Children experience nature close-up in holiday camp |09 September 2013

Making the most of the school August holidays, the Seychelles Islands Foundation (SIF) held its fourth holiday camp last week at the Vallée de Mai.  
Twenty-six children from 4 to 16 years old attended this educational five-day camp.  

This was an opportunity for the children to learn about the Vallée de Mai forest and Aldabra Atoll, the wildlife that is found there, and also take part in various other activities about the environment and personal well-being.  

The camp aims to further the children’s environmental knowledge and give them an opportunity to experience nature up close.   

These holiday camps are held twice a year (August and December) on Praslin and can take up to 30 school children at each camp.  

If you are interested in your child attending a future holiday camp you can contact Miss Maria Brioche at the Vallée de Mai for details of how to apply.

This August holiday camp covered a variety of activities and topics.  On one of the days the children had the opportunity to learn about insects.  They received a presentation on insect biology and then got out of the classroom and into the forest to see some insects in their natural habitat.

They looked for insects in the rivers and by the trails and were excited to find several different species.  They also had the chance to see and learn about Yellow Crazy Ants, which are an invasive species to Seychelles, and the problems they can cause within the forest.  Some of the staff from the SIF Praslin invasive species team also took the children on a fact-finding trail in the forest.  On the trail they learned about some of the other invasive species that can be found in the Vallée de Mai, such as rats, tenrecs and cinnamon trees.

There was a dusk safari which was very popular and the children were lucky to see many endemic species, including a Sooglossid Frog.  Earlier in the day they had also been lucky to see the Giant Bronze Gecko and the Seychelles Tiger Chameleon.  For many of the children it was the first time they had seen these animals so this was a really memorable experience.  

The activities that were held throughout the week were a mixture of theoretical sessions such as presentations and worksheets, but also more practical arts and crafts.  When learning about some of the endemic and invasive plants in the Vallée de Mai, the children had the opportunity to make jewellery from Latannyen Lat seeds, and boxes from Vakwa leaves.  This activity was important for the children to understand the human uses of these plants and the greater significance of the natural world around them.  

The week ended with big final ceremony where the children held a fashion show of the jewellery and other items that they had created from local materials.

There was an exhibition of the work they had produced during the week, and then a performance of some of the poems and songs the children had written about the Vallée de Mai and the other animals they had learned about.  

SIF chief executive Dr Frauke Fleischer-Dogley made a closing speech and gave out certificates to the children.

“I hope that the holiday camp this week will inspire some of you to become involved in conservation and the environment within the Seychelles and to assist us in protecting our natural heritage. I would also like to invite all of you to our 30th anniversary celebration of the Vallée de Mai as a World Heritage Site in December this year.

Finally, we are very thankful for the assistance given to us by our sponsors, partners and facilitators in making this holiday camp a success,” she said.  
Contact details for SIF Holiday Camp at the Vallée de Mai:

Maria Brioche
Education and Outreach Programme Officer
Vallée de Mai
Praslin
Tel: 4236220

Contributed