Today was a little bit different. This morning all the MantaWatch Interns were excited to visit the local tourism high school, SMKN 1 Labuan Bajo. Our mission, to talk about waste management with the students.
We left home at 7.30 am, and travelled to the nearby school, where the headmaster welcomed us and showed us to the classrooms. Dhamo and Ayu took one class, Evi and Niomi another, and Gerald and I took the third class. With about 40 students in each class, we had our work cut out!
Our hard work and preparation paid off. The students were soon listening to every word, and we covered a lot of topics. What is trash? What are the differences between organic and inorganic waste? How long does plastic take to decompose? And how does trash affect marine animals? We asked lots of questions, and gave chocolates and sweets to the students who answered correctly.
The we launched a very special competition to draw a picture of a Clean and Beautiful Labuan Bajo. What makes it so special? The amazing prizes!
Each runner-up will run a trip to Rinca to see the Komodo dragon!
The first prize winner with be named as the Ambassador for Earth Day in April 2015, and second prize winner will be the Assistant Ambassador.
But even more exciting, first and second place also win a PADI Discover Scuba Diving course!
And the first prize winner will see their picture printed on banners and tshirts as the logo for Earth Day in April 2015.
What amazing prizes donated by the local dive operators!
After the first three classes, it was time to start again. Another three classes. We taught 240 students about trash, and received 240 entries to the drawing competition!
With so many great drawings submitted by the students, it was very difficult to choose the winners. We sat down with the dive operators to shortlist the possible candidates.
This coming Friday is Clean Up Labuan Bajo day. The local government, school children and local businesses will work together to clean trash from Labuan Bajo’s rivers. The winners of the drawing competition will be announced on Friday afternoon, during the closing ceremony of Clean Up Day.
So today was a little different, but some good public speaking and education experience for us Interns. After leaving the school we headed to the classroom, to begin entering our data and learning how to analyze it. A busy day: there are so many things to get involved with in the MantaWatch Internship Program, and so little time. But our team is always keen to learn and work together.
And if you are in Labuan Bajo on Friday September 19, 2014, be sure to join us and support Labuan Bajo Cleanup Day!
