Marine Conservation

What ARE THE MAIN ISSUES?

• Lack of environmental awareness and education
• Over-fishing
• Destructive fishing methods
• Deforestation
• Pollution including marine debris
• Turtle poaching

PROJECT TIMELINE

2004:  

• MCP – Marine Conservation Project started

2005:  

• School Partnership – Started working with Makongeni Primary School to develop a marine-focused education programme
• Beach clean up – our first Internationally recognised beach clean up in association with Project Aware

2006:

• Mangrove boardwalk – supported a small eco-tourism project run by a women’s group to develop visitor facilities
• Reef survey – surveying the flora and fauna that the reef supports
• Tourist information – created information displays in tourist resorts to encourage environmental responsibility
• Flip flop collection – donated hundreds of flip flops recovered from our beach clean ups towards the creation of a giant flip flop whale sculpture, in association with WSPA

2007:

• Kaya ecotourism - Development of visitor facilities at kaya Kinondo, a biologically important area of coral rag forest, close to the beach

2008:

• Flip-flop project – initiated flip flop craft workshop whereby volunteers and local craftsmen created curios made from recovered flip flops washed up along the coast that can be sold
• Marine turtle conservation – implemented turtle presentation to learn more about these fascinating creatures and the threats facing them

2009:

• Flip-flop whale shark – created our very own flip-flop whale shark sculpture to highlight marine conservation issues
• Baraka Mangrove conservation – started supporting Baraka Women’s group creating artificial fish ponds and crab cages and planting mangrove trees

2010:

• Flip-flop turtle – built a giant flip-flop turtle sculpture to raise awareness and funds for coastal conservation projects
• Beach clean up – Collected over 5000 discarded flipflops from Diani beaches and hundreds of sacks of trash
• Mangrove Conservation – Planted hundreds of mangrove seedlings and built two additional fish ponds for Baraka Women’s Group
• Baraka Women’s Group – Started construction of an information and education centre for marine conservation

YOUR ROLE AS A VOLUNTEER

Project work will vary depending on the needs of the sanctuary at the time but may include:

• Working with a local conservation group to help reforest important areas of mangrove forest – mangroves are extremely important to the health of our oceans and coral reefs and support a wide variety of animals that people rely on for food
• Creating eco-friendly fish ponds to provide alternative sources of protein for local communities and prevent over-fishing
• Conducting community beach clean ups, shoreline surveys and educational tours of the mangroves with local school children
• Developing and running environmental education workshops with the local schools to teach them the value of conserving their natural resources
• Making arts and crafts from reclaimed flip-flops that have been recovered from the beach during our regular beach clean-ups
• Creating promotional materials to help raise awareness about the issues surrounding marine conservation and to encourage eco-tourism in the area
• Learning about marine turtles and their conservation (summer only)