Decoding the mysteries of our oceans

By Nozi Hambaze and Rita Steyn, SAEON Elwandle Node Tweet

National Marine Week is celebrated annually during the second week of October to create awareness about the issues facing our oceans and coastal environment. This year’s theme was "Decoding Mysteries, Maximising Opportunities".

It is important to educate the public about the vital role oceans play in our daily lives. National Marine Week falls in Marine Month, which further serves to promote sustainability and conservation of marine resources … for the benefit of current and future generations.

Our oceans and Ubuntu

Rita Adele Steyn of SAEON’s Elwandle Node visited a couple of high schools in Grahamstown this year in order to understand how learners are able to make connections between the oceans and Ubuntu. This presented an opportunity to engage directly with the learners from a science and education perspective.

Rita also visited a Grade 3 class at the Seventh Day Adventist Primary School. She asked the learners to draw their favourite sea animal and find out more about the animals depicted in the drawings. This led to an entire lesson during which learners proudly displayed their drawings and shared what they knew about the sea creatures. Rita then taught them all she knew about the animals they were interested in as well as the difference between mammals, such as whales and dolphins, and fish, and how mammals have skin like ours and fish have scales.

Learners proudly display drawings of their favourite marine animals

Some of the highlights of the lesson were when the children learned who carried seahorse babies and gave birth to them because it is the male seahorse (daddy) and not the female (mommy). They were also intrigued by how starfish eat (“Ewww,” they said), and by the influence the moon and the wind have on waves.

Rita is hoping that after her visit there are some budding marine biologists in training!