Hi,
It was great to catch up with the blog. We have just started our summer holiday but we are looking forward to getting on-line when we get back.
Class 4 will be doing a project on 'Water'. It was interesting to read about water on the island. We would like to know all about how the children in the two schools get their water, what they use it for, how much they use, if they have any problems related to water.

We look forward to learning lots from them.
Nina Bernstein

The Seasons of Seychelles

Here in the Seychelles the changing of the seasons is very different to back in the UK and life on Aride island changes with them. There are basically two seasons here and these are in the form of monsoons: the northwest and southeast and they are both dramatically different and hugely influence the way we live.

The Northwest Monsoon
When we first came to the island in December we arrived in the middle of the northwest monsoon, which is basically from October to April. This monsoon is stereotypically tropical and has high rainfall and high temperatures which the combination of the two bring with it high humidity. The high rainfall is a very important part of this time of year; it provides water for both the island and its occupants. The vegetation turns green and starts to look very lush and the ground water builds up as the water collects from the rain that falls on the hill and rushes down to the lower ground below.

This water is very important as it fills up the marsh and the well, which both the wildlife and us rely on in the drier months. The northwest monsoon is also the time when we harvest the rainwater for drinking. We do this by collecting all the water that falls on the roof of our house and put it in large barrels that we can then filter and drink. To make sure that the water is as clean as possible, it is very important to ensure that the roof is regularly washed off and that all the bird pooh, leaves and pine needles have been removed.

The northwest monsoon is our busy time for visitors, the weather is a lot calmer and so the sea is calmer too, which means that it is easy for boats to reach us and for us to greet the visitors on them. The sea is also excellent for snorkelling at this time of year, which attracts many holiday makers, who come to see the tropical fish that live around the coral reefs of Aride. The weather at this time of year is largely settled and the temperatures can regularly reach over 30’C in the day and not drop to less than 28’C at night.

A large percentage of our work at this time of year is taken up with running the business of the island and increasing the money that can be raised from the tourism trade as this is the main source of income we have. We charge an entrance fee for visitors to the island and we have a small shop and information centre where we sell souvenirs and books. All the money that we can raise will then go directly back to supporting the conservation work undertaken for the wildlife of Aride.

The calmer seas mean that we are also able to do more work with the local communities at this time of year, as we can almost guarantee that the weather will enable us to make the 6 mile crossing to Praslin our neighbouring island. This means that we can reliably plan to work with the local schools and the tourist operators. Working on an island, reliant on the weather conditions, often means that it is very difficult to plan, which can result in us letting people down and not able to make appointments.
The more settled weather also means it is easier to be self sufficient for food; we are able to regularly catch our own fish as the sea conditions allow us to take the boat out for fishing. The vegetables and trees provide fruit more regularly due to the higher rain fall and crossings to the shops for supplies can be more frequent if we need them. As well as the tourists we have other important visitors during the northwest monsoon, which rely on the calmer seas and the sandy beach. These are the population of hawksbill turtles that come to lay their eggs on Aride. Hawksbill turtles are very special and we are very lucky to have them breeding here on the island, last year we had 63 nests, with some of the females laying over 3 nests each. They are very rare and still on the critically endangered list and were really threatened just a few years ago as people used to kill them to eat. Now they are protected and populations like Aride are very important for the recovery of the worlds’ population.

Baie Ste Anne EcoAride Club reuse and recycle to keep their school grounds clean

The children in the EcoAride Club at Baie Ste Anne have found an excellent use for old fuel drums. They are reusing and recycling the drums as rubbish bins, which will be placed around the school grounds to discourage other children at the school from dropping litter.

In their last two extra curricular activity sessions they have been working hard to transform their new litter bins into something that will look good at their school. First of all they have covered the bins with a coat of plain paint and now they have the task of designing brightly coloured images to make them look good and to encourage people to use them.

They also have plans to use the bins to enable people to separate their rubbish, by labelling each one as to which rubbish it is specifically for. This will then enable the school to separate out plastic, paper, non recyclables, cans and glass, so in the future the materials may be recycled.

