Spring  2016,  Issue  4  

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•Marine Research •Community Outreach •Climate Adaptation & Alternative

Livelihood Practice Establishing the base as a model of best environmental practice is key to its success and considerable progress has been made this quarter. Regular Caqalai Community meetings are held to discuss and prioritise projects. Managing waste generated on the island has been an important part of our activities with many new initiatives such as composting, building a recycling point and eliminating burning (apart from medical and sanitary waste).

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An existing compost toilet has been repaired and reinstated and plans are under way to build more. This will reduce water usage and produce more compost for organic growing. To supplement our food production through gardening, members of the Caqalai Community are farming an area of land on Moturiki. This is a great way to introduce the concept of ‘solesolevaki’ (working together) to our international volunteers! As well as farming and base improvement activities on Caqalai, another solesolevaki project is a sandalwood nursery in Wawa village. When the trees reach maturity they will bring income to the community.

Inside this Issue • Caqalai Marine Research Base • Climate Change Adaptation • Cleanups • Marine Resource Inventories • Endangered species data

collection, The Great Fiji Shark Count

• Community Outreach • Schools Outreach • Teacher Training • GVI National Scholarship

Programme • Upcoming events    

GVI Fiji Caqalai Island News Issue 2, March 2015

CAQALAI ISLAND MARINE RESEARCH & CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION HUB

Since opening the base on Caqalai Island in October 2014 GVI Fiji have continued to develop our 3 main focus areas:

Vetiver Grass An exciting new climate adaptation project at Caqalai is planting vetiver grass. This medicinal plant has an extensive root system that will help to combat erosion of the shore. Coral Reef Regeneration We are trialing the Biorock method of coral regeneration. This uses solar energy to create a low voltage electricity supply to a steel frame and stimulate coral growth. We look forward to sharing these projects with communities to achieve long-term environmental sustainability in the area.

MARINE RESOURCE INVENTORIES

The International Union for Conservation of Nature founded in 1948 is a neutral forum for governments, NGOs, scientists, business and local communities to find practical solutions to conservation and development challenges. The goal of The IUCN Red List is:

To provide information and analyses on the status, trends and threats to species in order to inform and catalyse action for biodiversity conservation. GVI Fiji contribute to this by training volunteers to identify species on the red list and to record any sightings for data collection. In addition, we will also be submitting data on sharks, rays and turtles seen throughout the month of April to the Great Fiji Shark Count project.

DATA COLLECTION ON ENDANGERED SPECIES IN FIJI

CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION

GVI FIJI ISSUE 2 March 2015

GVI volunteers are trained to conduct surveys to monitor the health of coral reefs. Each survey team measure physical conditions, benthic organisms (including coral, algae, sponges etc.), invertebrates (such as clams, sea cucumbers and lobsters) and target fish abundance and size. We have now completed 8 baseline surveys around Caqalai equating to 1200m of reef system. Surveys continue throughout Uluibau’s tabu area with good progress being made across several sites.

Did you know 80% of marine debris originates from the land? Once rubbish is in the sea it can cause entanglement of wildlife, smother corals and be eaten by animals and enter the food chain. As well as regular underwater cleanups using SCUBA, volunteers conduct regular beach cleans to prevent rubbish entering the sea. Since arriving on Caqalai in October GVI have collected 355.55 kg of rubbish from the island. A lot of rubbish, mostly plastic, was washed up following the rough seas as Tropical Cyclone Pam passed by Fiji and we are continuing to collect this. Volunteers also helped to collect rubbish from the beach at Daku. The first cleanup amounted to 47.25 kg, a week later it was down to 23 kg – a marked improvement that we hope to see continuing in the area with better waste management in the future.

CLEANUPS

 

GVI Fiji partner with the villages of Moturiki with the aim of improving environmental sustainability in the region. Following Fijian protocol we have now presented Sevusevu at five of the ten villages. A second Sevusevu was presented at Niubasaga on the arrival of the 2015 new intake of volunteers. This was a joyful occasion with the sharing of stories, singing and dancing. GVI staff and volunteers have also enjoyed visits to Niubasaga church. Socioeconomic surveys have been carried out in Uluibau, Wawa, Daku and Nasauvuki villages and more detailed water surveys at Uluibau and Daku. We are looking forward to working with more villages in the near future.

