The summer of 2022 became an amazing experience for four students from the University of Portsmouth. Earlier in the year we launched our first Just One Ocean Marine Conservation Internship in collaboration with Coral Tribe Koh Tao, Thailand. The students spent four to five weeks on this beautiful island where they not only learned how to scuba dive, or improve their diving qualifications, they also participated in a range of marine conservation projects. The activities included the Big Microplastic Survey, coral reef and crown of thorns surveys, drupella snail management, beach cleans and other local community projects. It was an experience of a lifetime that contributes fully to the Just One Ocean mission of protecting the ocean through science, education and communication. As one intern noted:
“Knowledge and understanding are incredibly important in the battle of getting the public backing to protect the environment. I hope with the experience I have gained I will be able to inspire others also and teach those around me the skills and easy ways to reduce our own individual impacts.”
We are hoping that we will have the funding to be able to support more students in the future and even potentially expand the programme to other universities and locations.
