Kids 4 Coral – most of the Canaries participants
Almost 20 Canaries children who were on an extended Christmas vacation due to late the reopening of their schools, which were damaged by floods from the Christmas Eve trough, participated in a two-week snorkeling course.
Caribbean SEA recently completed a Kids 4 Coral program in Canaries with the financial support of the Soufriere Regional Development Foundation (SRDF), a press release states.
When the 2013 Christmas Eve trough flooded Canaries village, the infant and primary schools were damaged. This resulted in a two-week delay in the reopening of school for the second term in January.
Caribbean SEA said it decided to use the unexpected extended vacation to teach a group of 8-12 year olds how to snorkel and develop an appreciation of the marine environment.
Kids 4 Coral, according to the release, included four lessons where the participants learned about coral reefs, seagrass, mangroves and associated fish and other marine animals.
“They get to see much of what they learn during four snorkel sessions at different sites,” the release said.
The introductory snorkel session taught the proper use of snorkel and safety gear – mask, snorkel, life vest – and was followed by a practice session in shallow water. This was conducted on Wednesday January 15 at the north end of Canaries Bay.
An observation made during the course was that debris from the flood was found on the beach and sea floor.
“After walking along the beach, the children saw that the entire beach was littered with debris from the flood. They also saw quite a few pieces of clothing on the sea floor whilst snorkeling and removed some,” the release said.
The second session was conducted at Anse La Verdue.
Snorkeling at Anse la Verdue
The final two snorkel sessions were held at Anse Cochon on Saturday January 18, 2014. A powerpoint lesson was conducted on the beach on fish identification. It included information about the invasive lionfish.
The Caribbean SEA Program Director for Saint Lucia, Nadia Cazaubon said, “It is amazing to watch the children’s progress during the four snorkel sessions. At the beginning they have to get used to breathing through their mouths only because once you breathe through your nose, water enters the mask. So during the first two sessions, they keep stopping to clear their masks. By the final session, we have surface snorkel pros who would stop just to get my attention to identify something or call their buddies over to see something.”
Caribbean SEA expressed gratitude to the SRDF “for helping put smiles on the faces of these vibrant children after the trauma of the flood. They have learnt a life skill and now have a greater appreciation for the plants and animals that live in the sea. We would also like to thank Island Divers, Captain Isidore of Feel Good Tours, lifeguard Germain and our volunteers from Canaries (Shannon, Devin and Solange) for their assistance.”
18 children participated in the course.