Windmill Beach in Simon’s Town is a pristine example of the best the Cape Peninsula coastline has to offer – soft sand and clear waters, with a scattering of boulders just offshore that provide protection from rougher waves and winds. It’s a favoured spot for those seeking a calm day by the sea.

It also serves as one of the locations for the workshops run by the I Am Water Foundation, a local nonprofit. Through the workshops, the organisation transforms the small beach into a natural classroom where young people can learn more about the ocean and how to protect it. 

Unlike in a conventional school, the uniform worn by students is a 5mm wetsuit and the space is shared with a variety of small sea creatures.

The Ocean Guardians workshop – I Am Water’s flagship programme – involves rock pool exploration, a beach clean-up and snorkelling, according to Katherine Wallis, education and communications manager at the nonprofit. (Photo: Tamsin Metelerkamp)

“Our immediate target is to connect people to the ocean,” said Katherine Wallis, education and communications manager at I Am Water. 

“We start with the connection and that connection sparks a love for the experience they’ve had, [for] this amazing resource that they’ve got to enjoy, and that love quite instinctively leads to wanting to protect it.”

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An ocean for all

I Am Water was founded in 2010 by Hanli Prinsloo, a longtime freediver and ocean advocate. Her aim was to inspire a wave of ocean conservation by fostering a connection with the sea among young people. Those who participate in the organisation’s programmes are largely children from schools in low-income coastal communities.

Pupils from Paul Greyling Primary School in Fish Hoek snorkel at Windmill Beach, Simon’s Town, as part of I Am Water’s Ocean Guardians workshop. (Photo: Tamsin Metelerkamp)

“The reason we target those communities and those schools is because there’s so much evidence to show that they live right there, but don’t have access to the ocean in a safe and positive way, and don’t necessarily get given the tools to understand how they can have a positive impact on the ocean,” explained Wallis.

“Over the past year, we’ve been moving from coastal [areas] to the whole of … the Cape Town area.”

I Am Water’s flagship programme is the Ocean Guardians workshop, a two-day experience for Grade 7 pupils. The children explore rock pools, participate in a beach clean-up and learn about the importance of the ocean.

The young participants in I Am Water’s Ocean Guardians workshop are accompanied by coaches trained in water safety while they snorkel off Windmill Beach in Simon’s Town. (Photo: Tamsin Metelerkamp)

“The highlight for everyone is always the snorkelling. A lot of the kids who join us are snorkelling for the first time … a lot of them can’t swim, so it’s a really transformative experience for them,” said Wallis.

“They get to feel safe in the ocean, and they build a really good, trusting relationship with our coaches and get to explore the ocean in a … controlled way.”

According to I Am Water’s website, less than 16% of the young people who have participated in the Ocean Guardians workshops have worn a mask and snorkelled before. More than a third of participants live within walking distance of the ocean, but less than 36% can swim.

For Ashleigh Jardine, a young participant in I Am Water’s Ocean Guardians workshop, the best part of the experience was snorkelling and learning about sea animals. (Photo: Tamsin Metelerkamp)

Ashleigh Jardine participated in the Ocean Guardians workshop, along with her classmates from Paul Greyling Primary School in Fish Hoek. She told Maverick Citizen her favourite part of the experience was snorkelling and learning about the sea animals.

“I learnt that we need to protect our ocean because it gives us oxygen and we need it a lot in our daily life, and we should use less stuff than we use now,” said Jardine.

“I think [understanding the ocean] makes it more interesting and more fun to come to the ocean.”

After participating in I Am Water’s Ocean Guardians workshop, Jayden Erasmus said that he had a better understanding of the ocean and how it could be protected. (Photo: Tamsin Metelerkamp)

Another Paul Greyling pupil, Jayden Erasmus, enjoyed seeing fish, sea urchins and other underwater animals while snorkelling. He said that he learnt about different ways in which the ocean can be protected, such as by setting up a neighbourhood beach clean-up crew.

“I think the mind shift was very important today,” said Hester Horn, a teacher at Paul Greyling, on the pupils’ experience. 

“One of them just said, ‘I never realised the sea is alive’. So, they see it’s a living thing, and they can look after it and they can protect it.”

I Am Water largely caters to low-income coastal communities with its programmes, as many of the young people in these communities do not have access to the ocean in a safe and positive way. (Photo: Tamsin Metelerkamp)

Inspiring all youth

During the past year, I Am Water has pioneered a new “Inclusive Ocean Experiences” programme that caters to differently abled children. The initiative has seen them partner with St Joseph’s Home for Chronically Ill Children in Cape Town.

Children from the home participate in an adapted version of the Ocean Guardians workshop, complete with a snorkelling experience. The programme holds therapeutic as well as educational value, according to Charlene Gomez, a physiotherapist at St Joseph’s.

“We see the benefits for these children in how they are learning skills in … a social and functional way, because we don’t live only to be at work or at our school desks – we live to be with and among other people, and the beach is one of the things that our children will experience within their lives.”

Gomez added that children from less fortunate backgrounds do not receive the same exposure to issues such as conservation as their more privileged counterparts, as they are often living in “survival mode”.

“They have got so many of their own worries. This is a way for them to step outside of their little box and see that there’s … more to life than what they are currently experiencing.” DM/MC