During summer 2023, the focus of SEA MARVEL – Interreg project Italy-Malta coordinated by Professor Iuri Pieri of the University of Catania’s Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment – was on awareness and education to good practices to protect the environment and the sea. In fact, from June to September, sailors and bathers of the Natura 2000 sites (the Marine Protected Areas “Isole Ciclopi”, “Isole Pelagie” and “Capo Milazzo”, the Oriented Nature Reserve “Oasi del Simeto”) were involved in educational activities, thanks to the support of the University of Catania, in cooperation with the local associations Marecamp ODV, Marevivo Onlus and WWF Sicilia Orientale.
Each association has met the visitors of the various beaches and of the Gulf of Catania, contributing to spreading ethical and individual awareness messages, such as the role that each of us has in the environmental protection, and the correct behaviours to adopt for an increasingly responsible use of the environment. Tourists and local citizens were also informed about the naturalistic value of the places they were visiting, and about the objectives and initiatives promoted by SEA MARVEL.
“This activity that involved visitors and sailors has allowed the project to further increase the impact and achievement of the objectives of raising awareness about the importance of protecting biodiversity, required by the Interreg Italy-Malta programme. The action is integrated, in fact, to other activities carried out during the previous months and which have seen the participation of over 30 schools on the two islands” – declares Stena Paternò, Project Manager of the University of Catania for the SEA MARVEL Project.
SEA MARVEL project gadgets distributed on the beaches during the summer outreach activities
As part of a project like SEA MARVEL, which aims to increase awareness of the threats to marine ecosystems, to promote sustainable behaviour and to involve citizens in monitoring the sea state, the project also included an awareness-raising work aimed at all sailors, which took place at sea or in port facilities.
Therefore, according to the guiding principle of “Citizen Science”, the aim of the activities carried out in the field by Marecamp was to train new “Sentinels of the Sea”: citizens who, aware of the risks faced by the sea and its biodiversity due to human activity, are ready to report any sightings of alien animal and plant species, or vulnerable species such as cetaceans, or large waste, and any other experience at sea that could deserve a scientific study. Thanks to this action, about a thousand fishermen, boaters, tourists and different categories of sea workers, were trained both in the main ports of the Catania coast and directly while sailing on the Green Ice sailboat of the association. In this way, the universities involved in the project now receive their support in data collection, and the associations partners can carry out interventions on site.
Awareness action of future ‘Sentinels of the Sea’ during navigation on the Green Ice sailing boat of the Marecamp association
“Talking to people about environmental issues and the importance of our actions for the protection of marine resources is never a vain activity, especially when it comes to the environment where such sailors spend most of their lives” – states the president of the Marecamp association Dario Garofalo – “Every time we meet someone we wish to leave seeds of awareness. We hope that they will then blossom, turning into sustainable habits, into tangible contributions to the project and, in the long term, into a collective change of the current predominantly consumerist and anthropocentric mind-set which, among other things, is leading to a disastrous loss of biodiversity”.
Two Marecamp volunteers conversing with a fisherman, the new ‘Sentinel of the Sea’, at the AMP Isole Ciclopi
The Marevivo volunteers met about five thousand visitors on the beaches, involved in short scientific seminars and small cleaning interventions on the beaches where they were spending time. Meanwhile, the educators were involved in spreading information and promoting the visited sites, highlighting their natural features and their value, hence the need to protect them. In doing so, a network of contacts was created to broaden public interest towards the goals of SEA MARVEL.
Small beach lesson on alien species by the SEA MARVEL and Marevivo staff
“We deeply believe that respect for the environment can be achieved through information and environmental education. – states Fabio Galluzzo of Marevivo – People often ignore the importance of a place, even though they appreciate its beauty. Through the work of our young educators we hope to increase people’s civic sense and interest towards the environment, while supporting the promotion of the territories involved, based on the idea of a more sustainable use and development”.
Marevivo volunteer and an interested bather showing the flag of the Interreg Italy-Malta SEA MARVEL project
Finally, the WWF Sicilia Nord Orientale, as part of the SEA MARVEL project, carried out awareness campaigns aimed at all the people who visit the beach of the Nature Reserve “Oasi del Simeto”, involving also the inhabitants of the 15 villages of this area. They encouraged the protection and preservation of the common sea turtle Caretta caretta and its habitat, since this species has chosen, once again this year, this strip of coast to lay its eggs.
The WWF stand with two volunteers and illustrative panels on turtle biology and the factors that threaten them, located on the beach within the RNO Oasi del Simeto
The aim was to form “Turtle Keepers”, underlining the importance of preserving the natural and original setting of the beach with its dunes, already threatened by coastal erosion. Bathers, holidaymakers and interested people received information on the life cycle of turtles and the factors that threaten their life, such as marine litter. Posters have also been installed on the habitat of the Caretta caretta turtle, both inside the villages and near the Torre Allegra multifunctional centre.
Volontaria WWF che mostra a dei piccoli interessati le caratteristiche della tartaruga Caretta caretta e l’importanza della sua salvaguardia, presso la spiaggia all’interno dell’RNO Oasi del Simeto
