June Marine Awareness Camp in Cape Town – The Cape of Storms

Going on a mid-winter camp in Cape Town is risky from a weather perspective, but it does have its advantages – the raw power of the Atlantic Ocean is evident, not only in the huge swells that crash into the coast, but also in the abundance of debris – organic or not – that piles up along the exposed coast. So we were fortunate to squeeze our camp in between cold fronts and witness the sunny aftermath of one of the biggest swells and tides so far this year – and only get rained on in the final minutes of our three day experience as the next front made its blustery presence felt.

The first of three Save Our Seas Shark Centre Marine Awareness Camps scheduled for 2013 was held at Soetwater, over the first three days of our winter school holidays. Twenty-eight grade six children and two teachers from Siyabulela Primary School in the township of Langa attended the camp, led by the Shark Centre staff. Participants were selected from a group of over one hundred kids, and enjoyed an experience that was very new to them. The aim was to provide them with a rich, learning experience of the marine environment – one that we hope will stay with them for years to come. During the course of this year, we have worked with the children in their own school premises, on Dalebrook Beach and in the Save Our Seas Shark Centre, so we’ve had time to build their interest and knowledge and get a sense of how best to spend their time on camp.

Of course the downside of winter camps is that the kids can’t get in the water – it’s usually just too cold and wild here at the Cape of Storms. A lot of our time was spent getting to grips with the stuff one finds on the beaches, and one of the first ways we experienced this was through sand-sculpting. The kids were amazed to learn what big a part algae plays in their lives, and initially horrified by the billions of leaping sand hoppers that chomp and hide amongst the huge mounds of kelp that accumulate along the shores – while some of the children delighted in having these bouncy little crustaceans all over them, others just couldn’t get used to it! Not to mention the pungent odour of decomposing kelp that they will probably associate with this camp forever.

Another big focus of the camp was that of plastic pollution in the ocean. The kids participated in presentations on the topic and a practical lesson where potential impacts of the inorganic debris they collected and sorted were investigated, and alternatives to dumping discussed (and implemented where possible). It was interesting to note that a lot of the children initially struggled to discriminate clearly between organic debris that plays an important role in shoreline ecology, and inorganic debris (mostly plastic) that has such dire consequences in the marine environment – to many kids the smelly kelp was far more problematic than the plastic bottles and packets washed up! But with kelp flies and sand hoppers everywhere, and birds and mullet visibly feasting on them, the ecological value soon became evident (with a bit of explaining and reassurance from us educators!).

The programme also included talks and lessons on coastal forests, the local marine archaeological sites, dramatisations by the participants and plenty of fireside chatter. But at the end of a long school term it’s easy to overload a camp with too many formal lessons, so we made sure that the programme had enough space for quiet observation too. Bird watching was a highlight, with some groups recording more than twenty species on our birding hike, and surprising themselves with their observation skills. The hike was preceded by an interactive talk from bird expert Martin Odd, whose enthusiasm for our feathered friends clearly rubbed off on the youngsters. On our first night we hiked to the top of a nearby “koppie” in the full moon which lit up a sky of thin, cirrus cloud. The night, which at first seemed so threatening, became a haven of peace, night sounds and distant thundering waves as we sat quietly at the top of a high dune.

On the last morning, a tour of Slangkop Lighthouse provided an eerie, echoing refuge from the North-West gale as the next winter storm started to make its presence felt – it also gave us a memorable view of this wild piece of coastline that taught us more over the three days than any of us might have imagined. There’s something quite special and humbling about winter here at the Cape of Storms.