We understand the importance of being able to communicate effectively. This is how we can spread awareness, how we impart knowledge and how we can express ourselves. In the world of science, clear and precise communication is paramount in ensuring that accurate information is passed along to others. The goal of the Blues Marine Crew Curriculum is to provide language and mathematical enrichment within the theme of natural science, as it deals with the foundation phase years. COVID-19 made it difficult to instill these concepts, and so we are working alongside teachers as they bridge these gaps, hence it was decided to pilot the curriculum with some of the older students initially.
The Blues (named after juvenile African penguins) Marine Crew are our youngest primary school age group in the environmental curriculum, being offered to Grades 1-3. Kleinberg Primary School is running this curriculum as part of their Environmental Club and MasiCORP is offering it through their English Hub at Ukhanyo Primary School. We also design curriculum-based field trips for the Blues Crew of the American International School of Cape Town; exploring habitats and microhabitats, learning about maps, natural history and explorers.
Blues Crew students from Kleinberg Primary School travelled out to Cape Town Harbour
to learn more about Marine Science onboard the visiting French Schooner, Tara, in April 2022
Activities include beach clean-ups, hikes, ecobricking, exploring, recycling, storytelling, art and classes introducing the students to marine science and nature conservation. We focus on the development of maths and literacy skills with each of our classes.
Mascot:
- African penguin
- Scientific Name: Spheniscus demersus
- IUCN Status: EN (Endangered)
- Distribution: Southern African endemic. Found in sandy coastal areas and offshore islands between Namibia and Algoa Bay
- Average Adult Size: 68 cm and 3.1 kg
- Diet: Small pelagic fish, squid and crustaceans
- Predators: Gulls, mongoose, sharks and seals
- Interesting Fact: The black spot pattern on the African penguin chest is as unique as a fingerprint and is used as an identifying feature
Stranded Explorers – Cape Point Nature Reserve
Young Explorers Crew – Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens
Grade 1 students from the American International School of Cape Town went on a quest today, to explore Kirstenbosch Gardens to find the best vantage point for wildlife observations. Learning about directions and orientation to build our own map of adventures, different leaf shapes to identify trees and how we should respect wildlife and the nature that we were visiting. Words from the Garden of Extinction… “Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect.” – Chief Seattle
Fynbos Habitat – Slangkop Nature Reserve
Exploring the Fynbos Habitat in Slangkop Nature Reserve with Grade 2 students from the American International School of Cape Town. Students learnt about the relationship between fire and fynbos (impact of alien species), codependent species (such as myrmecochory), habitats and microhabitats, along with their abiotic and biotic factors, and vegetation succession post-fire. Very interesting to see the regrowth after the December 2021 fire
The Power of our Choices Play – Simon’s Town Museum
Students from the Kleinberg Primary School learnt about the Power of our Choices through the medium of art and drama. Voicing their message at the annual Snoekie Market at Simon’s Town Museum.
Driven by our need for convenience, single-use plastic and other single-use materials have taken over our lives, their overwhelming impact being seen around the globe. As an impactful visual reminder of this issue, we created a kelp forest mural out of plastic lids and bottle tops from beach and community clean-ups and donated from household waste. The tops and lids not used in the display have been donated to Simon’s Town Museum for use in their ecobricking and education programmes. The mural will be on display at Simon’s Town Museum in the hope that it encourages others to start making lifestyle changes to lessen our impact on the environment. This artwork was also used as a backdrop for the Kleinberg Primary Blues Crew performance of the Power of our Choices poem written by Megan Webster. Thank you to everyone who donated the bottle tops and lids to this project, and to the Ocean View SeaStars, the Tembo Mentors, Janet Sivewright and Megan Webster for the many hours of designing and gluing
