Sandwatch seeks to modify the lifestyle and habits of children, youth and adults on a community-wide basis and to develop awareness of the fragile nature of the marine and coastal environment and the need to use it wisely.   It is an educational process through which school students and community members learn and work together to critically evaluate the problems and conflicts facing their beach environments and to develop sustainable approaches to address these issues.  With a strong field monitoring component, Sandwatch tries to make science 'live' yet remains inter-disciplinary with applications ranging from biology to woodwork and from poetry to mathematics.

Sandwatch is a volunteer network of schools: students, teachers and principals; youth groups; non-governmental and community-based organizations; working together to monitor and enhance their beach environments. It started in the Caribbean in 1999, and has become an inter-regional activity involving islands as far apart as Cook Islands in the Pacific, Seychelles in the Indian Ocean, and the Bahamas in the Caribbean; as well as countries in Europe, Africa, Asia and South America.  Sandwatch is supported by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) through the education and science sectors, and has received support from the University of Puerto Rico through the Sea Grant College Program, and many national organizations, both governmental and non-governmental.  The network is coordinated by The Sandwatch Foundation, a non-profit organization.

The Dec '09 Issue of The Sandwatcher is out!
Click on the banner photo (above) to view articles and photographs from
Sandwatchers in 23 countries!

Sandwatch provides a new vision of education, one that seeks to empower people of all ages to assume responsibility for creating and enjoying a sustainable future. In particular, it develops skills relating to critical thinking and conflict resolution, and instills a sense of caring for beaches and the environment.

Through the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005-2014), Sandwatch provides a practical ‘hands-on’ approach to integrating the values inherent in sustainable development into all aspects of learning, thereby empowering citizens to act for positive environmental and social change. Sandwatch also contributes to the further implementation of the Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States.

"The Flagship UNESCO Sandwatch Project is an excellent example of what can be achieved...
Sandwatch provides a framework for school children and local communities to work together to critically evaluate the problems facing their beach environments and develop sustainable management solutions.  Since its launch in the Caribbean in 2001 which I myself attended, while visiting several islands of the region,
Sandwatch has expanded to the Pacific and Indian Oceans, and is now active in around forty nations worldwide, including about 20 SIDS (Small Island Developing States)"

- Excerpt from The Opening Address by Mr Koïchiro Matsuura, Director-General of UNESCO, on the occasion of the International Seminar on Climate Change Education - UNESCO, 27 July 2009, Paris.                              (Right: Director General of UNESCO, Mr Koïchiro Matsuura delivering the opening address)

Click on the cover to d/l the new manual (3.3mb pdf)

The August 2009 West African - Cape Verde Workshop Group (click photo for full details)

On August 25-28th, 2009, twenty three (23) educators from The Cape Verde Islands, Senegal, Guinea Bissau, Mauritania and The Gambia met on Santiago Island, in the capital city of the Cape Verde Islands, Praia.  Over the course of four (4) days, teachers were shown the back ground behind Sandwatch, as well as its tools and methods, and several ways of utilizing the internet and other tools  to network and expand their projects when they returned home.  Click here for full details and photos of the workshop.

Even though the workshop was conducted in three (3) languages, English, French and Portuguese, everyone had a great time, learned some new and exciting skills, and made many new friends.  We should be hearing much more from our new West African Sandwatch Teams very soon, so stay tuned to the website!

The West African Workshop was organized and funded by the UNESCO office of Dakar, Senegal and the Cape Verde National Commission for UNESCO, participants were also provided with basic Sandwatch equipment kits to take home with them.  Click here to see a short introductory video from attendees.

The Sandwatch Foundation was pleased and proud to be represented at UNESCO's International Seminar on Climate Change Education in Paris.  In addition to The Sandwatch Foundation Directors, Dr. Gillian Cambers and Paul Diamond, Sandwatch Team members from Antigua, The Bahamas, The Cook Islands, and Mayotte, also attended.  You can see a short video of The Sandwatch presentation given in Paris here.

