On the education front, Chumbe is honoured for its selection to participate in an Advanced International Training Programmed on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) sponsored by the Swedish Development Cooperation Agency (Sida). Education for Sustainable Development is a new and groundbreaking approach to education, providing a more dynamic and holistic philosophy that emphasises capacity-building to foster actual behaviour change within local communities. Mr. Khamis Khalfan, our Assistant Head Ranger and Island-based education coordinator, has returned from Sweden as one component of the programme and is preparing a comprehensive teaching aid based on the ESD coursework. In November he and our new Education and Conservation Assistant, Mr. Adbularahman Ali Abdallah, will travel to South Africa to participate in two weeks of intensive programme development as one of the course phases. With support from Ms. Lina Nordlund, Conservation & Education Coordinator for Chumbe, they will return with dynamic and interdisciplinary Ranger Teaching Pack to implement into the existing Chumbe education programme.
As always, Chumbe maintains its strong commitment to community outreach by working with local students and teachers. From 1994 to 2009 more than 4,000 schoolchildren and 800 teachers have visited Chumbe Island free of charge to participate in activity-based excursions emphasising experiential hands-on learning. An introductory teachers’ pack called “The Coral Reef" has also been developed to incorporate environmental education on coral reef ecology into the school curricula. Chumbe’s Environmental Education Programme is the only regular and large-scale programme in East Africa that fills the gap in the school curricula by providing educational experiences and information for local schools on marine ecology. Chumbe also continues to work with other relevant stakeholders through village visits with fishing communities and looks forward to hosting a day workshop for ferry captains on the importance of coral reefs and appropriate vessel etiquette when travelling near reefs.
