Education Coordinator

  Caribbean

Term: Summer 
Dates: July 2008 - December 2008

Description: We are looking for a student who will be dedicated to the project for 6 months and can work independently. The student must be a confident swimmer and willing to learn how to snorkel or scuba-dive. The student must be able to communicate both in Dutch and English, knowledge of Papiamentu or Spanish is a plus. The minimum level of education is a bachelor degree (in progress) and an interest in nature conservation, sustainable development and environment. Any extra curricular experiences with educational activities are a plus. Most of all, the student must be a very sociable person, able to teach a class or give directions to volunteers and other parties during the programs.

This internship offers you a unique experience to gain work-experience in a beautiful environment on a very interesting island. You will work as a project coordinator in an office provided by the resort and report weekly to your direct boss who lives in the USA but visits frequently. You will have a knowledgeable local supervisor who will guide you during your internship.

Qualifications: Duties of the education coordinator will be:

1. Coordination of the Expedition Santa Martha: The expedition is our fieldtrip that we offer to the local primary schools in the Banda Abou area. During the expeditions each class will come to the resort where their teacher will teach an environmental class in our open air classroom overlooking Lee's Reef.. Your tasks are:

* Creating visiting schedules with the schools.
* Guiding the teachers, providing them with knowledge and materials. Keep in mind that their schoolbooks only teach dutch environment.
* Arranging bus transportation from the schools to the expedition.
* Communicate with the resort about the use of the open air classroom and other facilitations.
* Helping out during the Expeditions.
* Gathering of new scientific materials on aquatic eco-systems to complement our Library.

2. Work closely together with the local Kolegio Pedagogiko (the college to become a teacher). The school is implementing assignments in which it's students need to address social and environmental issues. Your tasks are:

* Maintaining a good relationship with the school and the headmaster.
* Supervising the student-teachers and providing them with information and explanation of the scientific information on the area.
* Working together with our environmental orientated partners on the island.

3. Kids for corals coordinator: Kids for Corals is a separate foundation that organizes snorkel lessons for fifth graders on the island. We work closely together with them and our project-coordinators always join the crew of volunteers to assist with the lessons. The final lesson and exam takes place at the resort and it is your task to coordinate this with the resort and K4C.

4. Coordinating the bi-annual reef-check of our reef which is a part of an island wide monitoring program.

5. Coordinating the summer-vacation activities for kids in the area. This will be a new program this year. It will be up to your creativity to work this out. Most of the local children are poor and will not have many things to do during the vacation period. There are organizations that try to find things to do for those kids during this period. The idea is to offer activities such as sandcastle tournament, trail-seeking etc to these organizations.

6. Coordinating the gradual creation of a no take maritime protection zone at Santa Martha. In order to achieve this, a dialog with the local fishermen and their organizations has to be created and alternatives have to be offered. This has proven to be a difficult process but in time possibilities will be created. Task are:

* Collecting local news articles on fishing and creating a database with that information
* Gathering of contact information of fishermen and organizations.
* Placing of mooring- buoys for fishermen to prevent them from anchoring on the reef. We currently have two of those.
* Researching and documenting the possibilities and constraints for the creation of a maritime underwater park.

7. Work as a team member and assist in the projects from our other Project Coordinator, the Eco-tourism and financial coordinator. These are:

* Annual Reef-Fest: Our reef-fest is an event that focuses on teachers and students of the schools in the Banda Abou region of Curacao. Teachers will participate in workshops orientated to sustaining our Reef ecosystem. They will also receive materials they can use in their classrooms.
* The development of a hiking trail with an educational map.
* The development of promotional materials
* Increasing involvement of the hotel visitors

Salary / Pay: You will receive 400 guilders/month for housing costs and 200 guilders/month for transportation costs.

Experience Required: no

This Program is open to World Wide Participants.

Participants Travel to Caribbean Independently

Typically Participants Work in Groups of 1

Application Process Involves:

• Resume
• Written Application

Lee's Reef Project's Mission Statement: Lee's Reef Project is a forum to the divergent communities and interests that are sustained by the reef at Sta. Marta Bay. It is a place to learn about the reef, its beauty, its bounty, the pressures on it and what needs to be sustained. A place where divers, local fishermen and most especially local children can learn to share the responsibility and the sheer joy of this natural wonder. Our three pronged goal is: Coral Reef Protection and Conservation, Community Education and Awareness and Community Participation and Support. By offering an educational program to the primary schools, we are reaching a broad audience within the local community. Not only do we create awareness among the children and their teachers but also the children's parents learn from their children and are often infected by their enthusiasm and new-found knowledge. We offer information and volunteer opportunities to our local and international visitors to help them make their visit - reef friendly. We organize adult awareness and education programs and activities for local and international communities. The annual Reef-Fest is aimed at the local teachers, in providing them information and learning materials we can reach the children in their classes.

Year Founded: 2004