Strong partnerships are essential for developing durable and meaningful conservation programs. That’s why we have been collaborating with a team of youth education experts to train teachers in the Raja Ampat region of Indonesia on how best to integrate shark conservation, as well as more broad marine science topics, into their existing lesson plans.

During an intensive ten-day training, which included teachers from an elementary school in Yelu village and from a junior high school in Dabatan village in South Misool, our partners taught educational theory, led group curriculum exercises, and helped the participants develop strategies for spreading the shark campaign message in their villages.

Now that these teachers have successfully completed the course, they have returned home to conduct replication trainings with their colleagues and partner schools. This model allows them to continue to broaden the knowledge base and share best practices with a broad segment of local teachers in Raja Ampat. As the teacher training program progresses, CORAL will be providing mentoring support and microgrant funding to help guarantee the program’s continued success.

We look forward to sharing more progress with you soon!