The Network Ekoetxea of Environmental Centers of Euskadi is going to collaborate with different agents in the Basque Country in order to complete its current offer and achieve maximization in the fulfillment of its objectives. One of them is the Ecoactive Museum Ship ‘MATER’.
The Ekoetxea Network and the Ecoactive Museum Ship ‘MATER’ have worked together to create an immersive experience in which groups of young people will enroll to experience an activity in which They will work on co-responsibility with the natural environment.
This cooperation represents the first of a series of projects with collaborating agents that will provide the network with significant experiences aligned with its purpose. This first experience was designed collaboratively between both entities and completes the offer current Ekoetxea in the marine environment.
The strategy you work on Ekoetxea It involves the collaboration of different public and private entities, with diverse visions. So, this ecosystem and organization will evolve from collaborative culture to that of network learning and the value of the collective.
A practical Ekoetxea network experience
Marine pollution is reaching record levels. More than 17 million metric tons were polluting the oceans in 2021. This figure will double or triple by 2040. Plastic is the most harmful type of marine debris. The participating people will take action, since will address environmental issues while collecting trash from the sea.
Aimed mainly at young people from sports backgrounds, this activity is a practical exercise that allows them to learn first-hand about the problem of marine waste. The experience is divided into three stages in which the young people work as a team and are challenged to use their skills to tackle waste removal at sea.
Before embarking on the ‘MATER’, the young people complete a series of skills games and a self-perception test. Such exercises allow them to know their strengths, which will later prove essential for success in the dynamics on board the ship. This approach highlights the importance of teamwork, combining different skills to achieve a common goal.
Before embarking on the ‘MATER’, young people complete a series of skills games and a self-perception test. Once on board, after the welcome, the participants are distributed into teams according to the results obtained in the previous phase. During the dynamic, the young people face the challenge of ‘fishing’ for garbage from the sea using techniques and tools designed for waste collection.
In a third stage, the group is divided into three teams that, while the microplastic collection network is closedperform a gymkhana to find the ship’s secret box. The challenges that make up the test will make them aware of the distribution of marine litter, the impacts they cause and the access routes. After collection, the waste is classified and characterized, which leads young people to reflect on the impact of plastics and other waste on the environment.
The ‘MATER’ is a converted and eco-active bonitera
The experience lasts three hours and is designed for groups of between 12 and 25 young people over 12 years old, with a maximum capacity of 30 people, although only 25 can actively participate.
The setting for this activity, the ‘MATER’, represents the latest large Basque bonitera converted into an Ecoactive Museum Ship. With a base port in Pasaia, this traditional Basque inshore fishing boat of 33 meters in length was handcrafted in wood in 1990. It has been adapted by the association ‘Itsas Gela – Aula del mar’ to bring closer and involve society in the care and protection of our environment.
With this experience, both entities address the environmental education in the marine environment with a fun, impactful and inspiring activity that connects with the Sustainable Development Goals, in particular goal 14 ‘Life Underwater’, as well as goal 12, ‘Responsible Production and Consumption’, and goal 13, ‘Climate Action’ .
The activity that will be carried out in collaboration between the MATER Ecoactive Museum Ship and the Network Ekoetxea aligns perfectly with the mission of both entities and with the ship’s motto: ‘Know to love, love to preserve’.