier dans ces classes pendant deux heures, au cours desquelles les collégiens ont découvert l’ensemble des espèces de mammifères marins que l’on peut observer autour de Saint-Martin. Ils se sont amusés à répondre aux devinettes proposées sur le site de «Mon école, ma baleine» et ont participé avec enthousiasme au quizz qui a clôturé la séance. Ces interventions dans les trois collèges ont été financées par l’Office du tourisme de Saint-Martin. College students learn about marine mammals Students in the three pilot «tourism focus» eighth-grade classes at the colleges Mont des Accords, Soualiga, and French Quarter were all presented with their cetacean protector certificate from Amandine Vaslet. An employee at SPAW-RAC (Regional Activity Centre aimed at implementing the protocol concerning specially protected areas and wildlife in the Caribbean region) as part of an agreement between the Réserve and this entre, the young scientist is also the co-director with Dominique Noiré of the association «My School, My Whale» in Saint Martin. She visited these classes for two hours on January 26, 27 & 29, during which time the students were introduced to all of the species of marine mammals that can be observed in the waters around Saint Martin. They had fun trying to solve the riddles on the «My School, My Whale» website and participated enthusiastically in a quiz that closed the session. The Saint Martin Tourism Office financed these visits to the schools.
Pre-school students discover the mangrove
On Monday, May 11, approximately 60 pre-school students aged 5 and 6 explored the mangrove at the Etang de la Barrière. Accompanied by their teachers and three agents from the Réserve Naturelle, these three kindergarten classes from the pre-school in Grand Case were made aware of the fragility of this natural ecosystem, as well as overall protection of the environment.
