Friday, August 21, 2009

Chris went to meet Anton to discuss the boundaries of proposed MPA #1. Alison and Cleo went underwater again. I am catching up on the blog for the last week! I have to start doing it every night. Cleo and Alison are finishing up some Reef Check work in anticipation of tomorrow being a day off for a ride around the island in a pmv. Our cockpit speakers were stolen today. Chris is very upset after putting so much effort into helping the community.

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Alison went to Mater school to give an educational talk about reef ecology. Chris made an introductory speech while Cleo and I provided moral support to the both of them. I kayaked over to Marangis to help Michael get a virus off his USB storage. Our USB stick was infected by Madang Info Tech as well. Grrrr!
There were local guys making a huge canoe on the beach near the cultural house and there were many old men drumming and singing, keeping the tradition alive.
Chris met with the Fisheries Management Committee once again with Cleo, Alison, Kombi, Anton, Alfred, Danny, etc... and the reef owners were happy with the progress made towards establishing an MPA (or 3).
Alison and Cleo were the lone sufferers that made it to the end of a cheesy American movie after dinner.

Wednesday August 19, 2009

Bill from Mater stopped by the boat at 8am to let us know about a sing sing that the kids from Mater school would be performing in and that the bishop would be attending. I went up to the school but the teachers told me that it was postponed until later that afternoon or tomorrow. I was hailed from shore an hour later and in a hilux on the way to Lang Lang school. There were guys in full traditional garb and many people from the surrounding villages. I met the headmaster, Francis, and board member Paul from the Lang Lang school and exchanged contact information with them. They are keen to develop a relationship with OceansWatch.
Chris went to health center to deliver about 100 pairs of glasses that were donated by OceansWatch member Chris Larn. Chris met with Alfred Kobo who agreed to screen members of the community before giving out glasses.
Anton & Danny came to the boat at dusk. Talked about coconut oil.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Site survey snorkeling Cleo driving dinghy and Alison had her head in the water. (really comical) Some sandals went missing.

Monday, August 17, 2009
Chris went to visit the health center to establish contact.
Meeting at Michael's re water project - Chris and Gardner
Bill wants to build a guest house on the beach and invite eco-tourists to stay.

Sunday, August 16, 2009

No rest for the wicked. Carey and I went back to the same points with two different GPS units in an attempt to get more accurate numbers. It was determined that GPS altitude readings are not accurate enough to be applied to this project. A contingent route is finalized and will be confirmed by a surveyor from Madang before construction commences. Alison went to church and then worked with Chris and Cleo

Saturday, August 15, 2009
Alison and Cleo continued their efforts to repeat last years Reef Check surveys while I headed up to Mom with Carey, the water engineer, for another day of pipeline work. I had fun following the gang of locals through the jungle with no shoes on as they cut a swath where the future pipeline will be as Carey marked trees and rocks with spray paint. Chris met with members of the community to rekindle OceansWatch relationships from the inaugural trip last year and his personal trip the year before that.

Friday, August 14, 2009
First Day in Jungle. We met with Carey, Michael, and the local builder named Bill before walking 40 minutes up to the village of Mom to meet with more people. We started to take GPS readings of the area and look at the water sources that will be piped down to Mom. Chris left with Micheal around 1pm to go to the initial meeting with the fisheries management committee. Chris said that the meeting went very well. The committee is aware of diminishing returns from the fishery and is keen to take action with OceansWatch guidance. Cleo and Alison went out to repeat Reef Check surveys from last year and snorkel the area to gain a better understanding of where to focus their new efforts. Some kids borrowed my t-shirts and sleeping bag while Cleo was alone on the boat and working on her computer below. The items were returned later that day. We never did find a pair of red sun glasses.

Thursday, August 13, 2009
Carey Arrived in Madang and Michael went to meet him at the airport. Michael and Cheyenne accompanied us on the passage to Karkar where we anchored in between Marangis and Mater. Fishing attempt unsuccessful but sunset was incredible.