PUBLIC OUTREACH
Why?
Research on its own is never enough to facilitate effective conservation. DMAD organises public outreach events including school visits, beach cleans and community days to raise awareness of the threats that our ocean is facing and enlighten the fact that small changes from individuals can make a big difference! DMAD gets involved in bringing education to life, from arts & crafts and games in kindergartens, right the way to complex university lectures. Beach cleanup are also conducted which actively encourage community participation. DMAD produces a number of community outreach activities to increase understanding of our marine life in Montenegro.
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Beach Cleanup
This picture was taken during a beach cleanup. We went to the Plavi Horizonti in Montenegro and teamed up with another NGO NVO Nasa akcija to remove all the plastic from the beach. This beach cleanup was a bit complicated because we had to clean the hiking path around the beach as well. The plastic bottles were everywhere and sometimes very hard to reach. A lot of communication between us was necessary to clean the walking path and the beach.
Arts and Craft
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Just before I left the station (due to family problem), the artwork to sensibilise the children to protect the ocean, recycle was finished. It's called a Plastic Free sea as you can see in the picture. The whole artwork is composed of two panels, everything is made with plastic bottle caps. This art will be displayed in a school to sensibilise the youngest to conservation. It is part of our job at the station to sensibilize the local to protect the biodiversity of Montenegro. Education is of the utmost importance if we want to make a change in the world.
I must say when I applied for DMAD I didn't expect to take part in such activities. Creating marine animals (turtles, Whales, Jellyfish, and sharks) out of plastic bottles to sensibilise the youngest to the precarious state of our marine environment. It's something very important and if insisted strongly on this point at a young age, maybe there is hope for a better cleaner ocean in the future.