All Sandwatch participants present were very honoured when 3 of the 5 opening keynote speakers, including the Director General of UNESCO, Mr. Koïchiro Matsuura, specifically cited Sandwatch by name, as being one of UNESCO flagship climate change projects for small island developing states. 

Full details and photographs of the Seminar can be found by clicking on the photo (right)  

Sandwatch was a hit at the Paris Seminar

Over the week of June 21st to the 25th, 2009, representatives from The Sandwatch Foundation, UNESCO, The Bahamas, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and The Turks & Caicos Islands met on Abaco, in The Bahamas for a workshop on Studying Climate Change and how it ties in with the goals of UNESCO's Education for Sustainable Development Programme. 

Principal funding for the event was generously provided by The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark

The workshop was also the venue for the launch of the new edition of 2nd edition of The Sandwatch Manual, with workshop participants being given the opportunity to read over and test some of the new lessons and concepts it contains.  Feedback and suggestions may be incorporated into the final draft of the manual, which is due out third quarter of 2009.

In addition "small group sessions" were held on such topics as Sandwatch monitoring and analysis, the economic implication of climate change, basic video editing and  desktop publishing as well as other subjects.

The June 2009 Bahamas Climate Change Workshop Group modeling their new UNSCO/Sandwatch equipment bags. click photo for full details

From 5-7 November 2008, 40 youth and teachers from ten (10) Caribbean countries met in Barbados to take part in a workshop “Youth and Climate Change: Cool Youth Leading the Way”.  At the workshop they learned about climate change adaptation and how to use different media tools - drama, internet, video and publications – to create awareness about climate change in their home countries as part of a project entitled “Mobilising Caribbean Youth to Adapt to Climate Change”.  This project runs from September 2008 to June 2009 and is organized by the Sandwatch Foundation, Counterpart Caribbean and the Barbados Youth Environment Programme.  Support for the project has been received from the Caribbean Tourism Organization, Commonwealth Foundation, U.K. High Commission in Barbados, and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.  Further information is available in the Background Document.

The Follow-Up: When the participating teams returned home after the Barbados workshop, they continued on with their mission to 'get the word out' about Climate Change and the Sandwatch Project using various types of media (radio, TV, internet, newspapers etc). To date approximately 30,000 people have been informed due to all the teams' efforts...complete details can be found here.

Sandwatch Foundation Announces the Winners of the Climate Change Video Contest; $6,000 US in prize money awarded!!
Above: The Winning Sandwatchers from English River School in The Seychelles

Sandwatch Announces Winners of the Climate Change Video Contest

See how Sandwatchers are helping with climate change adaptation by keeping beaches and coastal areas healthy and strong.  The competition was open to Sandwatch schools, youth and communities groups around the world.

Using simple video cameras and the free and easy to use Windows Movie Maker software, students and teachers all over the world were quickly able to film, edit and post online creative 3 minute videos showing their efforts to confront climate change as it is affecting their islands and communities.

Almost two dozen entries were submitted from teams all over the world with winners chosen in age categories (primary/high school), as well as for creativity and originality.  $6,000 US in prize money was awarded the best eight (8) entries.

Now that so many Sandwatch Teams know how to create and present their own videos, who knows what kinds of creative ways they will come up with in the future.  We cant wait to find out! 

  Click here to see the winners!

Black River Foundation Awards Grant to Sandwatch Foundation

The St. Johns New Brunswick, Canada based, environmental organization, The Black River Foundation is pleased to announce that it is increasing its support of The Sandwatch Foundation with a $5,000 USD grant.
Mr. Robin Cotterell, Director of The Black River Foundation is especially impressed with the progress that the Sandwatch has made in enlisting support from students at education centers around the world into actively studying and protecting their environment by watching over their seas and beaches and the constantly changing ecological balance of their coast lines.
The Black River Foundation was particularly interested in the effort of participants in the new Sandwatch Video Climate Change Competition (see details below) and fully intends to support this noble and creative endevour.
The Black River Foundation is pleased to be a part of this ecologically exciting adventure for our youth worldwide.