Southern Leyte Coral Reef Conservation Project

Shannon Cameron August 2015

CONTENTS

1. Latest news

2. Story of the Month

3. Educational & Community Projects

4. Survey Update

5. Marine Scholarship News

6. Marine Creature of the month

PROJECT AIM

The Southern Leyte Coral Reef Conservation Project (SLCRCP) is a collaborative project to

protect the coral reefs of Sogod Bay. The course provides training and conservation education

opportunities for local Filipinos, as part of an integrated programme to develop local capacity,

and ensure the long-term protection and sustainable use of marine resources throughout the

region.

Coral Cay Conservation (CCC) is working at the invitation of, and in partnership with, the

Provincial Government of Southern Leyte and the Philippine Reef & Rainforest Conservation

Foundation Inc. (PRRCFI).

Coral Cay Conservation provides the resources to help sustain livelihoods and alleviate poverty

through the protection, restoration and management of coral reefs and tropical forests.

LATEST NEWS

Say “hello” to our new Scuba Instructor

CCC is pleased to introduce a new staff member this month – Scuba Instructor Yann Walliser!

Before Yann decided to pack his bags and go

travelling with his fiancé, he was chief of the mobility

department in a social company in Biel/Bienne

(Switzerland). He is 34 years old and has been

diving regularly since the young age of only 14!

Yann undertook his Divemaster internship in 2006 in

Costa Rica and achieved his Master diver trainer

certification in 2014 in Thailand. With 20 years of

experience, needless to say he is extremely

qualified for his new task of teaching our local

scholars and international volunteers to the level of

Advanced Open Water Diver and above.

In 2006 he gained his BSc in Biology, completing an

MSc in International Studies and Sustainable

Development in 2009. Yann has always been

passionate about the underwater world and has

been keeping fish tanks for more than 30 years. Underwater conservation and its sustainable

exploitation is one of his main concerns. Those convictions along with his passion for all things

marine has led Yann to join CCC’s expedition in the Philippines and we feel very lucky to have

him as part of the team!

CCC’s new Scuba Instructor, Yann.

STORY OF THE MONTH

CCC is joined by Santa Paz National High School

For Reef Rangers

It was another bright morning in

Napantao as 12 students and their

teacher, Gerry Paga, arrived eager and

ready for their Reef Rangers adventure.

They received a warm welcome from

CCC staff, volunteers and scholars, with

a safety briefing and quick introduction to

CCC. For the kids, the highlight of the

orientation was witnessing divers complete their buddy checks then enter the water for the

morning dive.

The morning was full of activity as

the students received their activity

workbooks and put their thinking

caps on for the lectures. They

were very much in awe as

Australian, British and Filipino

volunteers and scholars stepped in

to teach species identification and

reef ecology. Then it was time to

snorkel! The students were paired

with volunteer buddies and given a

thorough briefing on snorkelling safety and objectives. A group photo was captured right before

the rangers entered the water for their first snorkel ever! The stars of the show? Butterflyfish,

parrotfish, and, of course, Nemo!

Volunteer Johno delivers a lecture on Coral Reef Ecology

Students from Sta. Paz High School get ready for their first ever snorkel

STORY OF THE MONTH

Back in the science room, a discussion on the Threats to the Coral Reefs triggers the

conservationist attitude as the class fell silent when presented with alarming images of the

different factors causing the continuous degradation of coral reefs. Inspired by the snorkelling

experience and illuminated by the lectures, the rangers creatively expressed their advocacy

during a Poster Making activity. The event concluded with the handing out of certificates. The

CCC troop gave a resounding applause to the new batch of certified Reef Rangers, who accept

their recognition with pride and beaming smiles. With hope, they took home with them an open

mind, lots of good memories, and an experience to remember.

The newly trained Reef Rangers make a Coral Reef themed poster presentation

EDUCATION & COMMUNITY PROJECTS

Education Officer Maki, delivers Seastars lessons

to local schools

Our Education Officer Maricris Calilung (Maki) has been working extremely hard this month,

delivering the Coral Cay Conservation Seastar Environmental Award Scheme (SEAS) to local

schools.

SEAS is a tiered programme of education which consists of three lessons delivered

consecutively with the aim of raising community awareness of environmental issues within local

Barangays. Coral Cay recognises the importance of developing an environmentally aware

culture in the young people of the community to ensure the sustainability of the local

environment and resources. The award scheme has 3 certification levels that the school may

achieve. For a school to be awarded with a certificate at any level they must first meet the

required criteria:

Certification Level Criteria

Bronze Seastar

Each grade receives SEAS Lesson 1

Silver Seastar

Each grade receives SEAS Lesson 2 and Lesson 3 within two months of introductory lesson

Establishment of a student-run environmental committee

Gold Seastar

The environmental committee hold their own environmental campaign within three months of completing the SEAS programme

EDUCATION & COMMUNITY PROJECTS

In August Maki delivered SEAS lessons to three schools within the municipalities of San

Francisco and Liloan: Santa Paz National High School, Marayag National High School and

Caligangan Elementary School. Each school is now in the process of organising their very own

environmental campaign and we can’t wait to see what they come up with!

Left: The kids from Caligangan Elementary School are excited to learn all about coral reefs!

