On March 31 to April 3, 2016 all Liger students were went to Kep province to have a fun time and to learn about the environment at there. At there first day we arrived there at 4:00 pm and we started to prepare the stuffs to the camp. The second day of the trip we have a really busy life. The first thing that we did on the second day were playing the game about trust each other, learned how to use GPS, learned how to take a picture, and learn how to describe the word using the environment, that for the morning. On the afternoon we had a very big game, that game is about finding the treasures in the forest. Each group had one GPS to find the treasures. Sadly my team didn’t have GPS because we lost it, so our team just walked and then one student name Samnang G found the GPS. Then we found only four treasures, but one group got lost in the forest and they still had GPS to find the way home. On the third day we went to Rabbit Island to have a fun time with the ocean, I played very long time in the ocean so that why I had sunburned on my face. This trip was really really fun because all staffs + students were went there.
People in the village came and take the book to read.Boo Vaney help use how to build the libraryWe work at night time to finish it because tomorrow we need to take it the our provinceWe share the library to the community kids.
At the second round of the exploration, the Liger facilitators let us create an Exploration. So I had make an exploration about local libray. Local Library is a library that stay on the open road and any one can take the book to read at their home, then when they finished reading they can come a put it back and take another one. we work really to make 6 library and placed them on
Our Liger studentsWE present our product to other people
At the same day of the STEM festival 2016, they have a maker contest where any one can join it. So the the contest is simple you just show them your product that you had made. For my product it about the wind energy, it takes the energy of the wind and convert it into electricity. So my product won the second place and we (Mengthong, Visal) got $200 in our hands.
In 9, 10 ,11 March, 2016 at the Techno University of Cambodia they have a conference that all the collage and adult and high school students can join and present about what ever they want that related to STEM(Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math). So on 9 March, 2016 my partner and I presented about the LGO robot, and a lot of people interested about it.
In Marine Conservation Exploration the purpose of this exploration is writing the proposal to Dom to get a year long Exploration about finding an alternative livelihood for fishermen. In this Exploration we had went to Kep to learn more about marine ecosystem. Here are some photo that I had did at Kep:
Came back from Koh SekFree Time and sit around in front of the ocean shoreLooking at the sunriseSnorkel with friendsLearning about seahorse at Koh Sek Kep
Cleaning the beach and we picking up the trash with MCC stuff (130 kg of trash)
Problem
Oceans are really important for humans because they provide “food, transportation, recreation, tourism, and maintain the water cycle” (Ocean Health Index). The world population is increasing, so the demand for food is increasing. Currently, oceans have been destroyed little-by-little, because of “overfishing, coastal pollution, habitat destruction, warming, and acidification” (Huffpost Green, The Five Biggest Threats to Our Oceans). Coral and seagrass are important for all fish and invertebrates because those animals can use the coral and seagrass as a shelter or for their food.
In Cambodia, there are four provinces that have ocean coast (Sihanoukville, Kampot, Koh Kong and Kep). According to the Ocean Health Index, the overall rank of ocean health of Cambodia is 179 out of 221. For the bordering countries Vietnam is 170 out of 221, and Thailand is 47 out of 221. According to the Country Environment Profile by the European Union Delegation to Cambodia, healthy seagrass and healthy coral are decreasing. This seagrass and coral are decreasing because of the destruction from humans, like fishermen. Marine Conservation Cambodia (MCC) divers saw this destruction and reported, “High trawling activity was evidenced by broken coral, uprooted seagrass and sourced floors” (Kep Triangle Report, 2015). There are numbers of really unselective and unsustainable fishing practice in Cambodia.
Trawling is a highly destructive fishing technique impacts large areas of the seabed. This tool takes every living thing because it has a big net that touches the seabed. When the boat starts going, it collects everything that is touching the seabed. It disturbs the substrate and can cause silt to cover the coral and seagrass. The silt can block the sunlight and the coral and seagrass can not do photosynthesis.
Electrofishing is another illegal fishing technology and it is a more efficient way to kill the marine organisms. It shocks everything even baby fish and that can reduce populations of all species of fish in the Cambodian oceans.
If illegal fishermen have alternative livelihoods there will be less damage to the Cambodian oceans. According to the Kep Triangle Report, by MCC, surveys said that the biodiversity had increased since January, 2015 and some of the marine life had returned, such as, dolphins and dugongs, in the triangle islands. In the triangle (Koh Seh, Koh Mak Prang, Koh Angkrong), in Kep province, the healthy seagrass are increasing and the healthy corals are also improving in that area. Alternative livelihoods are needed for Cambodian fishermen.
