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INTER-REGIONAL
UNESCO
Community Sandwatch Competition
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PRIMARY SCHOOL ENTRIES
| 1.
BAHAMAS |
| School: |
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Hope
Town Primary School, Abaco |
| Title
of Project: |
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Share
our Care - Be Aware - see the REPORT
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| Description: |
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A
group of students, led by their teacher, Candace Key,
had to re-organise their project after their target beach
at Hope Town was devastated by three hurricanes in September
2004. They measured related ecosystems such as mangroves and
coastal forest and found these recovered faster than their
beach site. They then focused their efforts on planting sea
oats on recently restored sand dunes and preparing a brochure
to guide visitors on ways to conserve the coral reef. |
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'Planting
sea oats is not easy - we had sore backs throughout. We
will now measure the growth of our special patch of sea
oats. We made signs to put out so people do not walk on
our babies.'
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| 2.
BAHAMAS |
| School: |
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Yellow
Elder Primary School, Nassau, New Providence |
| Title
of Project: |
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Operation
Love Your Beach - see the REPORT |
| Description: |
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A group
of students, led by their teacher, Portia Sweeting,
worked at South Beach, a beach in need of attention. They
determined the main types of beach users and found there were
two main problems: (1) beach users did not give much thought
to keeping the beach clean and (2) there were no garbage bins.
They addressed the first issue with a poster competition.
Then they painted environmental messages on 55-gal oil drums,
which they placed on the beach to serve as garbage cans. However,
unfortunately the garbage bins were stolen. With the help
of a local TV station, they publicised their problem, and
after much effort, one of the island's private garbage collection
companies agreed to supply an industrial sized garbage bin
for the beach. |
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'From
this project we learnt children can make a difference.
Without money, things move slowly, but if we have patience
and never give up, we can have success. And that's what
we want for our beach.'
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| 3.
COOK ISLANDS |
| School: |
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Nikao
Maori School, Rarotonga |
| Title
of Project: |
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Community
Science Sandwatch: The Cook Islands Sandwatch Project: Awareness
group - see the REPORT
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| Description: |
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Led by
their teacher, Maeva Kirikava, the students selected
a beach near their school that is frequented by the community
and tourists. The students surveyed beach users to find out
why they visit this particular beach and to find out changes
people would like to see. They involved the elected representative
for the area, the Chief and the local community. One aspect
of their project included the provision of rakes for beach
users to clean the beach after their visit. Unfortunately
the rakes were stolen, but after the local newspaper ran an
article on the missing rakes, a local businessman provided
new ones. |
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'The
group feels that with more media coverage, continuous
support from the public and the community will be ongoing'
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| 4.
COOK ISLANDS |
| School: |
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Nikao
Maori School, Rarotonga |
| Title
of Project: |
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Beach
Sandwatch Project: Landscape - read the REPORT |
| Description: |
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Students,
with the support of their teacher, Piri Puna, set out
to measure the size of the beach by their school and then
to work with a local community group to plant some trees and
determine over the long-term whether the trees helped to slow
down the erosion. However, Rarotonga was hit by five cyclones
in February, and many of the newly planted trees were lost.
However, the students plan to continue the project once the
structural cleaning of the area was completed. |
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'We
can keep the project going if we set good models to our
community out there. We notice during our project that
people do have respect for us and the things we are doing.
If we keep it this way the people will help us with the
programme and look after our beach'.
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| 5.
COOK ISLANDS |
| School: |
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Nikao
Maori School, Rarotonga |
| Title
of Project: |
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Recycling:
A Sandwatch Project - read the REPORT |
| Description: |
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This
group of students, under the leadership of their teacher,
Peo Vano, surveyed the amount of litter on the beach
near their school over a period of several months. They found
the most serious littering took place over the Christmas holiday
period. They also worked with the community to help promote
recycling by providing bins for different types of articles.
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'We
try our best to tell the people not to litter, sometimes
they listen, but sometimes they don't, so what can we
do about it? Drums were painted neatly, so people will
sort out their own litter in the proper drums. For each
drum there were labels: glass bottle, aluminum cans, plastic
bottles, and fast food containers'.
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| 6.
CUBA |
| School: |
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Escuela
Primaria Urbana 'Angela Landa', Old Havana, Havana City |
| Title
of Project: |
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Huellas
en la arena - read the REPORT
in Spanish |
| Description: |
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Students
and their teacher, Carmela Martínez Hechavarría, carried
out a project at Playa Guanabo. Their practical work on the
beach was reinforced in the classroom. They conducted a survey
of the community to find out the type of changes people would
like to see at the beach. While individuals were critical
of persons who polluted the beach, they were unwilling to
do anything about it. However, the students' work in cleaning
the beach stimulated the inhabitants to promise to continue
the work. |
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| 7.
CUBA |
| School: |
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Don Mariano
Marti Navarro, Old Havana, Havana City |
| Title
of Project: |
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Protección
de las arenas - read the REPORT
in Spanish |
| Description: |
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Students
and their teacher, Loyda Rafaela Vargas Portes, selected
Guanabo beach for their measurements. They researched the
past history of the beach and measured many different parameters
of the beach, which is one that is impacted by the Rio Guanabo.
The students wrote poems, word puzzles, and stories, and made
art work about the beach and the environment. They also prepared
a bulletin about caring for the environment. They interviewed
members of the community about their ideas for the beach
and took part in radio interviews to raise awareness. |
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| 8.
CUBA |
| School: |
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Escuela
Primaria Seguidores de Camilo y Che, Matanzas |
| Title
of Project: |
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Protección
de la arenas - read the REPORT
in Spanish |
| Description: |
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Students,
assisted by their teacher, Raudel Cuba Jiménez, selected
the El Judío beach in the city of Matanzas for their project.
They measured different aspects of the beach from water quality
to the number of beach users and focused on public awareness
through radio programmes, brochures and participation in festivals. |
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| 9.
CUBA |
| School: |
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Escuela
Vocacional de Arte, Alfonso Pérez Isaac, Matanzas |
| Title
of Project: |
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Proyecto
arenas: Protegemos lo que amamos y disfrutamos - read
the REPORT
in Spanish |
| Description: |
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Students,
led by their teacher, Mariela Luisa Herrera Cruz, selected
a small beach, Buey-Vaca, in Mantanzas Bay for their project.
Their measurements, which were integrated into classroom activities,
indicated that pollution was a major problem. They created
murals, held meetings, wrote poetry and sent messages to everyone
in the community about the need to care for the beach and
to keep it clean. They also involved younger students and
organised a major beach clean up. |
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SECONDARY SCHOOL ENTRIES
| 10.
BARBADOS |
| School: |
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Coleridge
and Parry School |
| Title
of Project: |
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Sandwatch
in Speightstown: Bridging the Gap - read the REPORT |
| Description: |
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Students,
led by their teacher, Randolph Woodroffe, focused on
introducing their Sandwatch project to the community in Speightstown
and finding out community views on how the beach environment
should be developed. They carried out litter and community
surveys as well as holding meetings with the community. Besides
using their results for CXC School Based Assessments, they
have established a committee that aims to publish their project
as a book so that 'by 2006 the whole island will be on
Sandwatch'. |
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'A
lot has been learnt by the committee in carrying out this
project. Some members were very interested in the beginning
but a few did all of the hard work. Persons were keen
on the outdoor activities, but when it came to writing
up there was a big difference. However, we were able to
acquire new skills and gain a lot of knowledge about Speightstown'
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| 11.
BARBADOS |
| School: |
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Ellerslie
Secondary School |
| Title
of Project: |
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Animals
on the beach: an opinion poll - read the REPORT |
| Description: |
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Students,
assisted by their coordinator, Tyrone Norville, focused
on finding out whether horse riding and un-tethered dogs threatened
the safety and comfort of beach users on the west coast of
Barbados. They conducted an opinion survey of beach users
and following a detailed statistical analysis, they concluded
that most beach users objected to dogs and horses using the
beach and they recommended that the authorities should establish
special beach zones for animals. |
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| 12.
COOK ISLANDS |
| School: |
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Mauke
School, Mauke |
| Title
of Project: |
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Changes
and tourism, Anaraura Beach, Mauke - read the REPORT |
| Description: |
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Students,
guided by their teacher, Angie Croft, worked on assessing
the changes to Anaraura Beach after a new hotel was built
there. However, the construction of the hotel took longer
than expected, so students turned their attention to how the
community felt about the development. They designed a questionnaire
and interviewed community members who were generally in favour
of the development. The Sandwatch project was integrated into
a collaborative writing process, 'Joint Construction Method'. |
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'We
found broken glass, plastic bottles and containers on
the beach. Some of the plastic containers came on the
tide from cruise ships and other islands; we also found
some leaves and seeds that are found in Tahiti and not
on this island.'
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| 13.
CUBA |
| School: |
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Escuela
Secundaria Básica Rubén Bravo Álvarez, Havana City |
| Title
of Project: |
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Sandwatch
Project - read the REPORT
and view a MULTIMEDIA
PRODUCTION |
| Description: |
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Students,
led by their teacher, worked at El Cachón beach in Cojímar
village in the Municipality of East Havana, Havana City. After
measuring various beach parameters, they worked with their
community to clean
the beach. They also publicized their activities on TV
and created a cleaner crab mascot. |
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| 14.
CUBA |
| School: |
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IPVCE
Comandante Ernesto Ché Guevara, Santa Clara |
| Title
of Project: |
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Proyecto
Las Arenas - read the REPORT
in Spanish |
| Description: |
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Students,
led by their teacher, Daniel Bulgado Benavides, carried
out detailed measurements, in an inter-disciplinary manner,
at Playa Pública de Caibarién. They focused on the health
on the beach and worked with the community, and formed an
interest group to raise the community's level of awareness
about caring for the beach. They found that more time was
needed to maximise the results and benefits of their project. |
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| 15.
CUBA |
| School: |
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IPVCE
Comandante Ernesto Ché Guevara, Santa Clara |
| Title
of Project: |
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Con
alma de arena blanca para salvarte grano a grano |
| Description: |
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Students,
guided by their teacher, Daniel Bulgado Benavides,
carried out their project at Caibarién Beach where they joined
with primary and secondary schools in the area to work with
the local government agencies to keep the beach clean and
to make a coastal mural to encourage citizens to keep the
beach clean. They also publicised their activities through
local media and overall their project represents a comprehensive
approach towards influencing peoples views. |
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| 16.
CUBA |
| School: |
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IPVCE
Comandante Ernesto Ché Guevara, Santa Clara |
| Title
of Project: |
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El
cuidado de las arenas - read the REPORT
in Spanish |
| Description: |
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Students,
led by their teacher, Idania Moreno Gutierrez, worked
at Caibarién Beach and carried out several measurements comparing
the beach before and after the summer. They also worked to
educate the community about the need to care and conserve
the beach zone. |
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| 17.
CUBA |
| School: |
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IPVCE
Comandante Ernesto Ché Guevara, Santa Clara |
| Title
of Project: |
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Proyecto
de protección de las arenas: Isarena |
| Description: |
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Students,
assisted by their teacher, Daniel Bulgado Benavides,
worked at Isarena on the coast of Isabela de Sagua. They developed
and implemented a strategy together with local organizations
and the municipal government to keep the beach clean during
the summer. |
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| 18.
CUBA |
| School: |
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IPVCE
Comandante Ernesto Ché Guevara, Santa Clara |
| Title
of Project: |
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Preservemos
la belleza de la Costa Norte |
| Description: |
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Students,
helped by their teacher, Daniel Bulgado Benavides,
completed a study on ways of caring and preserving the beaches
of the northern coast and cays, particularly taking into account
the natural processes and the entire coastal ecosystem. |
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| 19.
CUBA |
| School: |
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IPVCE
Comandante Ernesto Ché Guevara, Santa Clara |
| Title
of Project: |
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Primero
ama después crea - view the PRESENTATION
in Spanish |
| Description: |
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Students,
guided by their teacher, Daniel Bulgado Benavides,
concentrated their project on Los Ensenachos, a large cay
where a major hotel was under construction. The students made
an inventory of the local flora and fauna and worked with
local construction workers to raise their awareness and understanding
of the natural ecosystem and the need for environmental conservation. |
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| 20.
CUBA |
| School: |
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Escuela
Mártirez de Familia Romero, Sancti Spiritus |
| Title
of Project: |
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Las
arenas: Un patrimonio natural que debemos salvar |
| Description: |
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Students,
assisted by their teacher, José González Sáez, carried
out their project at La Boca Beach in the municipality of
Trinidad. This is a beach where pollution is a serious problem
and the students worked with the community to raise awareness
about the need for a clean and healthy environment |
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| 21.
CUBA |
| School: |
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IPVCE
Frederico Engels, Pinar del Rio |
| Title
of Project: |
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Rescate
de nuestras playas: A partir del estudio de las arenas |
| Description: |
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Students,
guided by their teacher, Pedro Hiram Sáchez Castro,
worked at Playa Bailen to measure various beach characteristics
and then worked with the community to raise awareness and
keep the beach clean. They made several recommendations including
re-vegetation and the implementation of development guidelines
to conserve the beach. They also made a mascot for their project
"Arenito" |
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| 22.
CUBA |
| School: |
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Secundaria
Básica Camilo Torres Restrepo, Havana City |
| Title
of Project: |
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La
ola estudiantil que ocasionó cambios favorables - view
the PRESENTATION
in Spanish |
| Description: |
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Students,
led by their teacher, Orlando Gámez Ramirez, selected
Playa Baracoa for their project. This beach displayed a high
level of pollution and the students worked with the community
to clean the beach, put in place garbage containers, and raise
the level of awareness about the need to care for the beach.
Some tourists, visiting Havana, were motivated by the students'
activities, and helped them in their beach clean-up. Subsequently
the tourists donated 20 computers and computer-accessories
to the school. |
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| 23.
CUBA |
| School: |
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IPVCE
José Martí Pérez, Holguin |
| Title
of Project: |
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Por
las limpias arenas que amo - read the REPORT
and view the POWER
POINT PRESENTATION in Spanish |
| Description: |
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Students,
with the help of their teacher, Diego Fernández Fernández,
assessed several beaches in the Bay of Gibaro and identified
various issues at the different beaches. They then worked
on raising the level of environmental awareness with other
schools and members of the community. They also identified
other areas where work was needed, such as the implementation
of existing conservation laws and further scientific investigations. |
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| 24.
CUBA |
| School: |
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Escuela
Especial Dora Alonso, Vocacional de Arte Dominica del Amo,
Secundaria Básica Jose Antonio Echeverría |
| Title
of Project: |
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Protección
de las arenas - read the REPORT
in Spanish |
| Description: |
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Students
of age ranging from 7-17 years, and including those with special
needs - such as young people with autism - from three different
schools, with the guidance of their teachers, Meyver Vigil
Pérez, Marisol Fleites Fernández, Rubén Bacallao
Lima, worked to educate the community and clean the beach.
They also publicised their activities by participating in
an arts festival. |
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| 25.
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC |
| School: |
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Centro
Educativo Las Américas |
| Title
of Project: |
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Sandwatch
Competition |
| Description: |
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Students,
with the help of their teacher, Carlos Navarro, measured
the beach and dunes at Caldera, Baní - these are among the
highest dunes in the Caribbean. This monitoring has been ongoing
for the past 3 years. They also involved other schools in
the activities and conducted a beach clean-up. |
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| 26.
SAN ANDRES ARCHIPELAGO |
| School: |
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Institucion
Educative Técnico Departamental Natania |
| Title
of Project: |
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Las
basuras dan mas que un dolor de cabeza |
| Description: |
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Students,
guided by their teacher, identified garbage and solid waste
disposal as one of the major problems facing beaches in their
island. They visited other schools to share information about
the problems, and identified a number of actions to address
the problem. |
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| 27.
ST. KITTS AND NEVIS |
| School: |
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Sandy
Point High School |
| Title
of Project: |
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All
things bright and beautiful - read the
REPORT |
| Description: |
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Students,
helped by their teacher, Warren Wyatt, selected Cockleshell
Beach for their project. Following monitoring activities that
included a litter survey and a questionnaire, they planned
to construct billboards encouraging the wise use of the beach,
as well as garbage bins and a wooden shed for to facilitate
proper disposal of garbage. However, not all these activities
were implemented because planning permission was refused. |
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| 28.
ST. LUCIA |
| School: |
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Castries
Comprehensive Secondary School |
| Title
of Project: |
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Save
our vital environment: Sandwatch Project - Save our beaches |
| Description: |
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Students,
led by their teacher, Davhindra Mandroop, selected
Choc Bay for their project. They measured various parameters
and identified pollution from the nearby Choc River as a major
issue. They focused environmental education activities on
residents living near the Choc River, as well as other groups,
and used school assemblies to reach as many students, and
through them their parents, as possible. |
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'The
management of beaches and other natural resources should
become part of all school curricula both at primary and
secondary level. Students and adults alike must be exposed
to the hazards of destroying our environment.'
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| 29.
ST. LUCIA |
| School: |
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St. Joseph's
Convent Secondary School |
| Title
of Project: |
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Vigie
Beach Enhancement Project 2004-2005 |
| Description: |
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Students,
helped by their teacher Anne Johnson-Lowrie, continued
their project at Vigie Beach, which had been the site of their
Sandwatch project since 2001. They worked with other groups
to improve the beach with trees, signs, garbage bins and clean-ups
and also tried to sensitize the public. |
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'The
students engaged in this project are willing to continue
monitoring the beach and to take part in future activities
to enhance the safety and beauty of the beach'
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| 30.
ST. VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES |
| School: |
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Bequia
Community High School |
| Title
of Project: |
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Sandwatch:
Promoting community awareness of sustainable environmental
development - read the REPORT
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| Description: |
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Students,
led by their coordinator, Herman Belmar, and other
teachers, focused on the Paget Farm area of Bequia, where
a blocked drain was causing severe pollution and health problems
for a coastal community. They monitored the water quality
and then worked with the community to clear the drain, erect
silt traps and beautify the area; they also encouraged members
of the community to maintain the project so as to ensure its
sustainability. |
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