Education

UAE Dolphin Project at the French School!

Feature: Valérie Arwacher

Valérie Arwacher from the UAE Dolphin Project recently gave two presentations at the Lycée Georges Pompidou.  On Wednesday 4th June, 50 pupils (5-6 years old, grade 4&5)  attended and on Sunday June 8th five classes (7-8 years old, CE1) followed.  In all, 150 pupils benefited from this intervention. For the grade 4&5, this subject was integrated in the Animal’s module and for CE1, it completed the part of the program on mammals.

The questions were varied and, for many children, it aroused at the desire to express their personal experiences with the sea generally. Valérie spoke about the characteristics of dolphins, their environment, food, communication, protection of the sea, and dolphins in Dubai and the role of UAE Dolphin Project. The children were very receptive according to their remarks following the presentation:

 – “We learnt that putting the plastic bags in the dustbin is good. It is not good to throw any rubbish in the water. We must respect the dolphins and all the animals in the sea!”

 – “I discovered that formerly dolphin was a land animal “.

 – “I taught things to my Dad!”

 We also received so many beautiful drawings! A great thanks to the LFIGP and their teachers for welcoming the UAE Dolphin Project again!

 

A special thanks to the kids who were so involved and participative!

  

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UAE Dolphin Project at the French Kermesse 2014

Feature: Valérie Arwacher

For the second year running, the UAE Dolphin Project has had the pleasure of participating in the annual French event of the LFIGP on Friday 21th March. This family fun day is organised by the AIPE (Association of parents) in collaboration with the Lycée Français International Georges Pompidou. The kermesse welcomed 3000 visitors with 39 stalls and 75 sponsors. The students had to collect stamps at each game stall on a paid card and finally win some prizes in exchange for full stamped cards.
The French students were very excited to play again with puzzles representing the three common species of dolphin in emirates waters: the Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin, the Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin and the Finless Porpoise. The game was to rebuild the puzzles in the shortest time as possible.
It was a great opportunity to raise awareness about dolphins, giving some simple tips to recognise them at sea and spread the word about wild dolphins in Dubai waters.
We kindly thanks the AIPE, the LFIGP and all the volunteers for supporting the project.

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What’s the human impact on our oceans? Kids learn….

Feature: Lauren Cina

…. about ocean pollution, threats and how dolphins can be used as ecological indicators to understand the status of the sea.

Year 4 and 5 at Emirates International School Meadows are studying how humans affect the environment and the effects of pollution in different environments this term, so they invited the UAE Dolphin Project to know what we had to say about the subject.
We illustrated the main threats the ocean is facing at the moment, like overfishing, plastic pollution and

We were thrilled to talk to the children! They were all extremely enthusiastic and asked some wonderful questions about dolphins and whales. I think the next generation of eco warriors will be a force to be reckoned with!

It really is wonderful to see the younger generations get excited about marine life and conservation! It is so important for us to encourage their eagerness to improve and conserve the local wildlife here in the UAE. Keep up the great work and thank you for having us!

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Children artwork: How humans impact the marine environment

UAE Dolphin Project goes to University

UAEDP_AUSpresentationFeature: Camilla Argent

We were so delighted that so many students and professors attended our seminar entitled: “Whales and Dolphins in the Gulf: ecological indicators of the local marine environment” held on November 13th , at the Department of Biology, Chemistry and Environment at the American University of Sharjah. The talk focused on the importance of cetaceans in the marine ecosystem, their role as “ecological indicators” of the health of the marine environment, and synthesised existing information about cetaceans in the Gulf. This then led to a discussion about the research of the project and what can be done to support conservation in the UAE. It was also highlighted the importance of involving students in environmental research and we were delighted that many of the students in attendance expressed an interest in working more closely with the project by volunteering as research assistants as part of their course modules. Thank you to Dr. Pappalardo for proposing the subject to the Department and Dr. Dalibalta and Dr.Bartholomew for  supporting the organization. We look forward to working with some of you in the future!

Wellington International School 2C – a special dolphin class

What a special class the YR2C at Wellington International School! And what a fantastic work they are doing about dolphins and other sea creatures. It was such a pleasure to hear how much these children know about dolphins and answer to their enthusiastic questions. Thank you for contacting the UAE Dolphin Project and keep it up with your fantastic work on dolphins!!!
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