Community Outreach and Education
Atoll Marine Centre is a locally run NGO. We have the unique opportunity to be directly involved in our community, from Nature Club at the local schools to Turtle Fest every year since 2017.
Community engagement is one of the most important aspects of our what we do in Lhaviyani and surrounds.
Atoll Ecologist's Porgram
In our efforts to help increase marine conservation education in local schools, every year our AMC Marine Biologists run the Atoll Ecologists Programme with local schools in Lhaviyani, targets at students in grade x - 8. These include Mad__ Ifthitaah in Naifaru, and Lh Atoll Education Centre on Hinnavaru. We hope to expand the program so that it reaches all four of the inhaited islands of Lhaviyani Atoll.
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The Atoll Ecologists Programme has several aims:
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Educate local children on the marine envrionment, and the current issues that the marine envrionment faces
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Develop observational, collaborative and presentation skills among the children and increase the children's English skills and vocabulary
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Have long-lasting postive impacts for the marine envrionment in Lhaviyani Atoll, by directly education the local inhabitants and future generation which will benefit from its preservation
The lessons are developed to place a strong emphasis on local issues and actions so that children can associate practical solutions with relevant, every-day envrionmental problems.
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School Holiday Camp
Every school holiday, AMC runs a School Holiday Camp.
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School Visits to AMC
Resort Guest Visits to AMC
Our centre is open to resort guests to visit our centre on excursions. Contact your resort if you would like to book a visit to our centre! We charge $15 per adult, and this includes a presentation by one of our Marine Biologists or Marine Biology Interns, and a tour of our centre and a chance to meet our turtle patients!
This is a great opportunity for us to increase awareness about marine envrionmental issues internationally, and encourage visitors to the Maldives to make more enevrionmentally concious decisions while they are here and havce a greater awareness of the threats that the Maldivian mairne envrionment faces.
In 2023 we had a total of _ resort guests visit our centre.
Sea Turtle Response Training
Lhaviyani Turtle Festival
Lhaviyani Turtle Festival is the largest community outreach event that AMC is involved in.
As the largest marine envrionmental and community awareness event in Lhaviyani, this event is organised collaboratively between Naifaru Juvenile, AMC, and Atoll Volunteers.
Read more about Lhaviyani Turtle Festival.