This quarter our outreach has mainly focused on Daku village. We have helped to teach at the kindergarten, completed two beach cleans, attended a weaving workshop and assisted with the production of virgin coconut oil (a livelihood generation and diversification project). We are also discussing how we can assist with Daku’s seaweed farming, as GVI Fiji helped to develop this with great success while based in the Yasawas. The GVI Fiji team would like to express our gratitude for the warm welcome received from Daku Village and the wonderful experiences we have shared. For our volunteers it has been a fantastic opportunity to experience Fijian culture and hospitality and to learn some new skills too!

COMMUNITY OUTREACH

GVI FIJI ISSUE 2 March 2015

Fun  learning  activities  at  Daku  kindergarten  

Learning  to  weave  with  Daku  Women’s  Group  

Producing  virgin  coconut  oil  in  with  Daku  Women’s  Group  

Using  puppets  to  tell  environmental  stories  

ISSUE 2 March 2015 GVI FIJI

SCHOOLS OUTREACH

Professional Development sessions for teachers are held on Saturdays every 4 weeks on Caqalai Island. The day typically consists of an informative presentation, sharing of ideas, snorkeling and relaxing together over a game of volleyball or singing and talking around the tanoa. After a week of working hard it’s a welcome break and an important time to socialize. So far the sessions have been on environmental education, waste management, coral reefs, fish identification and emergency first aid. As well as learning swimming and snorkeling skills, teachers are learning to identify marine life in the best way possible – through first hand experience.

Environmental Education lessons take place at Moturiki District School every week with classes 1-4. The theme of this term’s unit is Waste Management. Students have been introduced to concepts such as ecosystems, habitats, food webs and the water cycle through lessons, games and practical activities. They have considered the impacts of waste on the environment and as the end of term approaches, students are using their problem solving skills to consider solutions to environmental issues. The final week of term coincides with Earth Day on 22nd April, when an event will be held at the school to share and celebrate achievements with families and friends. Come along to join in the fun if you are in the area!

TEACHER TRAINING

Active  learning  games  at  Moturiki  District  School   Teachers  leaving  Caqalai  after  a  fun  and  informative  day  

Teachers  receiving  snorkeling  training  on  Caqalai  Students  keen  to  answer  questions  on  ecosystems  

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Thank  you  for  your  interest  and  support.    

   

GVI NATIONAL SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAMME

The National Scholarship Programme is a GVI Charitable Trust project. It is free to any Fijian aged 18 years or over with a background/interest in marine conservation and enables individuals to gain valuable practical experience in marine research monitoring techniques. Chosen candidates will join a team of international staff and volunteers on our marine expedition and participate in the day to day running of the base while learning about conservation here in Fiji. GVI runs NSP programmes in over 20 countries worldwide to enable and fund local nationals to participate in our programmes and receive all relevant training. When receiving applications for NSP we are looking for candidates who can demonstrate a real interest in the relevant training opportunities of the programme and those that can explain how this opportunity will enrich their current interests and future pursuits. As an organization we hope to be able to use our resources to enrich local capacities and provide unique opportunities for local youths. GVI Fiji scholarships include:

• 4 weeks on project site (minimum)

• Food and shared accommodation while on project base

• PADI Advanced Open Water training and certification (marine only)

• PADI Coral Reef Research Diver Speciality Certification

• Species identification and survey methodology training

• Emergency First Responder Training

• Personal Mentor To apply for GVI Fiji Marine Conservation Scholarship please send a CV, a statement of interest and a reference to marinefiji@gviworld.com

UPCOMING EVENTS

GVI FIJI ISSUE  2  March  2015  

Website  -­‐  www.gvi.co.uk  

Charitable  Trust  website  -­‐  www.gvi.org  

Facebook  -­‐  https://www.facebook.com/GVIFijiIslands  

Twitter  -­‐  https://twitter.com/GVIFiji  

GVI Fiji staff and volunteers attended a WWF South Pacific event in Suva to mark Earth Hour on March 28th. For Earth Hour each year people show their support for conservation and help to raise awareness about climate change by turning off any unnecessary lights at 8.30 pm local time. Following on from this Earth Day takes place each year on April 22nd, the first event was in 1970. It's a day to reflect on our planet, our environment and what we can do to help keep them healthy. This year the date coincides with the last week of term and we are excited about the opportunity to have a day to celebrate the culmination of our first term of environmental education lessons at Moturiki District School. In the afternoon friends and family of the students will be invited to come along and see some of the activities we have been doing including recycling, upcycling, Bingo and board games, learning songs, making puppet shows and reading stories with a message.