Kids Dive - Discovering the Oceans
On April 8 and 9, MARE and the MARDIVE association held an event as part of the Kids Dive program, involving around 120 students from the municipality of Setúbal.
Founded by MARE biologist Frederico Almada, the Kids Dive program is aimed at children and teenagers, with the aim of providing them with an educational underwater experience in order to cultivate a strong relationship with the ocean and promote the conservation of marine ecosystems.
The activity took place at the Palmeiras Municipal Swimming Pool and consisted of a diving baptism. The pool simulated the bottom of the ocean with an underwater course, where the students played various games on the theme of sustainability. "Diving in the pool is an opportunity to show the younger generation that diving is not a radical activity and that they can look with their own eyes at what they have in Município Setúbal, understand what exists underwater, which is so that, one day later, if there are changes in what exists in the aquatic environment in the municipality, they will be alert and be able to see for themselves," Frederico Almada explained to Municipio of Setúbal.
Along the route, which includes areas of seaweed and fishing grounds, the students learned about the colors and sounds of the marine environment, as well as the problem of marine plastic. "At one stage of the circuit, the students pass through two hoops, like a hula hoop, and when they reach the third and final hoop there is a transparent plastic film, which is not visible underwater," which is "an opportunity for them to understand" how plastics cause problems for animals. "It's very interesting to see the students doing this and wasting two or three seconds there until they realize what that invisible barrier was that they bumped into. It's a way for them to feel what it's like to be a marine animal in a polluted ocean," continued Frederico Almada. The tour ended with a selfie and the opportunity to ride an underwater scooter used in research.
The diving baptism was accompanied by workshops on marine biodiversity and marine plastic, with the participation of the Lisbon Zoo and the Portuguese Marine Litter Association.
In addition to this activity, as part of the Kids Dive program, MARE and MARDIVE also held an event at Alpertuche Beach in March, which allowed half a hundred secondary school students to get to know the marine species of the rocky intertidal zone.
Tassiana Malzone, a biologist at Kids Dive, explained to the Municipio of Setúbal that the program's biologists are keen for this type of action to be carried out on the beaches closest to the school "so that they get to know the municipality where they live and the species that exist better, and also so that they can share what they've learned with their classmates".
June 5 marks the end of the activities for the 2023/2024 school year at the Kids Dive Summit, which brings together marine biologists and students who took part in the program.