• Presentation of activities conducted during the year 2005/06

• Presentation of how post tsunami funds (Lisa and Rebecca Memorial Fund) were spent

• Approval of the annual balance of the year 2005/06

• Presentation of future plans

• Discussion of new member ideas

• Nominate the winners of the Naucrates Photographer of the Year Competition.

For the occasion, we will organize a visit to some Italian villages in the area, located 50 kms to the south of Rome, or we can take a walk on Italian beaches at the Circeo National Park. In addition, we will sample some delicious local Italian food. BOOK NOW

We are eleven students from the University of Birmingham, UK, who were lucky enough to spend two weeks working with Caludio and Monica on the Mangrove Restoration Project on Ko Phra Thong. What follows is a short account of our experiences. Our journey began back in January when we all applied through the International Volunteering society at the University of Birmingham to do a project in Thailand this summer. Coming from all different degree backgrounds we joined together to do a 5 week project working with North Andaman Tsunami Relief (NATR) which then led to our involvement with Naucrates. Over the past 6 months we carried out a range of different fundraising events including a quiz, raffle and sponsored swim to contribute to the different organizations with which we would work. On arrival at Golden Buddha Beach we received a warm welcome from Monica and Claudio whose enthusiasm for the mangrove project was immediately obvious and indeed contagious. We came with no knowledge of the mangrove environment but a willingness to get involved. The balance of practical and theoretical experience that we have gained means we now appreciate the importance of the mangrove ecosystem and Claudio’s careful efforts to restore it.

Claudio’s first test of our commitment to the project was wading chest high through the water of the tidal creek. We got better at it after the first time! Our first task was clearing corridors through the dead vegetation in the areas worst affected by the tsunami. Armed with machetes and saws we worked our way through the branches. It was hard work but satisfying to look back and see how much we had cleared. Our second task was collecting mangrove seedlings from the beach ready to plant later on in the week. Our lack of knowledge was evident after our initial collection resulted in 50% being classified by Claudio (The boss) as “no good”! However, long walks on the beach soon yielded many “good” seedlings and provided the opportunity to learn from Monica more about the wider ecology of the island both before and after the Tsunami. One big achievement was the construction of a nursery to house the seedlings. We were involved right from the start with collecting bamboo poles from the beach and floating them across the tidal creek during monsoon rain.

Certainly a character building experience! With the expert advice of Claudio we managed to build a structurally sound and monkey-proof nursery from bamboo, netting and twine, using sand and water as our cement. Our hard work was rewarded when we planted the seedlings inside. We also relocated hundreds of baby Avicennia sp. plants in more suitable positions along the tidal creek. It is difficult to sum up in so few words all the things we have done in our short time here; Kayaking and long tail boat trips to see undamaged mangroves, visits to the local school, talks on sea turtles and a quiz have all enriched our volunteering experience.

From our time with Naucrates we have gained not only knowledge of Mangroves, but an increased awareness of biological conservation, improved teamwork skills and many friends. We wish to finish with a big thank you to Claudio and Monica for our invaluable experience which was as the Boss would say “perfecto”.

Naucrates feels it is very important to involve the local people of Phra Thong Island in conserving the natural resources of the island. This year we had a 10 week programme that taught both children and adults conservation and English in 2 villages, Tah Pae Yoi and Thung Dap.

A Thai/English speaker (Pamela Benjasirichai) was employed to deliver conservation lessons to the children. We focused on subjects such as the work that Naucrates undertakes on the island, waste and how to dispose of or recycle it, Phra Thong and its future, to name but a few. We also started a recycling project, making bins for paper and cans and collecting rubbish from around the village. Finally we created a lovely school garden, growing such culinary delights as water melons, aubergines and pumpkins.

All of these lessons went well and that pupils responded positively to them The conservation programme was completed and students were examined on their acquired knowledge. They did fairly well in these examinations, though some were ‘helped’ a bit by their class mates! Taking advantage of the number of ‘native’ English speakers (Lesley Russell, Kate Sandel and John Boylan) volunteering to work on this education project, Monica asked for English classes to be offered to the school and to the villagers.

This led to all pupils in the two schools receiving English lessons once a week from English speakers. From a small start villagers also took advantage of these lessons and they seemed to become quite popular as numbers increased over the weeks. These lessons were a lot of fun if not just a little bit out-of-the-ordinary….Poor Lesley had to act as a robot on more than one occasion, responding to such commands as ‘laugh’, ‘cry’, ‘run’, ‘jump’ (not enviable in that heat….). Still, it seemed to work – those and other such words, along with the memory of Lesley running around the classroom, sweating profusely, will no doubt stick in the minds of the children and adults for some time to come!

Unlike Golden Buddha Beach, at Tapayoi there are no stretches of beautiful sands to walk or easy access to sea to swim in, to keep you fit. Luckily for us we discovered that the village provided a daily aerobics class! It was held at 5.00 pm each day, run by a rather large woman in a shed in the middle of the village.

A shed with a nice corrugated roof to keep the heat in. Lovely. No air-con, not even a fan, (though there were some nice big windows, propped open by long pieces of wood). During the 45-minutes work out, various dogs and small children would wander around our feet and children who we’d just spent the day teaching would stop by and peer in one of the open windows, grinning and shouting out our names.

The workout contained moves I’m sure that have never seen before in the Western world. No ‘aerobic’, as such; more a series of hip-slapping and wrist actions that resembled trying to rev up a motorbike, and other such weird and wonderful delights. I’m sure we actually lost more weight doubled up with laughter than any of the hip-slapping and motorbike revving could have achieved. Still, it made for a great way to end a hard day ‘at the office’ and at 5 baht (about 7 pence) a lesson, has got to be the best entertainment value I have ever had the joy to experience.

In May 2006 the 26th Annual Symposium on Sea Turtle Conservation was held in Crete, Greece. Monica Aureggi was encouraged by the organizing committee to give a talk about the post-tsunami project in Thailand. A power point presentation was prepared in association with our Thai collaborator, Kanjana Adulyanukosol, regarding the impact of the tsunami on marine endangered species along the Andaman Sea coast of Thailand and about the post tsunami activities conducted by Naucrates. The talk lasted 15 minutes. A lot of people attended and congratulated Monica after it, showing the amazing solidarity amongst the international sea turtle community.

- Naucrates is looking for a Thai/English speaker with experience with children for a three month job in the schools of Ko Phra Thong.

- Naucrates Photographer of the Year Competition: it is an amateur competition, everybody can participate (you are not required to be a professional photographer!). There will be special prizes sponsored by Ferrino (Italy) for the winner of each category!!!

- The Conservation Project in Thailand will continue as of 6 January 2007. Details on how to participate are at www.naucrates.org.

- Pipap, Alessandra and Emma will work as assistants during the season 2007 in Thailand!

- Naucrates is raising funds to pursue a 4-wheel motorbike to monitor the long beach of Phra Thong: 3.000 EUROS are needed… ? NEW BLUE Naucrates CAPS are available for 10 euros!