Adéla Hemelíková is a student of International Development Studies at Palacký University in Olomouc. Thanks to the scholarship program to support student mobility and internships (the so-called UP Scholarship Program), she was able to go on a two-month internship to Indonesia - on the Pulau Banyak archipelago, which is located a few tens of kilometers from the west coast of Sumatra.
There are 99 islands in the Pulau Banyak archipelago, most of them uninhabited. The Czech Zoo Liberec is implementing a conservation and education project here, which focuses on the marine ecosystem. The local islands are surrounded by coral reefs, but destructive fishing techniques have led to a tremendous loss of local biodiversity. For this reason, the Liberec Zoo has initiated an in situ Coral Nurseries project here, the goal of which is to restore coral reefs and involve local communities in their restoration.
Adéla describes her activities: "There are a total of four coral nurseries on the island of Pulau Balai and its surroundings. I regularly check these nurseries, clean them, and possibly carry out minor repairs. I regularly take children to the coral nurseries so that they too can participate in the care of the coral nurseries. While snorkeling, we explain why the preservation of the local marine ecosystem is important and what can be done to protect it."
This student of International Development Studies is also in charge of other educational activities in the community. He teaches English, leads various workshops focused on ecology and the environment. In cooperation with the local association Trash Hero, it organizes regular cleanings of the island, in which both children and adults participate. During the last month of the internship, she was still mapping the tourist possibilities in the area, the result of this mapping will be a blog written in English and Indonesian with complete information about traveling on the islands. Information about tourist possibilities in this area on the Internet is either missing or outdated and untrue. The new blog will contain up-to-date information and make it easier for incoming tourists to travel on the islands.
Text and photo: Adéla Hemelíková The author is a student of the Department of Development and Environmental Studies of the Faculty of Arts, UP in Olomouc.