My Coral Cay Conservation Experience
Added to website: 02 September 2006
Organizing the expedition:
Every year I tell myself, “Right, this summer I’m doing something special” I usually then browse the internet, find loads of neat ideas and realize that I can’t afford any of them. As I was doing my yearly browsing a few months ago, I came across the Coral Cay Conservation (CCC) website and was very impressed. Already being a qualified diver, it was exactly the kind of expedition I was looking for, offering training relevant to my zoology course, the opportunity to make a difference as well as scuba diving. As usual, I looked at the prices and was put off.
That’s when I noticed a little corner of the web page saying that if you are in a group of six the organizer goes for free. I decided to give it a shot and sent a group e-mail to the biology department of Bristol University. At first I got many answers and got very excited. I organized several information meetings where I just presented what I had read on the website. I found it really funny every time someone asked me incredulously: “But who are you? Just a random student?” and they were absolutely right!
But I soon realized very few people were actually serious about wanting to go. I had to press for definite answers and in the end I only just found five volunteers to get past the paying the deposit stage. Our team was a nice mix and apart from two close friends, no one knew anybody else well so we organized the details of our travels more or less independently. So in the end all I really had to do was get a group together and I managed to pull off going on a marine expedition to the Philippines for a month on a budget!
Expedition life:
When I booked the marine expedition to the Philippines I expected a challenging experience, and I wasn’t disappointed! The whole expedition was so much more than just amazing dives and exotic sceneries.
Those were just the plus, for me the expedition was really about gaining a deeper understanding of the science behind marine conservation and I really enjoyed the science training. It’s quite demanding and I remember many lectures where I just stared blankly at the book thinking “God, they all look the same!” but after a bit of practice I had to admit that you really can tell the difference between species. Becoming a coral reef surveyor feels like a turning point in my dive experience. I used to look underwater and think: “wow, that’s pretty” but have no clue as to what I was looking at. Now I feel as if I know some species intimately! And not just what’s big, obvious and moving! It’s amazingly satisfying as a diver to spot something and actually know what it is.
But what I hadn’t expected from this conservation expedition was to also be able to catch a glimpse of the Philippine culture and lifestyle. I think my favorite part of the expedition was interacting with the local community, especially Reef Ranger Weekend. In order to raise awareness of the coral reefs and promote education on marine conservation, a group of twenty children were invited to the expedition base for a weekend of training. As volunteers, we were given the opportunity to give lectures and be snorkel pointing guides. It was brilliant to be told: “Right, you’re responsible for students learning about fish biology and species identification, come see me if you need any help.” It was amazing to be given so much freedom as to how we wanted to give our lectures even if we felt somewhat unqualified, having only just completed our science training! With my teaching partner, we decided that to spice up the lecture we’d create a team quiz challenge. I really loved planning the fish lecture and making the children laugh at my fish imitations! It was truly impressive to see how keen the children were to learn and we were all sad to see them leave Sunday afternoon.
I will remember this expedition as a character-shaping experience, where you have to push yourself in order to truly appreciate the full opportunities it can offer and come back with a renewed confidence in yourself.
Laura Saez
