Mangrove project needs cash to carry on critical work

(CNS): A mangrove learning programme which began in the Cayman Islands, which is now being taught in schools all over the world is in need of funding to help keep it going. Given the increasing importance of these incredible trees in the face of environmental threats across the tropics the programme’s value cannot be underestimated. It is used in 11 countries world-wide with plans for three more for next year — Kenya, Suriname and India. Marvellous Mangroves gives students from tropical lands a basic understanding of scientific methodology and ecology, as well as methods as a precursor to a science-based university education.

“Every $100 will enable one teacher to attend the Marvellous Mangroves three-day teachers’ workshop and provide them with a copy ofthe 300-page Marvellous Mangroves – adapted and translated for their own country,” said Cayman’s Martin Keeley the man behind the creation of the incredible programme.

The project began back in 2000 and the original video made by and featuring Keeley. It provides a dynamic reference resource for teachers and students to learn about how mangroves function and explore mangrove forests. The 300-page “Marvellous Mangroves in the Cayman islands” was developed for the Caribbean region starting in 1998 and linked to the Cayman curriculum.

It has since been adapted for the English-speaking Colombian Caribbean islands of San Andres and Providence; translated into Spanish and adapted for use in Colombia, Honduras and Guatemala; translated and adapted for use into Sinhala and integrated into the Sri Lanka national science curriculum. It has also been translated and adapted for schools in Brazil, China and Bangladesh, as well as English versions for Australia and Belize where it is part of the schools’ national curriculum.

Back in 2002, Tanny Onsalo was just nine years old when she first learned about mangroves and how important they really are to the world’s shoreline ecosystems. "It changed the way I think about mangroves as an incredibly important ecosystem. It's a fabulous program and I'm so happy to still be a part of the world of Marvellous Mangroves, and I tell people about them all the time," she said.

Onsalo’s full story is told on the website along with video footage and other information about the programme here http://mangroveactionproject.org/mangrove_curriculum/
Anyone wishing to help can make a donation here: