Marine Biology 101 in Mahahual´s secondary school

For the guests who frequently visit our blog, you might recall in December Las Mahahualeñas, a group of ladies in touch with the community and looking for ways to help out, donated sets of masks, fins and snorkels to the students of the secondary school, and that under GVI’s guidance, would learn to identify the marine organisms living in their backyard better known as the Caribbean sea. This Thursday marked the beginning of said programme.

The first lecture was given by the PG Programme Coordinator, who has been working with the school for over a year now. He has built an excellent rapport with the students and claims he really enjoys working with this particular age group. These kids behave like usual teenagers but without the attitude! They are respectful and look forward to the class every week.

The lecture included information and an introduction to the MBRS (MesoAmerican barrier Reef System), GVI and its goals in Mahahual, and an introduction to the classification of corals. The main objective is for them to eventually learn to identify the different corals, fish and other organisms, and to broaden their views on why it’s important to take care of the reef and the environment in general.

The Programme Coordinator was asked “do you think these students will learn fish and coral well enough to join forces with GVI and help collect data in the future?” The answer was “that’s not our main goal, but I certainly hope so. The future is so bright, I got to wear shades!”

Marine Biology 101 in Mahahual´s secondary school