A couple of weeks ago, on a Saturday morning we bundled all our Reef Doctor Juniors into a taxi brousse and headed to the Spiny Forest for a field trip! The Juniors are a group of 21, enthusiastic kids from EPP Ifaty to whom we teach environmental education each week. During the last couple of weeks, they have been learning the basics on ecosystems throughout Madagascar and locally to this region: Coral Reef, Seagrass, Mangrove and the Spiny Forest. For each subject in the Junior curriculum we take them on a fieldtrip… there is no better way to learn than actually getting out of the classroom! So, this time it was the locally run Spiny Forest (Ala maiky) reserve in Mangily.

When we arrived, we were met by the director of the reserve, Feon, who was to be our guide for the morning, and led us straight to Maki (Lemur) Sanctuary. Throughout our tour, he explained to the Juniors that these lemurs aren’t in cages for cruelty but to help them rehabilitate to the wild. Many of the foreigners who settle in Madagascar take lemurs from the wild, from their natural home, leave them in cages in their home with the job of looking pretty and impressing friends. It isn’t for conservation purposes. This sanctuary was created to retrieve these caged lemurs and rehabilitate them back to where they belong, in the wild areas of this beautiful country. In total, they have about 25 lemurs in rehabilitation, all Ring-tailed Lemurs apart from one Red-fronted Lemur.

Ring-tailed Lemur nearly ready to be released back into his natural home.

After visiting where the lemurs’ food is prepared, Feon guided us to the Tortoise Sanctuary. He explained to the children that this species, the ‘Radiated’ tortoise, is found all over Madagascar, however the greatest population is found here, in the Spiny Forest. While the kids excitedly gathered in a circle trying to get a better look, Feon explained to them that the Radiated tortoise is critically endangered due to habitat loss and being poached for food – hence why they created a sanctuary.

In the Tortoise Sanctuary, each kid wanted a good look!

For the next hour, the kids got to tour and explore the forest of 95% flora endemic – the Ala Maiky or the Spiny Forest. It is now a well-known fact amongst the kids that this unique, dry forest is only found in the Southwest of Madagascar and nowhere else in the world. Along the way, kids jumped on the opportunity of cracking open and eating the delicious baobab fruit that had fallen to the ground. Baobab fruit is very healthy, containing more Vitamin C than oranges and more potassium than bananas. While the kids happily munched away, Feon guided the group around many endemic trees. The main attraction, however, was one of the oldest baobabs in the reserve – over 1100 years old! It took 15 kids, arms stretched wide, to circumference the trunk of the grand tree. During the tour, unsurprisingly with 21 exciting, laughing kids, we didn’t see any animals! However, Feon explained there are many interesting animals that call this dry land home, including several lemurs, geckos, snakes and 8 endemic species of bird.

Tour around the reserve – beautiful Moringa tree in the background

Fabrice happily breaking open her baobab fruit

How many Juniors does it take to circle the circumference of one of the oldest baobabs in the reserve?

To round off our morning in the Spiny forest, Feon ended with a small speech for our Juniors:

‘As young kids – the future generation of leaders and conservationists – you should be well aware of the reasons why we need to protect our animals, like the lemur, and our plants, like the baobab. Firstly, because they are endemic*, only found in our country, meaning only we are responsible for them. Secondly, because they are threatened and thirdly because they are absolutely beautiful. You, the future leaders of Madagascar, need to realise how special this region is and start to protect it.’

*Not all baobabs are endemic to Madagascar. There are 9 species worldwide, 7 are found in Madagascar, others are found in Mainland Africa & Australia.

In true Malagasy style, the Taxi Brousse was late!

21 Juniors, 2 teachers and our wonderful guide, Feon.

The Education Team would like to take this opportunity to thank Feon and all his employees for all their hard work. With a growing population and increasing cost of living, traditional ways of life aren’t generating enough money anymore. With the Bay of Ranobe highly overfished, many fishermen are now relying on charcoal production for income. The Spiny Forest is increasingly under threat and the work being done at the Ala Maiky Reserve is critical.

Blog and photos by RD Education Officer Beth Dickens

Informed decision-making is an essential component of sustainable development and conservation in rural communities. For example, if you aim to sustainably exploit the marine environment you need to be able to interpret a graph on fisheries catch data. Therefore, the importance of a good education is undeniable. Although primary schooling is mandatory from the age of six in Madagascar, less than 50% of children have received five years of schooling by the age of 15 (OPHI). The education system is failing, with resources and facilities increasingly unable to function and accommodate the growing number of children requiring access to education. Reef Doctor is increasingly asking the ethical question ‘how can the communities we work with make informed decisions about their future if they are unable to access information through reading, disseminate information, and keep records of past events/changes if they cannot write?’.

In Ifaty, and indeed all across Madagascar, many parents cannot afford to send all of their children to school and many have to decide which of their children will get any kind of primary school education. Many schools in the area, like the primary school in Ifaty, are too small. In Ifaty, half the children of school going age attend school in the morning and the other half in the afternoon. Teachers do their absolute best with the limited teacher training available. Furthermore, the vast majority of public primary schools employ an archaic teaching method because the tools and resources are not available to introduce different teaching styles into the classroom.

After witnessing the deterioration of the schooling system in our home village of Ifaty, Reef Doctor directors, Roderick Stein-Rostaing and Emma Gibbons, decided enough was enough and recently started a programme for change, the new Reef Doctor school! This new initiative aims to deliver a high standard of education and skill development training to a few local children in order for them to become ambassadors and future leaders of their community. The new Reef Doctor school will provide the skills and tools for these children to become the access point for communities to learn about wider social issues such as climate change and declining fish stocks, which affect everyday lives. The vision is to provide a platform that empowers communities to make informed decisions about their future.

Based out of the home of Director Emma in Ifaty village, the Reef Doctor school is now attended by 25 children from the village. Four teachers have been employed to teach the children and they work closely with the Reef Doctor Education Department to improve teaching methods and deliver the children a broader programme of education in Science, Mathematics, French, Malagasy, English, Geography, History, Sport and of course, Environmental Studies. The school has been up and running since September 2016 and is going from strength to strength. In addition to classes in the Reef Doctor School, pupils also attend workshops at Reef Doctor and community events along with the Junior Reef Doctors.

This endeavour received a huge boost recently when a representative of CISCO, the Regional Department of Education in Toliara, visited the school. The school is now being registered with the government to include permission to teach classes to the level of high school diploma. A huge advantage of the visit and the registration of the school is that the school, once registered, will be eligible to receive assistance from a food programme, which will mean that the children will receive a nutritious lunch during their school day to fulfil their learning potential. The school is a testament to Roderick and Emma’s dedication to the community where they have resided for over a decade. They hope to provide the opportunity for children to receive an education that will help them to learn to investigate and question the world around them and ultimately  understand enough about that world to make informed and educated decisions that improve their quality of life and the lives of those in their community.