Palau International Coral Reef Center (PICRC) announces the release of its 2017 Arts & Tides Calendar to schools, partners and the general public. PICRC’s Arts and Tides Calendar has become an effective educational tool that has been utilized by students of all ages, parents, and community members.
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The 2017 calendar, with the theme, “Important Role of Herbivores on Coral Reefs”, was chosen to raise awareness about the importance of herbivorous fishes in Palau and its crucial ecological role in our coral reef ecosystems. In addition to being an important food source for Palauans, herbivorous fishes maintain reef algae production, prevent coral reef degradation, create space for baby corals to grow, and help coral reefs recover following natural and human-induced disturbances. It is the Center’s hope that this calendar will help educate our community members on the importance of conservation management to allow herbivorous fish populations to remain healthy, which, in turn, will allow coral reef ecosystems to thrive.
Amongst the previous Arts and Tides Calendars, this 2017 calendar saw a high involvement of the students in Palau. A total of 44% of all elementary and high school students participated in the calendar contest. Seventeen out of 18 total elementary schools and five out of the six high schools we have in Palau participated in the calendar contest. During this school year 2016-2017, PICRC will work closely with the school principals to encourage more student participation in next year’s calendar art contest.
PICRC would like to thank all the student participants and all of the judges, Ms. Carol Whalen, Mrs. Mandy Etpison, Mr. Kambes Kesolei and Mr. Benson Adelbai for volunteering their time and efforts to create this calendar.
The production of the calendar, which involve many schools and students, was made possible because different companies and organizations in Palau donated to sponsor the calendar. PICRC would like to sincerely thank the following sponsors: Western Caroline Trading Center (WCTC), Blue Bay Petroleum Incorporated, IP & E Palau Incorporated, Palau Pacific Resort, Surangel & Sons Company, Surangel & Sons Construction, Papago International Resort, Sun’s Flower Shop, Day Dream, Imperial Palau, Palau Royal Resort, Embassy of the Republic of China (Taiwan), Rock Island Tour Company, SPLASH Palau, Ngaramaiberel, Belau Medical Clinic and Kumangai Bakery, whose generous donations have helped in the production of the 2017 Arts and Tide Calendar.
This calendar is an important source of information for the community because it contains Palau’s tidal information with moon phases, closed and open fish seasons, and information about regulated marine species. Complimentary copies of the 2017 calendar have been distributed to sponsors, schools and relevant partner agencies. Additional copies of the 2017 Arts & Tides Calendar are available for sale in the Giant Clam Gift Shop at PICRC for $4.50 each. [/restrict]