Today was our preparation day, as tomorrow we will visit two local schools to share information about manta rays and marine conservation.

Willy prepares a paper puppet to illustrate a conservation story

Our day started early, as we worked in the classroom to brainstorm and discuss the key messages we would share. This was an interesting experience for me, as we had to think carefully about our audience’s background and perceptions. All of us interns come from a science background, and we had to think carefully to develop messages that suit our audience. We discussed about the types of jobs the students may enter after they graduate, such as working for tourism sector, government, fisheries sector and also become teacher, and tried to develop materials that would be useful and informative. Our presentation slides presented information about the value of mantas, their threats and conservation, and also shared some ideas about sustainable tourism and sustainable fisheries.

After lunch we divided our jobs. Willy, Axel and Wedi prepared a puppet show for the elementary school students about the impacts of fisheries, trash and tourism on manta rays, and simple steps that the students can take to conserve their local oceans. Ida prepared the slides to present to high school students. Syenit created an educational video for the elementary and high school students. And most important we all developed a pre- and post-training test to measure the impact of our training.

Syenit prepares slides about manta anatomy

In the evening we did a rehearsal from the beginning until the end, with the mentors giving us feedback. Willy and Axel were great telling the puppet show story, with Syenit and Vidlia narrating some parts. Eventually, we were all so tired that it was time to return to our house and rest. Tomorrow we have an early start with the elementary school students from SD2 Labuan Bajo!