Awareness raising in primary classes

The development of awareness-raising and educational tools for schools and the general public is among the major objectives of the management plan for Monaco’s Marine Protected Areas.

In addition to the previous interventions carried out in a class at the Collège Charles III, educational workshops were tested within Mr. Baumann's 7^ème B class at the Fontvieille School.

Thursday April 28, a first intervention focused on the theme of Marine Protected Areas (MPA) of Monaco. The objectives of establishing an MPA were discussed, while discovering the marine habitats of Larvotto. The session continued with a workshop on sustainable fishing. Equipped with a rod, a ruler, a notation sheet and a table specifying the sizes and periods recommended for fishing certain species of Mediterranean fish, the children were able to release fish that were too small or in their reproduction period, even if corrections were made during the debriefing.

Tuesday, May 31, the workshop took place on the beaches of Larvotto so that the students observed the place from the perspective of a manager. It is by being on site that we can better understand the environmental, economic and social issues of an MPA. To begin with, after our explanations and a walk along the shops, the students were able to describe the place and the MPA in order to have an overview of the site. Subsequently, two workshops took place simultaneously. The first aimed to place around thirty species on a map representing the five habitats of the MPA (rocks, sand, Posidonia meadow, coralligenous and open water). The second proposed to best manage three cases that we could face as MPA managers (navigation, fishing and scientific monitoring) through a role-playing game.

Thursday June 2, during this last session the students discovered a protocol for census of protected species: Dusky groupe and Brown meagre. During a virtual dive, transformed into fish or marine biologists, the students were able to learn to count these two species and understand the difficulty of carrying out scientific monitoring in a marine environment. The intervention closed with a summary on the management of an MPA, and more particularly that of Larvotto.

We thank the director of the Fontvieille School Mr. Moreno who supported our approach. We want to underline the investment and interest shown by their teacher, Mr. Baumann, who was able to make himself available.

A big CONGRATULATION to the children for their involvement and enthusiasm in carrying out the workshops. In three interventions they were able to integrate the main issues of MPA management. Hoping that these concepts learned will continue during their education and will have a positive impact on their daily lives!