Education in Port Elizabeth
The team at Raggy Charters are dedicated to educating the public about the marine environment and the need to conserve it! It is especially important to target our youth. To teach about the beautiful bay that they live in and hopefully encourage them to play a vital role in the future by conserving it. Every year Lloyd Edwards, the owner of Raggy Charters, and his staff, visit various schools, universities, organisations and clubs to show them the spectacular wildlife that we have in Algoa Bay. Showing them photographs taken during our marine eco-cruises. Teaching about the marine life, the effects of pollution on the marine life and the importance to reduce single use plastic and to recycle as much as possible.
Raggy Charters targets the underprivileged children by visiting different schools in the Port Elizabeth area and showing them the wildlife in the bay, educating them about the problems some of these animals are encountering and asking them what can they do to help. A huge part of this education programme is getting these children to come out and see the bay for themselves. Top prize is to have the children visit us at the Harbour. We thank The Nelson Mandela Bay Yacht Club, who very kindly sponsor their boardroom for the presentation and educational talk and then the children us for a cruise. Show a child a wild animal; a penguin, dolphin, whale etc. and they will remember it forever. Our hope is that these children grow up remembering about these animals and the problems they face, and then do something to help!
We ask everyone that listens to our talks to think about what they can do in their life to make a difference to the world. A lot of children do not realise the impact that litter can have on the environment so it is vital to get through to them at a young age 'Don't Litter!' They can spread this awareness at home, to friends and to other members of their family, and if everyone starts making little changes to help, we may start to see a difference :)
A glance into some of the educationals done to date.. a continuous and rewarding project
16 NOV 2024 We were very happy to host students from NukaKamma Hospitality School. They joined us for a relaxed educational afternoon on the ocean enjoying a lovely encounter with a pod of bottlenose dolphins. Addo African Home Eco Lodge developed the hospitality school to reduce poverty in the area. Training and helping the local communities learn the hospitality industry and enabling them to get jobs in Premium Lodges and Game Reserves.
23 OCT 2024 We again welcomed Walter Sisulu University 2nd yr Environmental students to enjoy a talk by Purity and a cruise. With much excitement and learning all had a lovely afternoon. Thank you to Nontuthuzelo of Uzuko Tours for coordinating this afternoon venture for the 60 students.
15 OCT 2024 Purity was invited by Dr Hugh Bartis of NMU to present to about 25 Tourism students to speak about her journey. About her own experience in Tourism. How she become involved in tourism from the time she left Bushbuck Ridge were she grew up. Chatting about her work with Raggy Charters, and what excites her about her work. And to offer advice to prospective students who wish to pursue a career in the tourism field.
07 OCT 2024 Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality Marine Week Initiative at Grootkloof Education Centre. Purity, together with Volunteer Students from Italy, Elisa and Simoné joined and chatted to many children throughout the morning.
Friday 13th Sept 2024 and Wednesday 18th Sept 2024 the team visited Mosaic in Walmer. Purity, assisted by Thuba (NMU WIL Student), and our 2 new Italian Volunteers, Simone and Elisa had a great time interacting, presenting and chatting to Grade 5 & 6 scholars and then Gr 7-12 scholars. All thoroughly enjoyed the time together.
We cater for the young and the elderly. The residents of Echo Fairhaven Cottages enjoyed an afternoon with Jake and Purity chatting about Algoa Bay. 20th August 2024 residents gathered in the hall with enthusiasm to listen intently to the presentations. All thoroughly enjoying every minute! So good to get such lovely feedback after our talks.
1st August 2024 Jake, Purity and Keith, had a wonderful afternoon with students from VM Kwinane School. Our second collaboration with REST Recycling and Connected Planet, we thank you for sponsoring towards costs and making this possible for these teens to get to us and enjoy a very exciting time. Thank you again to the Nelson Mandela Bay Yacht Club for making their boardroom and facilities available for all.
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22nd July 2024 Jake, Purity, Keith and Thuba spent the afternoon with 2 school groups - a very big thank you to Karen Binning for assisting with arrangements and to WESSA for sponsoring towards costs. The teens had the best time and learnt a lot and eager to learn more. Another successful educational afternoon. And we thank the Nelson Mandela Bay Yacht Club for making their boardroom open to us for the talks, is greatly appreciated.
On return into the harbour a cormorant was spotted which had line around its neck and was tethered to the floating breakwater behind our boats. Jake managed to catch the bird, untangle it, and after a few pecks, released him back into the water.
