JAMIN 2016-2017 Program Additions: We J.A.M.I.N. in a New Way!

JAMIN 2016-2017 Program Additions

Even though we are getting a late start, there are so many new and exciting additions to the program this year. First, we are filming the J.A.M.I.N. program to create a promotional video about our Mangrove Education and Restoration Programs.

Videographer Art Binkowski filming mangroves.

Second, we are piloting a new year 2 program at William Knibb High School with the same students that were in the program last school year. Now in eleventh grade Biology, these students will return to the same mangrove site that they restored the previous year to monitor and manage their mangroves.

J.A.M.I.N. Year 2 students from William Knibb High School.

Third, we are very excited to announce that we are going to be working with a new school: Marcus Garvey Technical High School in St. Ann’s Bay, Jamaica. We will initially be implementing the J.A.M.I.N. program in grade 10 Biology.

Marcus Garvey Technical School: Biology grade 10 student from Marcus Garvey Technical School draws the mangrove leaves in her mangrove journal.

As part of the program, we want students to be able to visit and feel ownership over their local mangrove ecosystem. Marcus Garvey is almost an hour away from William Knibb High School, where for the past three years, we have worked with schools in Falmouth, Jamaica and restored local mangroves forest there. Instead of taking students to the Falmouth mangrove site, we want them to explore their local mangrove forest.

Mangroves at Seville Heritage Site

We are happy to announce that students at Marcus Garvey will study and restore mangroves at a new J.A.M.I.N. mangrove restoration site at Seville Heritage Park in St. Ann’s Bay. The Seville Heritage Park, a cultural heritage site in Jamaica. It is also listed as “tentative,” on the UNESCO World Heritage Site list, which means it could potentially be listed as a World Heritage Site. Cultural heritage sites in Jamaica are overseen by the Jamaica National Heritage Trust. The Jamaica National Heritage Trust at Seville Heritage Park has joined us and our partners at the University of the West Indies Discovery Bay Marine Lab to bring mangrove education and the J.A.M.I.N. program to St. Ann’s Bay.

Stay tuned for more updates!

Meet IFAN: Helping Bring Navigate with Care to the Next Generation

If you’ve ever seen a lighthouse flashing from the shore or a brightly colored buoy bobbing in the water, you’ve seen Aids to Navigation at work.

Aids to Navigation, often called AtoNs, help mariners navigate safely. They can mark channels, warn of hazards, help vessels determine their position, and provide other information people need to make safe decisions on the water. Around the world, these systems help guide everything from small recreational boats to large commercial or container ships.

But safe navigation isn’t only about protecting vessels and the people aboard them. The choices mariners make can also affect the animals and ecosystems beneath and around them.

That connection between maritime safety and ocean conservation is at the heart of this year’s Science Without Borders® Challenge—and of our partnership with this year’s theme sponsor, the International Foundation for Aids to Navigation (IFAN).

OceanImageBank_TheOceanAgency_Bleaching_16-scaled-1

Coral Bleaching Awareness Month: Giving Coral Reefs a Chance to Recover

For hundreds of millions of years, coral reefs have supported life in our oceans. Although they cover less than 1% of the ocean floor, they provide habitat for at least 25% of all marine species. They also support people around the world by sustaining fisheries and tourism, providing food and livelihoods, and helping protect coastlines from waves and storms.

But coral reefs are under increasing pressure. Pollution, overfishing, coastal development, physical damage, and increasingly warm ocean temperatures can all affect reef health. One of the most visible signs that a coral reef is under stress is coral bleaching.

This September, in recognition of Coral Bleaching Awareness Month, we’re taking a closer look at what happens when corals bleach, why bleaching matters, and what scientists around the world are doing to better understand, protect, and restore coral reefs.