2020: Five good news stories from NTTI
Well here we are at the beginning of a new year. 2020 was certainly challenging but it wasn’t all bad news!
Yes, our plans were derailed and we had to readjust and reassess along with everyone else. Whilst life for many slowed down, unfortunately plastic pollution hasn’t. In fact, it got worse (Scientific American, 2020).
However, despite this uncertainty, we’ve still made progress in our mission to protect the Coral Triangle.
We finished our very first environmental education program
At the very beginning of the year, we wrapped up our education program in the local junior high school, giving students who’d participated their certificates and officially recognising them as Ocean Ambassadors. Over 5 months, the students covered mangroves, the coral reef, sea grass and plastic pollution, learning how to look after the magnificent environments surrounding their island home. A big thanks to the team from Seasoldier who taught the lessons and got the kids excited about all things maritime!
Our scholarship students’ research was published in a peer reviewed journal
We have supported a number of marine biology students over the years with scholarships to assist research into the ocean environment. Elsa Giraud, from Ludwig-Maximilians University, Munich came to Bangka in the Spring of 2019 and carried out research on using sponges as bio-indicators of the health of marine ecosystems. After lots of hard work, Elsa’s paper was published in the peer reviewed journal, Environmental Pollution. A big congratulations to her and the team involved! The full paper can be read here.
We shared fact based information about the use of plastics in the Covid pandemic
As coronavirus spread, so too did misinformation about single use plastics. People’s nervousness around hygiene and uncertainty about the spread of the disease meant that plastic use soared. We carried out a campaign on Instagram providing scientifically backed facts to dispel some popular misconceptions, achieving over 160 engagements. All part of our mission to use science to tackle the plastic pollution problem at all levels.
We continued to listen, learn and share our knowledge at conferences and seminars
Supporting research and innovation is one of our four key pillars and attending conferences allows us to learn from others in the scientific community whilst sharing our own knowledge. Throughout the year, we attended the EU Climate Diplomacy Week Indonesia 2020, speaking at a webinar, Stand by the Sea - Italian Sailors Against Ocean Plastic Waste. We also attended MICRO 2020, a one-week conference in which over 1,000 participants shared and discussed the latest research on microplastics in the environment.
And finally… we continued our mission to educate the next generation to protect their ocean environment
School may have been cancelled last year but the team at Coral Eye used their resources to support local kids. Most families on Bangka don't own a computer and wireless mobile signal is patchy in remote villages. Data plans are an added expense that most families cannot afford, especially now, when the pandemic has resulted in reduced income for many. We set kids up with wifi and drinking water so they could continue their studies as best they could. Some of them helped us to clean the beach and in return, we took them snorkelling. A few of the girls demonstrated a clear interest in learning more and so we took them on a discovery dive, igniting a passion for all things underwater.
The challenges posed by coronavirus show no sign of going away, especially in more remote communities. We now need your help create some more good news stories in 2021. We want to continue to provide wifi to local kids so they don’t forego another year of education. On top of this, we want to help the students that have shown a passion for diving continue gain a proper qualification, enabling them to become dive guides and more in the future. Any help you can provide is greatly appreciated - head to Betterplace to donate what you can.
Bibliography
Scientific American, 2020, https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/covid-19-has-worsened-the-ocean-plastic-pollution-problem/