The kids learned that coral reefs provide shelter and a food source for marine life, and then they played fishes who had to run away from a shark or quickly hide in the coral reef. They learned what a coral is and we all moved like the tentacles of the polyp to catch plankton.

Also they learned what an artificial reef needs. They worked together creating their own artificial reefs with home made play dough. They created the most beautiful shelters for fishes. They enjoyed the Eco Day very much. One of the kids even wanted the recipe of our home made play dough.

During the kids program the adults followed different presentations. Peter told the DMT’s (Dive Masters in Training) about pollution. What are the main sources of pollution, how does it end up in the ocean, what are the consequences and what can we do about it?

Leslie had an interesting presentation about turtles. Which different turtles are there, how to recognize them. At New Heaven they have a turtle head start program. They raise small turtles in a safe environment and after some time they release them into the ocean. By doing this, the turtle have a higher survival rate.

Did you know that you can recognize individual turtles by there lines on there face? Like you can distinguish individual whale sharks? There is a monitoring program for the turtles around Koh Tao. If you see a turtle, take a good picture of it, if possible from both sides. Check out Koh Tao Turtles for more lectures about turtles and submit your turtle pictures for ongoing monitoring.

Frank told a story about the importance of coral reefs, the necessity to take action and creating artificial reefs.

In the afternoon various teams went to clean the beaches, divers and snorkellers went out to clean the reefs and we took a team of divers to the CoralGarden to deploy an artificial reef statue under water. The deployment of the flower went smooth and enormously fast because of the great teamwork between the divers!

Thank you Get Involved Koh Tao and Roctopus Dive for organizing this EcoDay, Siam Scuba Dive Center for offering the boat to deploy the artificial reef. Thank you Tiago for the sophisticated recipe for play dough, and all the volunteers that helped this day.

Here is the video of the EcoDay made by Lee Jellyman. Subscribe to our YouTube channel to be the first to see our latest videos.

Pictures with logo are made by Michael S. South

The post Run away for the shark on EcoDay appeared first on CoralGardening.

Opposite the main bar, there was a water station where you could get free water refill. The Get Involved booth was located next to the water station so you could buy a stainless steel Trash Hero bottle if you didn’t have a refillable bottle yet. All profits made from the sale of the bottles were donated to the local action group “Save Koh Tao” for future sustainable solutions on Koh Tao.

We organised two CoralGardening workshops. Create your own artificial reef with selfmade play dough and draw marine life on our wavy walls of sheets. Here is a short photo impression of the festival.

Thanks to everyone who helped to make the Save Koh Tao festival a success!

The post Save Koh Tao festival 2018 appeared first on CoralGardening.

For example, SummerLabb offered its visitors a look into the sustainable future. The visitors got an interesting story about platic soup and how you can reduce your own plastic footprint yourself. They showed a washing bag to collect your plastic and nylon microfibers, which are released during washing clothes. There was also a solution for lead-free fishing and how to create your own garden to absorb more rainwater to be prepared for changing weather.

Several coral experts were present and also companies involved in the cultivation of seaweed. Former TV and radio presenter Jan Douwe Kroeske interviewed Vera Aarden about CoralGardening’s vision on the future of coral reefs.

There was a show of mermaids and the world record “blowing rings” was improved by freediver Jorrit Bruinsma. He could blow 71 rings in 2 minutes 18, on one breath. The whole record attempt with video and the comments of Vera can be seen here.

Children had a lot of fun at our stand with the workshop CoralGardening. This time it was possible to make the designs for houses for fish in color. After creating their statues with clay, they could paint them in the desired colors. This makes them even more beautiful after they return to them after baking.

Furthermore Marcel Coret from Diving School KevMic-Diving came to our booth to hand over our regulators after a thorough service. Marcel, thank you so much for the good and fast service! Several companies offered to sponsor CoralGardening with materials, but more about that later.

Thank you very much for your visit, interest and donations!

An impression of the Duikvaker, made by Bas:

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