Marvelous Mangroves taught in schools

Over 70 Year 5 students from Red Bay Primary take
part in a mangrove replenishment programme in
South Sound

Primary students from Red Bay are absorbed in the
planting of young mangrove trees

Tuesday, March 22, 2005

Mangrove swamps in the Cayman Islands provide fresh water and rain. They act as a storm buffer and a sponge to soak up flood waters during a storm. Without them, agriculture would not be possible and the diving industry would collapse.

“It’s important that people understand the role that mangroves play in the ecosystem of the Cayman Islands, so we have to start with the children,” believes Science and Environment Teacher Martin Keeley.

Mr Keeley is based on Cayman Brac, where he teaches at both primary and high school level. He also makes trips to Grand Cayman, funded through the sponsorship of CUC, to teach environmental science to Year 5 students at Government schools. 

Mangroves are a vital habitat for juvenile fish and shell-fish, providing a nursery for 80 percent of fish found on the reefs of Grand Cayman and Little Cayman. Without mangroves to provide a place for the fish to breed and the young to mature, the diving economy would disappear because there would be nothing to see, he explained. The food chain would be dramatically disrupted, causing a serious imbalance, and reef ecology would disintegrate.

Mangrove wetlands are also an essential habitat for birds, both migrating species and endemic (live here all year round). It has been estimated that 80 percent of the bird population disappeared during and after Ivan, and without the birds to eat the insects, the population of insects, such as butterflies, mosquitoes and flies, “has been going nuts”, he said.

This is an indication of what it would be like all the time if it weren’t for the mangroves, he noted. In order to rid ourselves of the insect nuisance, humans would have to resort to chemicals, which would ultimately work its way back into our food chain.

The agricultural structure has evolved because of mangroves, and inland wetland areas are just as important as coastal areas. As well as providing a habitat for birds and for bees, which pollinate fruit crops, the large block of central mangroves also work as a water filtration system, essentially a natural desalination system, thus providing a fresh water lens for the whole inland area, which is used by Cayman farmers and anyone who has a well in this area.

Every tree and plant takes in and transpires water. This means that water vapour is dispersed into the atmosphere from plants. All the mangroves in the central wetlands, about 5 to 6,000 acres continually pump out water vapour, which provides rain for George Town and the western communities, said Mr Keeley.

All the research shows that mangroves break the force of waves during natural disasters, such as hurricane flooding, said Mr Keeley, but noted, “To make a significant difference, there must be at least a 300 foot buffer of mangroves with no channels.” The mangroves also act as a sponge, with the ability to soak up huge quantities of flood waters. Without wetlands, there is nothing to absorb the water, he explained.

Mr Keeley is the author of Marvelous Mangroves, which provides the curriculum for mangrove education in Government schools in the Cayman Islands. Based on a similar curriculum for the Pacific Northwest, it was adapted to local tropical wetland ecology, illustrated with local flora and fauna by Cayman Brac artist Teresa Tibbetts, and formatted by Karen and Ian Stewart. The book was introduced in 2000 and can be used for all primary and middle school levels, he said.

“Including coastal ecology into the curriculum shows much foresight on the part of the Education Department and the Ministry,” thought Mr Keeley. He added that it is vital that teachers and kids learn techniques of hands-on education and exploration to discover the world around them and to supplement text-book teaching.

He said, “Children are becoming more and more isolated from the natural world. Old Caymanians lived sustainably. It is only in the last 30 to 35 years that people have lost contact with nature. Children are living in a society that has removed them from understanding the way the natural world functions. We are part of that and we can’t pretend we aren’t.”

Ideally, every teacher should have a copy of the book, which is produced in 3-ring binder form, so teachers can photocopy resource materials. This would cost about US$5,000 for roughly 500 copies, said Mr Keeley.
Marvelous Mangroves has now been incorporated into the educational systems of San Andreas and Providence Islands in the Columbian-owned archipelago, and most western states of Honduras and southern Sri Lanka. This has been done by working with local non-governmental organizations with a social and ecological interest in mangroves. Now that it has been translated into Spanish for use in Honduras, it is soon to be adopted into schools in Guatemala and other countries have expressed an interest in the book. In each country, the book is adapted to incorporate local environment and teaching styles.

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