9th July 2024 Jake and Purity chatted to the Birdlife Eastern Cape members. A wonderful turnout on a very cold evening and all very enthusiastic to get out to sea and find pelagic birds. Thank you for the invitation to talk to you all about Algoa Bay and all it has to offer.
12th June 2024 Big and Small we visit them all... Purity and Thuba were invited back to Tiny-Tots to chat to the little people about the marine life and plastic pollution, start young and let conservation become a daily habit, living by our motto Conservation through Education. Thank you to our visiting students from Italy for joining in the fun.
25th April 2024 Part 1: Jake, Purity, Thuba visited Stedin College - Onwards and Upwards. The science students were captivated from the start - learning about the importance of the Marine Life and to join the fight to conserve all best we can.
Part 2: 24 Oct 2024 The Stedin College students got to enjoy a cruise with Jake and Purity, smiles all round!
The very next day, 22 February 2024, we enjoyed a day with REST Recycling and Sisonke High School, sponsored by Connected Planet and The Nelson Mandela Bay Yacht Club.
A very big thank you to all. So appreciated to get some aid with our self funded education project. Read more about the day.
2024 is off to a great start! 21st February 2024 we hosted KIDEO DAYCARE.
Little toddlers so well behaved and listening the entire time. Cuteness overload!! The children were learning about transport and Purity incorporated the marine life. The children interacted so well and had fun with Purity. Thank you to The Million Plus Recycling Program for the educational colouring in booklets and crayons - The children were so excited to take something home. Thank you to the Nelson Mandela Bay Yacht Club for the use of their facilities!
7th October 2023 Purity, assisted by Thembisa, spoke to 340 children in a morning at Mount Pleasant Primary School. The first goup of children, grade 1 to grade 3, and second group grade 4 to grade 7, were all so interested, attentive and asked great questions. The educational reach is growing tremendously.
11 July 2023 : a morning of fun with pre-schoolers at Tiny-Tots.. interactive learning fun! Thank you to Annemieke Nijdam (Volunteer) for joining us from Holland and assisting with our education programme.
Jake Keeton chats to the VOETsac hiking club 21 JUNE 2023 - a fun and interesting evening enjoyed by all
Raggy Charters chat with Children assisted by Mosaic - Piecing Lives Together 7 June 2023 we are very excited to be working with Mosaic and the retrade project - watch this space for exciting things to come
Purity, head guide at Raggy Charters and Annemieke, volunteer from the Netherlands, visited Mosaic and shared an interactive presentation about the incredible wildlife in Algoa Bay, the backyard of these children. Thereafter we organized a clean-up around the school for the three highest grades. Every one of the children got (recycled) plastic bags and gloves (thanks to SST Africa!) as their safety is important. How necessary this clean-up was! There was so much rubbish and plastic everywhere, we could hardly handle it. The children ‘saw it’ for the first time, now fully aware of why it is not good to litter. The enthusiastic children worked tirelessly, picking up everything and cleaning their own environment with pride. And next to cleaning up, one of the most important lessons was learnt: the awareness that all this rubbish shouldn’t be out there at all. The rubbish that was thrown into nature all around them was a ‘norm’ and part of their surroundings…
Two weeks later we organized a third event, at the harbour of Port Elizabeth. We split the same group in two; one group going on the boat to see the beautiful ocean life with their own eyes; the other group enjoying a presentation in which they were shown and taught about the problem and the solution of our plastic world.
Thank you to The Million Plus Recycling Program for the caps given to all the children.. A reminder to take home and keep the lesson alive.
CHILDREN AGED BETWEEN 6 YEARS AND 11 YEARS LISTENED INTENTLY AND ENJOYED THE MORNING.
18th July we followed up with the children and the fun continued with a clean up around the school - what a great job done!
25 July 2023 we hosted the children with an Educational talk on the marine life and the effects of the plastic waste on the environment and how each of can assist in conserving the oceans. Thank you to the NELSON MANDELA BAY YACHT CLUB for the use of your boardroom - the perfect setting.
Lastly the very excited children enjoyed a boat ride with Jake and the crew and the highlight was a pod of bottlenose dolphins.
Thank you to The Million Plus Recycling Program for the caps given to all the children.
TO KICK OFF 2023 EDUCATION PROGRAMME, JAKE AND PURITY SPENT THE EVENING WITH SCHOLARS OF PEARSON HIGH SCHOOL - ARRANGED BY THE SCIENCE CLUB 28 FEBRUARY 2023. We look forward to having our lucky draw winner on board soon.
