Cap Ternay Achievement report - January 2017

Report Title
Inaugural marine awareness class with cole Franaise de Seychelles

Objective
Educational awareness, new partnerships, raising the profile of GVI Seychelles

Summary

On the Wednesday 18th January GVI Cap Ternay staff and volunteers welcomed a group of 9
students aged between 11 and 14 year old. The student were from the cole Franaise de
Seychelles, which is a French speaking primary and Secondary school based in Mont Fleuri (close to
the country capital). Our Science Coordinator Fanny Vessaz who is a fluent French Speaker,
spearheaded the event with the help of the volunteers and two other staff. The full day event was
quiet exciting for the kids as it was for the volunteers.

Report

The way forward with conservation is the understanding and involvement of people particularity the
younger generation, who can be taught how to live with the right principles and can grow into
eco-friendly citizen and safeguard the sustainability of their home (island) and the world. One of GVI
aims is to be part of making a worth-while and lasting efforts to make the world a better place and
by teaching the teenagers of the importance of the marine goes a long way to help change the
attitude of the youth taking care of the future of the world.

The French School of Seychelles is a private school with local and intentional students aged between
4 and 16 years old. There was a desire to expand the impact of GVI in the community and the French
school was in consideration, after a few emails and a meeting held two months ago both sides
expressed interest of having an activity which would be marine themed.

The science coordinator Fanny, who has been following and largely involved, lead the activity for the
day. The programme started at 9.15 a.m. After arriving, the students settled down in the dining area
of the camp which for that day was arranged into a class room for presentations. The day kicked-off
with Fanny gave a presentation about GVI and in particularly Baie Ternay Seychelles. Soon after the
children learned about all of what encompasses the marine ecosystem which include mangrove,
seagrass and coral reef.

Other topics that came up, were threats to the marine ecosystem where the spotlight was on ocean
acidification, which included a very interesting experiment whereby pieces of rubble (disintegrated
coral skeleton) and sea shells were placed in pure acidic vinegar and the reaction was that the
carboniferous products (corals skeleton, shells) dissolve quiet quickly into suspension of
bicarbonate. This was explained as being the same process that happens in the ocean whereby a rise
Carbon dioxide (CO2) expelled in the atmosphere is taken up by the large water body which is the
ocean. The CO2 reacts with water forming carbonic acid, and it is this carbonic acid the acid break
down into a stronger acidic state this now corrosive water reacts with the calcium carbonate that
makes up coral skeleton and shells or marine animals. Acid will create bicarbonates which cannot be
used to form shells, thus the acidic ocean consumes the shells and ocean skeleton and any other

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amount present that would have been used to make corals and shells. The children was shown how
human activities affect the atmosphere and in so doing affect the marine life.

The other presentation made was on introduction to mangrove and its importance as a coastal
protection against surges, habitat for pupping of sharks, juvenile fish, filter for the coral reef
amongst other things and the venture by scientist in the habitat. Out of the seven mangrove that we
have in Seychelles two (or more) types where present at Cap Ternay.

The students had a break and prepared themselves for a more active part of the day which was a
guided snorkel in the Baie Ternay Marine Park which needless to say was overwhelmingly satisfying.
Fanny and the volunteers assisted the students on the snorkeling where they were informed before-
hand the pleasing living biome and organisms that waited for them. Though they couldnt get
enough of the great sites it was time for a break, so everybody came back with some much cool
things to tell each other about the things they saw.

After a small lunch we got ready to head to the mangrove area, where we discovered a few of the
inhabitants of the habitat, the most interesting being a sea cucumber and a large red crab. The
children and the Baie Ternay GVI residents joined together to do a beach clean at back beach, where
our mangroves can be found, though it was a job well done it sadly yielded four rubbish bags of
trash, which for a relatively isolated area is too much. After hard work it was time for a game, the
students were to help small juvenile fish (which was represented by pebbles) move from the
mangrove area, which has no real predators to the seagrass area, which also possess very little
threat to the juveniles, to the coral reef where there are more, larger predators. The moral of the
game was to show how important the mangrove and sea grass ecosystems are for reproduction and
protection, and to highlight the interconnectivity of the different habitats.

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