Coastal Environmental Education Center - follow up
On 10 March 2022 and again on 9 October 2022, 3C carried out monitoring and evaluation trips to the Bang Kaew Coastal Education Center. It was good to see that mangroves are coming back slowly in some areas that were devastated by the storm in May 2021. However, more planting is needed to accelerate the coverage of the deforested areas, and people are also gradually returning to help plant mangroves. Generally, the more mature and larger mangrove seedlings of over 5 years old survived the storm and are growing healthily, with little to no damage in those areas. This lends evidence to the fact that mangroves as a nature-based solution can help buffer against the impacts of climate change. The Education Center is slowly taking shape with a corner dedicated to displaying products provided from raw materials in mangrove forests.
The October monitoring trip saw the first visit to the site by the 3C Operations Director who enjoyed her time visiting the Education Center, improving her knowledge about mangroves and coastal ecosystems, and talking with the field coordinator about his ideas for next steps to attract visitors to the Center.
