It’s only been two years since we had our very first KELAUT (Nature and Marine Class) activity in Kiabu Village, and this initiative under the Marine Conservation program has had significant growth and outreach in the Anambas Islands.
We created KELAUT with the goal of providing education to schoolchildren about ecosystems and conservation works to preserve and restore the Anambas Islands. So far, 351 students from different villages in Anambas have participated in this initiative.
In 2023 our Marine Conservation team introduced KELAUT to schools outside Kiabu. They visited and met with students from Mengkait, Telaga, Palamatak, Putik and Lingai.
In Kiabu, we introduced several new practical activities for the middle schoolers at SMPN Kiabu that began in May with an introduction to coral transplant methods. Students learned about coral spiders, how to attach fragments to the spiders and they also wrote down messages that were placed on the spider frames.
A month later, to celebrate World Oceans Day we had an artificial reef design competition joined by eight groups of five to seven students. The winning group created a hexagonal-shaped structure with a fish aggregating device hanging in the middle to attract fish to come and hide inside the structure.
In August, 40 students planted young mangroves along the shoreline of Kiabu Island as part of our Mangrove Conservation initiative. Together with the Heroes from Guardians of the Anambas Seas we planted 500 mangroves and taught these students how to take care of the plants and the many benefits of mangroves for coastal communities.
The positive response we’ve received from the Anambas communities for KELAUT so far and the shift in students’ behaviors towards sustainable practices is what motivates us to expand this program in 2024 to other regions namely West Jemaja, Palmatak and Kiabu. Furthermore, KELAUT will have classes for high school and vocational school students to prepare them to be the next generation of Guardians of the Anambas Seas.