Workshops

Ghost Gear Bracelet Workshop

With Olive Ridley Project, 29 April 2023, MNU Campus Hithadhoo

What scares a sea turtle? 
Nothing’s spookier than a ghost-net!

Ghost-nets are lost, discarded, or abandoned fishing gear that drift through the oceans, injuring or harming marine life. As it drifts, smaller fishes or crustaceans can begin to live on it - which attracts the opportunistic sea turtle looking for a meal. Sadly, the turtle can quickly get trapped and become unable to leave the net!

The ORP has been collecting such ghost-nets across the Maldives since 2013. And to make the ghost-net less spooky, we upcycle it into ghost-net bracelets - join us to learn how to make it to keep the oceans free from ghost-gear! 

This workshop takes 1 and a half hours.
Open for students from Grade 3 and above
You can bring your own device or use the computers at MNU.

*There are limited spaces so please sign up soon!

AI for Oceans 

With Women in Tech Maldives, 29 April 2023, MNU Campus Hithadhoo

Don't miss out on the exciting interactive activity during the Coral Festival - "AI for Oceans"! This fun-filled and educational activity will show you how AI can be used to help protect our oceans. Discover how technology is being used to safeguard our planet, and join us for a day of learning and exploration. Bring your curiosity and enthusiasm, and get ready to make a difference for our oceans!

Fish ID workshop

With Save The Beach Maldives

Be familiar with targeted fish from videos and understand why this information is useful to coral reefs.

Pointing out which fish species the participants are most likely to come across in their island reefs and to remember the fishes identified during counting fish

This workshop takes about 45 minutes

ID the Manta

With Maldives Manta Conservation Programme, 29 April 2023, MNU Campus Hithadhoo

Did you know?

The Maldives hosts the largest recorded population of reef manta rays... in the world! With its unique atoll formation, shallow lagoon systems and abundance of year round plankton, the Maldives ticks all the boxes for an environment for Manta Rays to thrive.

The Maldives Manta Conservation Programme (MMCP) is Maldives-registered charity that was established in 2005 and after almost two decades of research across the nation, the MMCP has become one of the ‘largest and longest standing manta ray conservation groups in the world’.

During this time, the team have identified over 5,000 individual manta rays, cataloguing interesting elements of their life history; including behaviour, food sourcing, population dynamics and movement ecology. So how can we tell the difference between individual manta rays and what do manta researchers do with this data to help conserve the species? Delve into the world of manta ray conservation and come and join the MMCP team’s Manta ID Workshop to have a go at being a Manta Ray ID Expert in this exciting and engaging experience!

Participants will need a mask and water shoes for the practical component.

Seagrass ID workshop

With Maldives Resilient Reefs, 29 April 2023, MNU Campus Hithadhoo

Seagrass meadows are biodiversity hotspots that provide vital ecosystem services, including oxygen production and food provision. Seagrass is vital to the Maldives; it traps island building sediments, prevents beach erosion, filters nutrients and harmful bacteria, provides food for sea turtles, supports fisheries and is home to many juvenile coral reef fish. Seagrass meadows also play an important role in the fight against climate change as they take up carbon dioxide that is dissolved in seawater. Carbon dioxide is used to build the plant’s tissues or is stored in their roots which extend deep under the sediment. Estimates suggest that seagrass meadows can bury carbon in underwater sediments up to 40 times faster than tropical forests bury it in soil, and seagrass provides one of the greatest contributions to the total carbon buried in ocean sediments. Yet, seagrass meadows are one of the most undervalued marine habitats in the Maldives, and their extent and condition are not properly understood. The #ProtectMaldivesSeagrass campaign in 2019 was supported by a quarter of all high-end Maldives resorts, with a total of nearly one million square metres of seagrass pledged to be protected. Learn about seagrasses in the Maldives and how to identify and map them from the team behind the #ProtectMaldivesSeagrass campaign.

This workshop takes about half an hour

Soneva Academy Workshop

With Soneva, 29 April 2023, MNU Campus Hithadhoo 

We will dive into the world under the waves. What are coral reefs, and how do they impact our lives? Learn all about the fascinating life on the reef, how it is currently under threat and what we can do to help. We will introduce you to the world of marine science. How can we help marine life by learning more about it? During this workshop, we will focus on the coral module that Soneva Academy offers. What are they? How are they built? What lives on them? Through an interactive presentation, together we will talk about the incredible wealth of life that coral offers and what life is like in the “cities of the sea”.

This workshop takes about 2 hours

Nurdle Hunt

With Aloha Ufaa
29th April 2023, MNU Campus, Hithadhoo

Recent accidents in the ocean spilled tons of small plastic pellets called nurdles in the Indian Ocean, and they're now washing up on our beaches. Learn about their effect on the environment and wildlife and how to find them on your beach. Go on a fun Nurdle Hunt with Aloha Ufaa. 

*Bring a few jars from home to put the nurdles in, sun gear and drink bottle