Marine and Coastal Educators' Network (MCEN) Annual ... - Sancor

Membership
We currently have approximately 60 members in MCEN; this includes individuals as well as organizations
Steering Committee Meetings
A telephone conference Steering Committee Meeting was held on 28 August 2009 to reduce travelling costs.
This worked well and several important matters were under review.
A Second National telephone conference Steering Committee Meeting is to be held on the 16 th February as
we did not have a quorum to continue with the meeting at the 2011 conference in the Northern Cape.
Regional Level
During the period under review, the following activities took place:
Western Cape
The Western Cape MCEN had its midyear conference on the 12 th - 13 th August at Soetwater Enviro camp.
The conference was held over two days and delegates had the option of sleeping over instead of commuting
in every day.
The Theme of the conference followed on from the IUCN year of Biodiversity the previous year and focused
on Marine Biodiversity in South Africa. Approximately 64 delegates attended overall.
Of significance was the attendance of a number of Life Sciences educators from high schools, primary
schools and teachers from the Educare sector. The tertiary education institutions were there too, from the
University of the Western Cape (UWC) and Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT).
Iziko Museums sent a large delegation, DAFF (Dept of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries) was there, and it
was with excitement that we were joined by representatives from SA Heritage Association, WESSA and
DENC.
The theme of the event, Biodiversity, was addressed by our speakers in their presentations and more
significantly that in our coastal waters. Dr. Lara Atkinson our key note speaker introduced the topic of Marine
Biodiversity in South Africa by describing the 3 levels of Biodiversity namely, Genetic, Species and Ecosystem.
South African waters deliver some 12914 species of marine fauna in the internationally recognised
unit of measurement - number of species per square kilometre, while European figures stand at 1160 and
New Zealand 3630.
Bianca welcomed the new members and the organisation they represent and highlighted the forthcoming
environmental events;
� The Penguin Festival - 2 October 2010
� National Coastal Cleanup - 18 September 2010
� SASSI’s re launch – end of August 2010
� National Marine Month – October 2010
Other speakers included:
� Dr. Daniel Thomas combined Continental Drift together with the evolution of the Penguins over time
in his presentation on Penguins through time.
� Weston Barwise (SANCCOB) added to this subject in his talk on Penguins.
� Sarah Tilley from KEAG (Kommetjie Environmental Awareness Group) spoke on the Shark Spotters
programme underwritten by the City of Cape Town. The history of the Great White, the inception of
the shark spotter programme and their stats to date made for riveting “consumption”.
� The International Coastal Cleanup Conference 2010, reviewed by John Kieser (one of MCEN’s
founder members) was enlightening. We were encouraged to support National Clean up week 2010
(13 – 18 September) together with support of other organisations and volunteers already committed
to this event.
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