I was able to spend the last month nestled away in one of the diving hot spots of the world; Kimbe Bay, Papua New Guinea. This is honestly some of the best diving I have ever done! Being in the heart of the Coral Triangle, the reefs are amazingly diverse and in pristine condition from limited human interaction. Up to half of the worlds coral species can be found in this bay alone!

I was hosted by Walindi Plantation Resort and Mahonia Na Dari Conservation Centre. I had the enlightening experience of working with Mahonia’s Marine Environmental Education Program (MEEP). Since 1997 Mahonia has used its MEEP platform to build support for conservation, increase environmental awareness and inspire locals to actively protect their surrounding reefs, seagrass beds, mangroves and turtle nesting sites.

 

I was lucky enough to participate in some of the MEEP classroom sessions! Most of these classes are part of 9-10 week programs where the group of students come in 1 day per week. My favourite class would have to be when we were teaching 6-8 year old kids about coral polyps. Their ability and willingness to absorb knowledge is inspiring, and it just shows that our young generations truly have the ability to change how we respect our oceans.

 

I remember at the end of this particular lesson when I asked one of the kids to tell me what a coral polyp was, I was astounded with her level of understanding. If I asked you what a coral polyp was, would you be able to tell me about it’s role on the coral reef along with its biology?!

As part of the MEEP incentive, students are also taken on field trips to help apply their knowledge learnt in the classroom. A group of grade 12 students were taken to the Dami Oil Palm Research Station. Here they learnt all about the palm oil process from planting, pollination and harvesting. We talked about the impact this process is having on their local marine environment.

 

While in Kimbe Bay, I had the opportunity to dive with Walindi Plantation Resort. Kimbe Bay holds some of the most pristine reefs this part of the world has to offer! I was even shown some of these amazing reefs by Women Divers Hall of Famer: Cecilie Benjamin! Cecilie is one of the founders of Mahonia Na Dari, and with her husband Max Benjamin they own Walindi Plantation Resort.

This experience has been eye opening, and I am leaving here inspired by the locals and their willingness to learn about their oceans and protect them. Stay tuned as I am heading to Fiji for my next underwater adventure!