The right way!

By Sander ter Meulen

Our next stop is Aplaya Elementary School, the second school we visit with our education program. Aplaya is a small fishing village located on the shore of Honda Bay. Some of the houses are built on poles above the water and a variety of small-scale fishing vessels are moored on the coast. There is no wharf and vessels sit on the bottom of the sea during low tide.

The school lies 50 meters from the seashore and it is located between de mangroves. Since most of the pupils are the children of fishermen, they know very well about the abundance of animals present in the mangroves and coral reefs, but still there is lack of awareness about the importance of these ecosystems as reproductive, nursery and coastal protection areas.

Taking into account the low socio-economic conditions of this location, it is highly probable that illegal fishing activities occur. That is why we must be very careful about the way we treat some of the topics of the Environmental Education Program, like the protection of endangered species like sea turtles (which are delicious for some of the kids) and illegal fishing in order not to offend anybody.

For us, the most important thing of this program is that children learn about their environment while having a good time in their beautiful coastal ecosystems so that they become proud of their natural treasures and aware of their importance. In that sense I am sure we are doing it the right way!

Aplaya fishing village

Aplaya Elementary School