The "trip of a lifetime" to Papua New Guinea will hopefully lead to long term international collaboration for marine education.

For two weeks over June and July, I had an amazing opportunity to work on a collaborative project in Kimbe Bay, Papua New Guinea. Mahonia Na Dari (Guardians of the Sea) help facilitate the management of Locally Managed Marine Areas (LMMAs) in Kimbe Bay. With six fellow postgraduate students from Macquarie University, as well as nine Reef Monitors from Kulungi (one of the local villages in Kimbe Bay), I spent 10 brilliant days surveying coral reefs in support of the LMMA program. 

Kimbe Bay is part of the Coral Triangle and is said to have more marine biodiversity than any other place on Earth. The abundance and diversity of marine species was astounding. Kulungi are recent signatories to the LMMA program in Kimbe, which is a very significant step towards the long term management of their invaluable resources. 

Mahonia Na Dari is a non profit conservation organisation which, like Grey Nurse Guardians, aims to conserve the marine environment through education. Hearing about the programs and efforts of Mahonia was inspiring. Mahonia Na Dari provides a platform for marine education through a range of levels, including their Marine Environmental Education Program (MEEP) with local schools, professional development for teachers, facilitation of the LMMA program, national and international tertiary education/research opportunities, and supporting local ecotourism initiatives. All this (and more) is done on a skeleton budget, by a few very passionate and inspiring people. 

For more information, visit www.mahonia.org. 

If you'd like to support Mahonia Na Dari, please contact us.