300 Students in Mallorca present their research proposals within "Posidònia a l'Aula".
The University of the Balearic Islands (UIB) has hosted a scientific meeting in which nearly 300 students from Mallorca have presented the results of their research and proposals on Posidonia oceanica. This event marked the conclusion of the educational program "Posidònia a l'Aula", promoted by the IMEDEA (Mediterranean Institute of Advanced Studies) in collaboration with Redeia and the Conselleria d'Educació i Universitat del Govern de les Illes Balears.
During the 2023-2024 academic year, a total of 971 students from ten educational centers participated in the program, obtaining the distinction of "Centros Posidónicos". The students, as "congressmen", presented their work before an audience that included personalities such as the rector of the UIB, Jaume Carot, the general director of Teaching Staff, Ismael Alonso, the researcher of IMEDEA, Jorge Terrados, the director of Sustainability of Redeia, Antonio Calvo, and the delegate of Redeia in the Balearic Islands, Eduardo Maynau.
The program will be carried out annually at 10 educational centers in the Balearic Islands through the General Directorate of Waste and Environmental Education.
Posidònia a l'Aula Project: educating in sustainability
The "Posidònia a l'Aula" program is an educational activity led by IMEDEA within the Redeia Marine Forest project, an initiative for the recovery of Posidonia oceanica in Mallorca, promoted by Redeia in collaboration with the Balearic Government.
Started in 2015 as a collaboration between CEIP Comas i Ribas and IMEDEA, "Posidònia a l'Aula" is a program offered annually to 10 educational centers in the Balearic Islands through the Directorate General of Waste and Environmental Education.
The program, which has the active participation of teachers, is aimed at students of Primary, ESO and Baccalaureate, and allows students to get closer to Posidonia thanks to the installation of an aquarium in the classroom with fragments of Posidonia oceanica that do not meet the necessary criteria to be replanted. The students take care of the plants and, at the end of the course, the specimens are replanted. In 2018, more than 13,000 fragments were replanted, which has allowed the recovery of two hectares of Posidonia in the waters of the Bay of Pollença, with a survival rate of over 90% to date.
This experience allows students to deepen their knowledge of marine biodiversity, learning all about this endemic plant of the Mediterranean, as well as about the biodiversity it generates and harbors around it. It promotes awareness, from knowledge, of the need for recovery and conservation of posidonia, as a source of preservation of marine ecosystems and as a natural agent in the fight against climate change.
Foto: Jorge Terrado from IMEDEA with students participating in the project Author: REDEIA CORPORACIÓN, S.A.
Diversity of educational projects
In this edition, among the works presented, the students of IES s'Arenal stood out with an informative website, while the students of CEIP Es Puig presented a comic and a memory game about posidonia and its threats. The Sant Pere school highlighted the importance of posidonia in the health of marine ecosystems with its project "The lungs of the Mediterranean". Other schools, such as IES Josep Sureda i Blanes and IES Baltasar Porcel, also presented detailed research on the "inhabitants" of the posidonia meadows and statistical analyses of their studies.
Schoolchildren from CEIP Gabriel Comas created information cards about posidonia and its threats, while CEIP Pere Cerdà developed a board game entitled "Let's save posidonia". La Miraculosa explored the influence of climate change and made predictions about the marine ecosystems of the Mediterranean. IES Calvià and IES Guillem Sagrera also actively participated in the program, contributing their research and innovative proposals.
Congratulations to all participants!