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Sandwatch
project in Cuba
Several schools
have been involved in the Sandwatch project monitoring activities:
Instituto Preuniversitano Vocacional de Ciencias Exactas 'Ernesto
Gueuara' Santa Clara, Instituto Preuniversitano Vocacional de
Ciencias Exactas 'Frederico Engles' Pinar del Rio, Escuela Primeria
'Guerillero Heroica' Ciudad Habana, Escuela de Arte, Escuela Secundario
Basica.
During the
Second Regional Sandwatch Project Workshop
in Dominica, July 2003, Ms. Lisett Pérez Quintero, a student
from Instituto Preuniversitano Vocacional de Ciencias Exactas
'Ernesto Gueuara' Santa Clara, described how she represented 933
students. Her school at Santa Clara chose two beaches for monitoring
- a virgin beach and a more heavily used beach with pollution
problems. They monitored the beach characteristics and changes
as well as the use of the beach. Visits were made to environmental
agencies and the Santa Clara community were involved in a regular
series of cleaning and replanting exercises. Younger students
took part in raising the level of awareness about the beach problems.
A radio programme, newspaper articles and a newsletter 'Nature
and I' were prepared. Now the community are helping with the work
on a regular basis and it had been agreed by all concerned that
the level of pollution had been decreased.
They are now
trying to extend the programme to other beaches with pollution
problems and to extend the project to other Cuban provinces. The
Sandwatch monitoring activities are being incorporated into different
subjects: biology, mathematics, geography.
A report
on their work includes a different look at beaches: Letter
from a grain of sand (Carta
de un granito de arena).
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