UNDP and the AIS Forum last week hosted a beach clean-up at the Suva seawall and a Scholars Space event with USP's Associate Professor Dr. Joeli Veitayaki and marine science graduate and artist, Suzanne Turaganiwai.
AIS Program Development Specialist (Asia Pacific) at UNDP Indonesia, Talei Caucau says youths were the target for this project and they want to encourage youths to think about conservation and future career opportunities in environmental and marine science.
Caucau says through the Scholars Space, they want to encourage youths to think about conservation and what their future can look like as environmental scientists and marine scientists.
She adds they will host projects like this across the Pacific in Tonga, Vanuatu, Samoa, Solomon Islands and other countries that are AIS participating countries
Caucau further says the session to show how to make art and other practical items with marine debris helped the children learn that a lot of their toys and plastic water bottles, when not discarded responsibly, end up in the ocean where they harm the marine life.
She says the children were able to witness a real-life representation of the harmful plastic pollution that goes into the ocean, and they were able to learn the importance of throwing rubbish away responsibly, cleaning up our beaches, and not using plastic as an everyday item.
