World Oceans day saw the LBRCT teaming up with SANparks to have some fun and talk some science at Vondeling. The kids learnt about the importance of protecting our oceans and the animals in it.
A “penguin egg-spoon race” (no penguins eggs were hurt in the making of this game) highlighted the plight and low survival rates of South Africas penguins as a result of over-fishing, pollutions, egg collecting, guano removal and climate change. According to the IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature), the African Penguin or Spheniscus demersus is listed as an endangered species.
The children of Vondeling then tackled the very real issue of over-fishing with a game of Golden gates or British bulldog, which illustrated that the sustainability of our fish resources are under jeopardy if we keep extracting fish faster than they are able to recover.
Pollution was the next theme put to task. The children helped fish for a turtles dinner however the reality was more litter than fish was caught. This threat on sea turtles and on other marine life is a growing one, high prevalence of plastics in our water ways increase the amount of micro-plastics in our environment- in the water we drink and the food we eat.
All in all, albeit a few cracked eggs, a wonderful day was had at Vondeling school. A big thank you to SANparks for joining in and contributing chips and sweets for the intrepid learners as well as their time and enthusiasm.
PS All surviving eggs were then boiled and made for a great school lunch for all the students the next day.
