Home
Oak Hammock Marsh Interpretive Centre in the Caribbean
In 1997, the Interpretive Centre was invited to develop and lead a wetland education workshop in the Bahamas. Educators and resource managers from throughout the West Indies attended. They participated in a variety of activities and games to raise their awareness of wetlands and draw attention to the decline of the West Indian whistling-duck.
The workshop led to the development of a new teachers’ resource book - “Wondrous West Indian Wetlands.” The book was unveiled in July of 2001, and the requests for wetland education workshops accelerated. The Interpretive Centre has conducted wetland education workshops for teachers in The Bahamas (1997 and 2003), Cuba (2001), Trinidad and Tobago (2002), Antigua and Barbuda (2002), Jamaica (2003), Cayman Islands (2004), St. Vincent and the Grenadines (2004), Anguilla (2004), Tortola (2005), and Montserrat (2006). The Centre also assists with the creation of wetland education kits that are delivered to various islands.
Workshops include a presentation on wetland teaching/interpretation techniques, an overview of the workbook's contents, activities and demonstrations for the whole group, and an opportunity for teachers (working in small groups; all instructions and materials supplied) to demonstrate to the larger group a sample activity of their choice from the book.
The second day of the workshop is spent at a local wetland. Participants have the opportunity to try out all of the field activities that are in the workbook (e.g., line and quadrat plant transects, keeping field records, wetland monitoring, sound maps, wetland words and poetry, wetland assessment). They also learn to identify the four species of mangroves and other wetland plants and animals. Learning to use binoculars and identifying birds from their field marks is also emphasized.
For more information visit the WIWD & Wetlands Conservation Project.
