On the 17th of May, thirty two children from the Aqaba International School spent an amazing day at Seastar Watersports, Club Murjan, located on Aqaba’s south beach, carrying out part of their Eco – project work.

Suzanne Conway, diving instructor and marine biologist with Seastar Watersports taught the children the essential elements of the PADI Project Aware Coral Reef Conservation enabling them to understand how critical it is that our reef and its marine life should be protected.

The fact that these youngsters are only eight years old and can already demonstrate complete understanding of how they can play a part in saving Aqaba’s precious resources is quite remarkable.

They were horrified at how much rubbish divers Zak and Suleiman brought out of the sea after a dive, especially when they learned from Suzanne that one glass bottle can take up to a million years to disintegrate!

They also spent part of the day cleaning up the beach in front of the club, discovering on the way how many marine creatures were to be found in the rock pools and crevices.

Some of the better swimmers snorkelled on the reef to see first hand, the corals and fish which need their protection.

In their letters of thanks to the staff of the club the children expressed a clear desire to continue this work with their families.

Judah Gustafson wrote, “I promise I will tell people not to throw their trash and I will pick up as much of it as I can.”

Ahmed Yaseen wrote, “Thank you for explaining why we should take care of the reef and how all the rubbish affects the fish and corals.”

Their determination to educate their families not to leave rubbish on the beaches or throw it from boats is heartening and can only bode well for the future of Aqaba’s marine life.