Jake Keeton presents Raggy Charters and Algoa Baywatch to an intrigued and interested audience at theodore herzl 20 November 2022
walter sisulu university 2nd yr environmental students enjoy a talk by Purity (sadly no pics) and a cruise 25 October 2022. Thank you to Nontuthuzelo of Uzuko Tours for coordinating this afternoon venture for the 80 students.
debe valley primary school, middledrift visit pe and Raggy Charters 28 Sept 2022
Collegiate ECo-Club INformative talk and Cruise presented by Jake and Purity in May 2022
As 2022 progresses and the Covid-19 Pandemic becomes less of a concern, we managed to venture further and had a Pre-Whale Festival Educational day with children in Kenton-On-Sea. Purity being the instigator and joining up with Nomawthu from the Kariega Foundation, and with the assistance of Jennie Bowen all came together. Thanks also go to Tom and Chris of Kenton Round Table.
A note from Purity: "Thank you so much Jenny and Noma for organising the first marine conservation lecture on the 11th of May 2022. Myself and our NMU interns Lilitha and Nosihle, taught the children about the marine animals that we see on our tours with beautiful photos taken by Jake and Lloyd. The focus was on whales and their migration routes, and possible marine careers the children may consider. After the lecture, the children designed posters from what they learnt. 15 winning posters were selected and the prize wineers enjoyed an educational boat cruise in the Kariega river mouth arranged by NRF/SAEON, and other educational activities at the beach on the 8th of June 2022."
So Purity our guide, celebrated her World Oceans Day, 8th June 2022, and the Welcoming the Whales Festival in Kenton on Sea, learning about and exploring the Kariega river mouth with local school children from the Kariega Foundation, Children from Carriage Rock College, field guide interns from Sibuya Game Reserve and Scientists from SAEON-NRF (South African Environmental Observation Network).
We all learne about phytoplankton and it's importance and identified microorganisms on microscopes. We explored rock pools and identified species that live there including fish, star fish, crabs, octopuses. On the boat, the children learnt a lot about the boats and all that goes with it. How an estuary functions and it's importance to us and the marine animals.
All thanks everyone who made this day possible.
on earth day 22 april 2022 we joined up with the giving them wings foundation
A group of Grade 10 learners from Mfesane High School in Gqeberha enjoyed an educational tour out into the bay.
Click here to see and read more about the day's activity
19 November 2021 a wonderful collaboration with Bophelo Impilo development centre
Click here to read more about this fun event
14 November 2021 ZSportsAQUELLé Kuhle Series 2021/2022 Kids events
Jake had a great morning chatting to the aQuellé Kuhle Series children at the race prize giving about the importance of Marine Conservation. We are proud to be part of such a great event and donated vouchers to lucky winners who will enjoy a cruise with our team and learn first hand about the marine life in Algoa Bay. We look forward to assisting with more such events soon!
Click here for more pics from this fit and funfilled event
The 2020 and 2021 Education Progam and Welcoming the Whales Festivals were sadly disrupted by the Covid-19 Pandemic. We did however manage to get to Cape St Francis in between levels of Covid-19 regulations on the 14th June 2021. Jake Keeton and Purity Khosa had a wonerful morning with the children of Sea Vista Primary School educating them on the Whales and the Whale Migration. Purity has a wonderful way of chatting to the children and all enjoyed the morning. Big thank you to Anita Lennox of Cape St Francis Resort and Hantie of St Francis Tourism for organising, hosting and accommodating Jake and Purity for this event. 2022 Promises to be a wonderful year with all we are working towards for the children while business is quiet.
On 16th June 2019 we held our 2nd Celebrating the Arrival Of The Whales Festival and included participation of youth from various schools in Port Elizabeth. As part of the education program we went to various schools and taught about plastic polution and the effect it is having on the ocean and marine life. The scholars made posters, did clean-ups and built floats from the plastic waste collected and paraded proudly along Marine Drive to our Festival venue. After the event the children disassembled the floats and the plastic was sent for recycling. The whole process enjoyed very much by the children.
Click on the picture below to read more about the Arrival of the Whales Festival 2019.
We are also part of Marine Week every year, at SANNCOB, where hundreds of school children visit the centre and learn about the different aspects of the marine environment. This initiative allows for disadvantaged schools to get involved as we fund the transportation to SANNCOB, which is in the beautiful Cape Recife Nature Reserve. So they also get to go to the beach, which many may have never done before, and learn about the different eco-systems of the ocean.
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