Enviro Ed



We're halfway through our month of Environmental Education programming on-site at the Marine Environmental Education Centre (MEEC) on Bunaken Island. It has been both challenging and refreshing. It is a wonderful reprieve from Manado to be living on Bunaken almost full-time... it’s a completely different reality than living in the city. It’s not dirty, stinky, or suffocatingly hot; there’s no traffic, other than the odd small prahu (boat) and of course, one can never complain by being awoken by the sound of waves rolling up onto the beach.... aaaahhhh. Water is a slight problem on the islands in general, so bathing is a challenge, and I'm considering either dreadlocks or a buzz-cut for the sheer convenience... But the real challenge is actually still the language. Seems there are at least 5 different words for naming any given species that we might see or be studying during our outings… and I’m sure you’ve not forgotten that these reefs happen to have among the highest incidence of biodiversity on the planet (not that I’m complaining – the diving is INCREDIbLE)… so, let’s just say that’s a LOT of new vocab to ingest!

The students are SOOO thrilled. This style of learning is a far cry from what they are accustomed to in their schools on a daily basis. They can hardly believe that they get a day to come on an adventure and EXPERIENCE the world they live in instead of being lectured to about it... and still call it learning. This, compounded by the general happiness it brings them to interact with a BULE... they all leave with broad smiles on their faces!