The All Out Wildlife Fund supports groundbreaking research into threatened species of birds, reptiles and small mammals.
Nemos Pequenos - Little Nemos
In Tofo, Mozambique we started our new swim school, which was spearheaded by Marine Megafauna Association’s Education Director Sarah Bishop. Eighteen to twenty children from surrounding villages between the ages of 6 to 18 took part in a trial programme of two weeks of swimming lessons.
The children took part in pool sessions where they learned swim strokes, as well as educational sessions where they learned about the complex dynamic equilibrium that exists between the organisms in the marine ecosystem and how important it is to conserve this delicate balance. Volunteers assisted with the swim instruction, lifeguarding and the educational sessions.
The children from the swimming school also took part in a pilot scheme run by All Out Africa volunteer Joao Neves. They were asked to draw pictures of sharks, which helped us understand their perceptions of these great fish. Joao plans to apply this information to a programme he is running in Portugal to compare perceptions of sharks amongst children in Mozambique and children in Portugal. This scheme will potentially run in schools, which will help us understand how media affects people’s views of sharks from a young age.
Our recent research and new programmes have been based on one central theme: Everybody should understand and enjoy the ocean. We hope that respect for the ocean will lead people to strive to conserve it. If you have been inspired to help us in Tofo, Mozambique, please consider joining our Whale Shark Conservation programme or our new combined Social and Marine Conservation programme.
