How did a dolphin get to the middle of a classroom? What are these young rescuers learning? Will they succeed in this difficult task? You might have asked yourself these questions if you were walking through the Bonn International School yesterday, Monday 22 May 2006. Staff members from the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) and the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS) decided to celebrate Biodiversity Day with the children, to learn together about conservation of endangered species. With the assistance of BIS teachers, the students were organized in groups, each one attending a different set of presentations and activities.

Ms. Annika Winter from WDCS shared information on whales and dolphins, their biology and behaviour and threats to their survival. At the end of an interactive presentation, the students had learned how to become a ‘dolphin rescuer’. Students understood it is not an easy task, and requires commitment, expertise and knowledge. A dolphin rescue exercise was carried out successfully by the students. Ideas on how to work together for the conservation of dolphins were shared with Annika and the group at the end of the exercise.

Other students learned about the fascinating world of bats species directly from the Executive Secretary of EUROBATS (a species Agreement under CMS). After viewing a short movie on bats, Mr. Andreas Streit, now better known at BIS as Batman, answered numerous questions on the behaviour and life of these nocturnal mammals. Mr. Francisco Rilla Manta, CMS Secretariat, described the captivating phenomenon of animal migration, focusing in particular on the long-distance travel birds undertake seasonally. Ms. Veronika Lenarz, CMS Secretariat, continued by describing the obstacles that migratory animals face during their trips, i.e. the whole process of migration and explained how the Convention works to remove these obstacles.

The report on the effects of the Tsunami on biodiversity in Sri Lanka prepared by Mr. Nalanda Wijeratne of CMS was discussed with a group of comparatively senior students, who demonstrated a deep knowledge of the effects that both natural and man-made disasters and phenomena can have on plants and animals. Mr. Wijeratne presented images of his country ‘before’ and ‘after’ the Tsunami, showing the devastation and loss of habitat such an event can cause. His presentation was followed by a thorough account of the ‘life of a marine mammal keeper’ : Ms. Jeanette Rogers, currently undertaking an internship with the ASCOBANS Secretariat, was a marine mammal keeper at the NY Aquarium. Through her stories of a daily life in contact with several marine species she was able to communicate her love for and commitment to marine mammals, and explain the importance of research and education to better understand their behaviour and needs.

Younger children participated actively and posed several questions during presentations on gorillas and turtles. Questions arose like: “What do gorillas eat?” “Are they really endangered?” “Are gorillas stronger than my dad?” “ Why aren’t turtles laying their eggs in the sea?” “ Are turtles dangerous?” Ms. Paola Deda and Mr. Marco Barbieri, CMS Secretariat, replied to these and more questions and presented images of these species in the wild. Children produced several drawing and messages they wish to send to the public through CMS website. A special CMS page to report on the event is being created to do this.

The CMS Secretariat and WDCS believe that this event has helped raising awareness of endangered species amongst a cross section of international students at Bonn International School and perhaps provide the first training for future adult conservationists. The event will also assist the Secretariat to prepare guidelines for similar events in schools worldwide to be shared with Parties. In the coming months, CMS will work with Bonn International School to prepare of a brochure and webpages on migratory species to be distributed to all other international schools around the world and to be made available to the schools and to the wider public through the CMS website.


To view drawings and messages for the BIS students please click here

For more pictures on the event please click here