Ionian Dolphin Project Greece
Education, awareness and capacity building
Capacity building activities around Kalamos and in the Amvrakikos Gulf – including lectures and direct involvement in field work and data analysis - have benefited a large number of students, researchers and volunteers from around the world.
Since 1991, Tethys has organized a series of courses on dolphin research and conservation during the field work period, opened to students and interested people who wish to contribute to cetacean research and conservation. Course participants provided financial support to the project, thus contributing to long-term monitoring. A total of 888 volunteers participated in field courses. The courses were held on board sailing vessels until 1994, and then at the Tethys field station on the island of Kalamos. In the Amvrakikos Gulf, courses were organized at the Vonitsa field station starting in 2006, thanks to support provided by the Earthwatch Institute. A total of 155 volunteers participated in the expeditions between 2006 and 2008.Since 2001, Tethys organised a series of capacity building initiatives aimed to develop expertise on cetacean research and conservation, and encouraging collaboration among researchers and institutes working in the Mediterranean and Black Seas, in close collaboration with ACCOBAMS. The training courses organized at the Kalamos field station alternated theoretical seminars with field data collection and practical experiences at sea. Participants were asked to engage in report writing, abstract writing, and preliminary data analysis. Practical work such as photo-identification at sea, matching, and behavioural data collection was included. By working side by side with Tethys researchers, participants acquired essential background for field studies and learned how to plan and develop their own research project, how to analyse the data, convey the results to colleagues and the general public, and ultimately contribute to dolphin conservation.
These initiatives have included:
2001 Training course on cetacean research and conservation for Israeli researchers;
2002-2003 Individual capacity building on cetacean research and conservation for Bulgarian and Romanian researchers (organized in collaboration with ACCOBAMS);
2003 Training course on photo-identification methods for Georgian, Russian and Ukrainian researchers (organized in collaboration with ACCOBAMS);
2004 Training course on cetacean research methods and conservation strategies for Slovenian and Greek researchers (organized in collaboration with ACCOBAMS);
2005 Training course on cetacean research methods and conservation strategies for Libyan and Lebanese researchers (organized in collaboration with ACCOBAMS);
2007 Training course for school teachers from Greece and the U.K. (organized in collaboration with the Earthwatch Institute).
A 13 min documentary (“Dolphin People”) featuring the work by Ionian Dolphin Project researchers and carrying a strong conservation message was produced in 2003 in collaboration with WDCS - The Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, OceanCare and the Pew Institute for Ocean Science. The documentary has been shown at several international meetings and events to promote dolphin conservation. In 2007 the documentary was re-edited and posted online at http://www.cetaceanalliance.org/dolphinpeople/.
A 3.5 min video (“Coastal Dolphins in the Mediterranean”) featuring the decline of coastal dolphins was produced in collaboration with WDCS and OceanCare in 2004. This video, intended for online distribution, can be watched at http://www.cetaceanalliance.org/coastaldolphins_video/.
In August 2007 the work by Tethys in Greece was filmed in the context of "Whales of the Mediterranean Sea" a documentary film series produced by EarthOCEAN. Tethys researchers Giovanni Bearzi, Joan Gonzalvo and Silvia Bonizzoni, as well as trainees from Greece and the U.K. and fishermen from Paleros, Greece, were interviewed. The video documentary by EarthOCEAN features the decline of common dolphins around Kalamos, western Greece, and the reasons thereof. The video, in English, can be watched online with supporting education materials. It has als been subtitled in English, Spanish, French, Italian, German, Greek and Arabic.
The work conducted by Tethys in the context of the Ionian Dolphin Project has been featured in several popular articles published in European magazines. A large number of top-quality photographs and many hours of video footage were obtained and are routinely used for public awareness purposes.
In 2007, an educational children booklet (“Our Friends the Dolphins”) designed and written by Tethys researcher Giovanni Bearzi was translated into Greek and made available to teachers of several Greek schools. The children booklet was also made available online in Greek and nine other languages at an educational web site http://www.cetaceanalliance.org/dolphinfriends/.
The online version of the children booklet “Our Friends the Dolphins” produced to support education actions
and available in ten languages.
In the context of the Year of the Dolphin, 200 copies of an educational booklet in Greek (“All About Dolphins! A multilingual educational manual”) produced by UNEP/CMS in 2007 were made available by WDCS – The Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society. These copies were used by local educators to support educational programmes including dolphin conservation during the 2007-2008 school term.
In May 2007 a beach cleaning event was organized in Paleros, to raise environmental awareness among local children. In the morning of June 11th, 2007, more than 300 school children between 4 and 8 years of age, devoted more than three hours to the collection of paper, plastics and other debris from the local beach. The success of this initiative encouraged the planning of other similar events in future years. In July 2008 another beach cleaning event was organized in Episkopi (island of Kalamos) with the partecipation of locals and tourists.
Lectures and public presentations
Lectures and presentations were given annually since 1997 to inform the local community about the work done by Tethys in the Kalamos study area and raise awareness about dolphins and marine conservation.
A total of 2,020 individuals (age: 4-80 years) attended presentations given by Tethys personnel between 2004 and 2008.
“Dolphin Day” events were organized by Tethys in the summers of 2004 and 2006, in collaboration with the Municipality of Vonitsa, Mytikas and Paleros. Drawings made by local children following lectures at local schools, featuring dolphins and the threats that they are facing, were put on display. Activities for local kids were organized, including body painting and games. Videos on cetaceans were displayed to launch the evenings, also including footage from the study area. Presentations were centred around the status of dolphins in Greece coastal waters. Following these events, members of the local Municipalities expressed interest in a long-term collaboration with Tethys aimed to raise awareness on nature conservation.
List of educational talks given in the area between 2004 and September 2008.
Lectures held by Tethys researchers at schools in the towns of Mytikas, Paleros and Vonitsa.
An event organized by Tethys researchers at the Vonitsa Primary Schools in May 2008, attended by about 300 children.
A Dolphin Day event organized in Vonitsa.
In 2008, Tethys researchers held a video conference with a group of disabled children from a Middle School in Los Angeles, California, facilitated by science teacher Larissa Karan. These children, living in the most densely populated area of Los Angeles, could ask questions to a Tethys researcher.
In addition, in 2008 presentations and video projections featuring dolphin conservation in Greece were given at the European Cetacean Society Conference (Egmond an Zee, Holland; audience approximately 200 people), at the Royal Geographical Society (London, U.K.; audience over 400 people), at the theatre of Paciano, Italy (with Giuseppe Notarbartolo di Sciara, Sidney Holt and Leslie Busby; audience about 50 people), and at the Lega Navale Italiana (Porto Cesareo, Italy; audience about 40 people).