Shark Guardian – Where we’ve been and where we’re going

How it started: Brendon Sing started the Shark Guardian organization in 2008 but really, this was something that was in the making for more than 10 years. After initially sharing his knowledge and passion for sharks with students, people got word of the Shark Guardian presentation and soon Brendon was sharing his multi-media show with rooms full of up to 100 people in Thailand.

Shark Guardian: At the end of 2009 Brendon named his presentation and all that it stands for. The aim was and always has been, to show the presentation to as many people, from all ages, cultures and backgrounds around the world, to change peoples’ perceptions of sharks and show people what amazing, ancient creatures they are. In to 2010 and the audience reached was increasing massively.

School tours: With the help of girlfriend Liz, Shark Guardian embarked on two tours of International schools in Thailand in 2011, reaching more than 800 children and teachers and stimulating projects, debates and action in the community. Invitations to environmental conferences and school visits to Brunei followed and then in the summer of 2011, Liz presented to nearly 500 children in the UK

Brendon joined Liz for some presentations and we were even lucky enough to get invited to one of the Rotary clubs in Nottingham.

We have since had invitations to visit Dubai and Taiwan – with just 2 people running the Shark Guardian organization it is not possible to do it all!

Where we are now:.As the massive shark finning industry in Indonesia hits the headlines of the dive world on a regular basis, we are focused on spreading our wings further in the very country which we live. Brendon was proud to present at the ADEX dive show in Singapore earlier this year and managed to visit an International school there too. Meeting like minded environmentalists and anti-shark fin campaigners we are trying hard to work with others to continue to spread the message, and to pass on our experience to others who wish to target schools. 

We continue to look for Shark Guardian Leaders who can be trained to present for us in other countries, by enrolling in our Shark Guardian Leader Program. We aim to start delivering our messages in Holland very soon and have contacts in Bali and Jakarta which will help us in our mission. We have also put together eco-field trip packages and have several schools interested in visiting Bunaken island, where we live in Manado, North Sulawesi. These tours will incorporate the Shark Guardian presentation and aim to educate school groups about wider ocean problems, as well as the massive destruction of shark populations and look at the conservation world within scuba diving.

We are looking to build up our Shark Guardian Memberships. We currently have many followers and interest in our programs. We want to build a larger mailing list to keep our members up to date and informed about our Shark Guardian activities and other shark conservation related news from around the world. For certain events and projects we may even call up on certain members to volunteer for future events and projects.

The future: Shark Guardian continues its weekly presentations in north Sulawesi and plans to visit local schools in the regions, as well as Bali, Jakarta and other Indonesian destinations. This will only be possible with Shark Guardian
leaders and members. We are in the process of organizing a return tour to Thailand next February and also a tour to Hong Kong after this. We eventually hope to take the eco-field trips to other destinations.

The time to act and get people involved in saving sharks is now.

Please continue to support us and ask your friends and family to join us too. Find us on Facebook, visit our website and subscribe to our monthly newsletter and updates, so we can all do our bit, no matter how small that may seem.