Aride Island corner at Grand Anse Primary School

When I went into school this week the children of the EcoAride club in Grand Anse Primary School, had started to create their very own Aride Corner in the school. With the help of me and the teachers from the school, the children started to transform what was once a dark and dingy stair well into a colourful representation of Aride Island. Following a visit to the island made by many of the children earlier in the year, they were inspired to try and create their own miniature Aride that they could see everyday. The children have already written accounts of their visit, and now they were to use their artistic skills to visually depict what they have seen on the island.
Initially the location of the corner presented a small challenge; however it has now been used to great effect, with the dark section under the stairs perfect for the colourful underwater scene, showing marine life, including tropical fish and turtles. The underneath of the stairs leading to the first floor makes and excellent place for a ‘Welcome to Aride’, together with large images of a frigate bird and of course the special red tailed tropic bird.
After just one Extra Curricular Activity session the corner is really starting to take shape and in coming weeks we hope to be working on cliff and woodland scenes, showing wildlife such as fairy terns, white tailed tropic birds, skinks and geckos. It is an excellent way to show other children from the school, just what Aride is like and hopefully get them interested too.

Once we have finished the walls we hope that we can start to create some models on the floor, using recycled materials and papier mache. There is so much wildlife that lives on Aride to choose from, the children will have to decide which represents the island the best and what are their favourites.

This is just the start of the work that the EcoAride club are planning to do around the school to illustrate and communicate conservation messages and also to make the school grounds, colourful, interesting and a great place to learn

Baie Ste Anne EcoAride Club members

Lee and Martin

Kimberly and Jean-Luc

Edward and Emelie

Chloe and Chris

Aaron and Arnaud

Benjamin and Brandon


Martina

EcoAride Club spreads to Baie Ste Anne

Hi Class 4
There are two primary schools on the island of Praslin, one at Grand Anse, where most of our work so far has been focused and then one at Baie Ste Anne. Well last week I managed to visit both schools and it was excellent to meet the children from Baie Ste Anne, who have also formed an EcoAride club. I was greeted by 15 eager smiling faces as they waited to hear what I had to say about that special place, Aride Island. We talked about fairy terns and frigate birds, skinks and sooty terns, hawksbill turtles, hermit crabs and habitats. The children were very knowledgeable about the environment and they were very keen to learn more.

They would also like to learn about Somerset and how different life is there compared to the Seychelles, and hope that you will help them. Over the next few weeks like Grand Anse children, those from Baie Ste Anne will also write letters to you, so look out for the postman!

During my visit I received an invitation to a tree planting event to be held at the school later in the week. The school has only just been built and recently opened; as a result the school grounds are very bare and don’t have many plants or trees. So to try and green up their school grounds, the children were going to plant some native trees and shrubs.

So on Friday last week, I went back to the school, and had a very enjoyable time. The event started with a short speech in the school hall. The hall is an amazing building, and reminded me of an aircraft hanger, with open sides and high roof, it was a lovely and cool, with the shade it cast and the south easterly breeze blowing through. There were children present from right across the school; from the crèche to 12 year olds and they were all eager to play their part in planting trees. We set off in small groups and began to marry up trees to the holes which had been prepared earlier.

The trees and shrubs were provided by parents, teachers and the Ministry of the Environment and even Island Conservation Society, who I work for, donated a couple. Fortunately adult volunteers had dug all the holes ready during the morning, as by the time we came to plant the trees it was over 30’C! It was warm work but great fun and we ended what was a very satisfying afternoon with a welcome glass of juice.

The other excellent news is that the school has just got an internet connection, so hopefully by the time the south east monsoon sets in, when it is often too difficult for me to leave the island; we can all communicate via the blog.

Wildlife Explorers for the day

Hi Class 4,

Thought you might to hear about the day children from the Eco-Aride Club and Baie Ste Anne Primary School came out to Aride. Thanks to one of the travel companies out here, Masons, for the use of their catamaran, The Indiana, 23 children and their teachers came out to spend a day on the island.

With Aride being one of the islands a little more remote and further away from Praslin, school trips can sometimes be a little harder to initiate, which makes them very special when the children do get the opportunity.

It was a busy day and great excitement for the children as they arrived on the Aride mooring after an hour and half boat trip on The Indiana. They were greeted by the Aride boat and staff and their adventure on the island began, they became wildlife explorers for the day. Full of excitement and expectation the children had a whole day to see and enjoy Aride. They were able to experience the sights and sounds and to get close to wildlife, some of which they had never seen before. Wrights skinks and ghost grabs scurried around their feet, they got eye to eye with geckos that skulked on the trees along the trails, fairy ferns flew around their heads and tropic birds patiently looked up at their eager faces as they peered down at them. All their senses came in to play, as we smelt the fruits of the Indian mulberry tree, and listened to the sounds of the sooty terns and lesser noddys. We learnt about food chains, food webs, ecosystems, seed dispersal and much, much more.

There was also time for play, the banyan tree provided a swing, the beach and the sea a chance to cool down and exhaust any spare energy. We all had a super time and learnt lots and the children are now keen to write and tell you all about it and to share with you their exciting and very different day on Aride.