Conservation Education Training Workshop
Waiwo, Raja Ampat

For the last long while I have been preparing a marine conservation education module that the CI Education Team will deliver to communities in Raja Ampat using the KALABIA conservation education vessel (when and if it ever arrives in Raja Ampat).

This training, which I also organized (in the end, virtually solo), was the first time the Education Team really came together to learn about Environmental Education, how to become an effective facilitator, and to simulate the program which we will be running in the villages. The plan was a 12-day training, but in the end it was cut virtually in half - well, the second part of the training, the field-testing in the villages, was delayed due to half the team contracting an eye infection! Honestly, although frustrating, and not 100% effective as far as the learning process of the new facilitators goes, I think it was the most responsible decision. We would hate to be the ones to bring this highly contagious infection to a village where their access to the required medicines is minimal.

The elements of the training workshop that we did complete were a definite success... the activities were varied, and all together, I think the team members now have a clearer idea of what the program will look like, as well as where their (our) strengths and weaknesses lie, and on what areas we will have to tailor further learning.

It was a team-building experience as well, not just because of specific team-building activities incorporated into the agenda, but also in the way that by living together for a week, working together throughout the day, and hanging out in the evenings, we came to know eachother further, and better understand the way we are going to function as a team!

We made 'cake' while learning about the difference between learner-centered vs. teacher-centered teaching approaches:



We learned the new Kalabia Team song!



We simulated the games and activities...



... the best part was watching people 'become kids' again... since if they weren't acting as team leader for an activity, they had to be the participants... kids!



One of the special components of the training was the 3-day puppetry workshop that we held. We invited two facilitators from a Jogja puppetry organization called PaperMoon to train us in all-things puppet... from the ground up... identifying themes, and writing simple scripts, to making the puppets and stage ourselves, to how to make the puppets come alive with their own personalities, and how to stage a play, and most importantly, how to facilitate that entire process with the kids (and adults) that we will be working with! It was tonnes of fun! Following are a few pictures from the puppetry workshop...

We certainly had fun making a mess!



The puppets themselves turned out really quite well for a bunch of amateurs!!!









We used bits and pieces of whatever was around for material for the puppets... recycling at its best!






people got really 'into character'!





... and the show, with it's limited audience, was a big success!