Rolloc Samleng, Marine Conservation Cambodia’s (MCC) outreach project, provides marine ecology education to local schools. Through creative activities and project-based learning, we bring marine ecology into the Kep community.
One of MCCs main goals is the sustainable management of Kep archipelago’s marine environment. This is only achievable with the active involvement of local people. Therefore, it is important for us to connect our ideas and practices to a wide audience. Not in the least to local schools, teaching the fisherman and conservationists of the future!
If you have ideas to help us teach the future teachers, please feel free to contact us.
Outreach sessions
People from fishing communities currently learn about fishing and life at sea from their predecessors. But the world beneath the surface, and how organisms and ecosystems connect, is still largely unknown to them.
MCC wants to fill that blank via education and inspire locals to make use of Kep’s marine resources in a sustainable way. To do so, we work in partnership with schools and organisations from Kep to Phnom Penh. We run creative and engaging sessions on different marine topics, suitable for children, teenagers and young adults from 5 to 25 years old.
Our Rolloc samleng sessions use art as a medium to make science more accessible. Each session covers a particular theme, such as coral reefs, seagrass meadows and gastropods. We also make use of visual illustrations such as photographs and research equipment. Being creative helps to make the learning process more enjoyable and satisfying.
For the same reason, MCC staff also works to initiate open discussion between students, teachers and our staff members and volunteers.
Project-based learning
As a second part of the Rolloc samleng outrech project, we use project-based learning (PBL) to motivate students and help them better understand subject matter content.
We introduce Kep’s marine ecosystem and its issues to facilitate students’ research on the chosen matter. We also organize field trips and offer follow-up until project completion. Projects are chosen and designed by our project leader, together with the referent school teacher.
We combine in-class activities with field trips to our home base Koh Ach Seh. Seeing the underwater world with their own eyes can be a turning point for those who have just discovered the marine world. The trips give students hands-on opportunity to engage with the underwater world. For example, they can listen to the dolphins in real time using MCC’s hydrophone and other research equipment.