Educating other teachers about the reefs

During the August 2007 Professional Development for the CNMI Public School System, I facilitated a coral reef workshop with the Director of the Mariana Islands Nature Alliance.

We taught the teachers about coral reef ecology, watersheds that feed into the reefs on Saipan, and recent efforts to protect reefs and turtles. The teachers got to go out into the field and observe the impact of tourists and pollution on the reef. The coral at Managaha impacted by heavy tourist activity.
Corals outside the swim zone at Managaha

We also took the teachers up to Mt. Lau Lau to observe a tree revegetation project established to reduce erosion and run off in Lau Lau Bay.



The 20 teachers will each be writing and implementing 2 coral reef education lessons into their curriculum this year and planning a service project for their students.