In November 2018, a „coral reef project day“ took place at the Lehndorf Primary School in Braunschweig for the 4th class.
The day began with a presentation on “Coral Reefs and Environmental Protection” by marine biologist Stephan Moldzio. The lecture presented coral reefs as one of the most species-rich and fascinating ecosystems, their structure with the different zones, the environmental conditions, the diverse life with the countless symbioses and interrelationships, and the corals as the builders of the reefs. But Mother Earth, our blue planet, is under pressure from all sides: global warming, ocean acidification and rising sea levels are threatening the future of coral reefs. More environmental protection is urgently needed…
Afterwards, a varied programme was carried out with each class:
An aquarium was set up in the classroom with a variety of marine life, including hard, soft, horn and leather corals, sea urchins, brittle stars, crabs, hermit crabs, bristle worms, snails and various marine algae which, through photosynthesis, form the basis of the food chain in the reef. All the animals could be gently touched. It is important for the children to have a direct connection with the living organisms.
On the other side of the classroom, microscopes and stereomicroscopes with 10- to 100-fold magnification allowed the kids to take a closer look at the marine organisms. Here, different objects were pre-set and after a certain time, the kids simply moved to the next place. One highlight was certainly the living coral polyps: with their extended tentacles they looked like little flowers.
At the “literature table” books about the sea, including fish, sharks, whales, seals, shells and coral reefs were displayed. At all these stations the kids were able to learn about nature, ask questions and really get involved in the underwater world …. Everyone was very enthusiastic, microscoping, pipetting and inspecting, but unfortunately the time went by far too quickly!
At the end, each student received a certificate of participation, the booklet “KORALLENRIFFWISSEN zum Internationalen Jahr des Riffes 2018”, some postcards with marine motives and even a piece of real coral skeleton. A little take-away – and an incentive to keep learning about coral reefs ….
The year 2018 has been declared the International Year of the Reef (IYOR2018) to raise awareness of the situation of coral reefs and to promote their protection. Just like in the Lehndorf primary school, a wide range of activities around coral reefs were taking place around the world.