Right: Education Officer Maki delivers lesson to students from Marayag National High School

SURVEY UPDATE

Survey background: Since January 2013, survey efforts have been focused on assessing potential and

existing Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in and around Sogod Bay to provide appropriate management

recommendations. To do this CCC uses an expanded version of the Reef Check protocol, which has

been customised to perfectly fit our work in Sogod Bay. Prior to this a baseline appraisal of marine

resources in Sogod Bay was carried out. If you would like more information about our surveying please

contact our Project Scientist, Shannon Cameron.

Our recent survey site of Catig, Liloan is now complete and we can begin to analyse the data

and assess whether this is suitable for the placement of a new MPA. At Coral Cay we make a

great effort to collect the most accurate and comprehensive data possible and use this to write

clear and well thought out recommendations which will most benefit the reef and its associated

Barangay. In Catig, subtrate, invertebrate and fish data were collected from eight separate

transects covering a huge total cumulative area of 3,200m2!

Upon completion of this data collection process our volunteers revisited Catig on a photography

dive, allowing us to show you, the Barangay Catig and the Municipality of Liloan exactly what

the site has to offer. Over the next few weeks our Project Scientist Shannon will work with the

data, aiming to present the results to the Barangay and the Municipality of Liloan by the end of

September.

EDUCATION & COMMUNITY PROJECTS

Scientific reports from all of CCC’s sites around the

world are available on our website at

EDUCATION & COMMUNITY PROJECTS

http://www.coralcay.org/science-research/scientific-reports/.

MARINE SCHOLARSHIP NEWS

Each month CCC offers Filipino nationals who display an ambition to study and protect the vital

marine ecosystems of the Philippines an opportunity to take part in our Marine Conservation

Scholarship. The course lasts for one month and involves training the student in SCUBA diving

to the level of PADI Advanced Open Water. They then take part in an intensive Skills

Development Programme giving them the knowledge and expertise to conduct sub-marine

surveys of the coastline.

Being a conservationist does not mean you must have

a degree in marine science. Here at Coral Cay, we are

looking for people who show the passion, initiative and

dedication for helping in the protection of our

underwater environment. True to this, Coral Cay would

like to introduce our scholars for the month of July!

Jen Horn came to us as a certified SCUBA and skin

diving enthusiast from Manila. Jen is a psychologist by

profession who graduated from the prestigious school

De La Salle University (DLSU). She is an active

member of the well-known organization “Institusyon ng

mga Skin Diver sa Ateneo” (ISDA) and, impressively,

has started up her own company named MUNI - an

organization which focuses on life sustainability. Jen

has a true passion for all things environmental; she

came to Coral Cay to enhance her knowledge of

marine life and conservation and we are grateful that

she also taught us a few things along the way.

Agatha Henry is a professional artist and skin diver from Baguio City, a graduate of the

University of Philippines - Baguio. She dreams of become a SCUBA instructor and taking on our

Our scholars for July, Jen and Agatha, prepare for a survey dive.

MARINE SCHOLARSHIP NEWS

scholarship was a starting point in achieving this ambition. Agatha is truly an asset to marine

conservation; not only in terms of collecting data but also creating art that expresses the efforts

made to preserve the marine environment. During her time here she decorated the halls of

Coral Cay with incredible artwork depicting rare and endangered marine wildlife.

We have no doubt that the knowledge that both girls have gained will come into play as they

leave CCC and motivate more and more people to create a greater community of

conservationists.

If you would like to apply for the CCC Marine Conservation Scholarship programme or read

more about it, please visit:

http://www.coralcay.org/volunteer/scholarship-opportunities/

“One of my goals in joining CCC was to gain better knowledge and understanding of various marine life. And I’m now even more inspired to learn more and find ways to help preserve the richness of our seas even while we’re on land. I’m grateful for meeting everyone here at base, learning & diving together, sharing stories, playing games, and yes, karaoke! I certainly hope to stay in touch with the folks I’ve met here!”

- Jen Horn

“My CCC experience, was the funniest and the most amazing kind of learning I had in my life. I now have a different perspective of the ocean, I appreciate it even more than I did before. I have more knowledge on how to protect and help prevent damage to it. The CCC staff are the coolest and friendliest staff I have ever met. I won’t forget my co-scholars and volunteers. Thanks CCC for inspiring us, I hope you continue the legacy on spreading knowledge and protecting the ocean, I know I will.” - Agatha Henry

MARINE CREATURE OF THE MONTH

Coral Cay Conservation would like to introduce Thuridilla carlsoni, more commonly known as

Carlson’s Sapsucking Slug, as Marine Creature of the Month.

These micro-critters can reach approximately 3cm in length and feed by sucking the fluid from

algae and marine plants. Arguably, they rank among the most beautiful, vivid and photogenic

organisms in the underwater world of coral reefs. Many of their members are rarely encountered

during a dive and it is thought that many species are yet to be discovered. In fact, the known

number of species continuously increases as we further explore the marine environment!

The tremendous range of colourful markings that run through the animals’ body length is the

characteristic of sap-suckling slugs, which has helped them become famous among underwater

photographers. These creatures differ from the closely related Nudibranch family by having no

external gills.

This particular sap suckling slug was spotted by the keen eyes of our Science Officer, Joe

Roche, at 8m depth during his first dive in Anilao, Lilo-an.

Photo credit: Jesse Tinapay