press release Chevron and Partners Hold the 25th Marine Ecology Summer Camp
Chevron Thailand Exploration and Production, Ltd., together with Walailak University and the Marine and Coastal Resources Research & Development Institute, recently held the Marine Ecology Summer Camp at the Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC) to teach marine science to young people via experimentation and on-site practice to build a foundation for expert workers in the field. The camp, which is held for the 25th consecutive year, aims to help produce qualified personnel in the field as well as to raise awareness on environmental protection and conservation for future generations.
“Sponsoring the Marine Ecology Summer Camp,” said Hatairat Articharte, the Manager of Policy, Government, and Public Affairs of Chevron Thailand Exploration and Production, Ltd., “is consistent with Chevron’s focus on being a good ally for Thai society through the promotion of various social programs involving environmental conservation and education, especially in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, or STEM, in order to develop workers in these fields in higher numbers and with greater expertise. This is an important foundation for sustainably developing the country’s competitive capabilities.”
“The Marine Ecology Summer Camp has motivated and enhanced the understanding of more than 700 young people,” continued Hatairat, “Who will go on to become our future marine scientists. This year there are 28 students from 13 institutions around the country attending to learn about marine science, including interactions between marine life and its environment and essential marine processes and mechanisms, through experimentation and on-site practice for a period of one month. I am confident that aside from the wonderful friendships built from time spent learning together, students will apply what they learn, both the theory and hands-on experience, for their own benefit at their education institutions, and for that of their country.”
“The highlight of the camp this year was joining together to collect trash on the coast in Phang Nga Bay,” said Dr. Udomsak Darumat, or ‘Ajarn Khun,’ a lecturer at the School of Science at Walailak University, “in order to instill awareness and foster participation among the next generation in environmental protection and stewardship, especially regarding the problem of trash in the sea, a big issue that needs to be more concretely and sincerely addressed. Next year other related agencies will cooperate as partners in holding the camp, including on development of camp curriculum with more fieldwork to give all students more opportunities to learn from working in the real environment.”
“The camp’s success for the past twenty years has been the role it has played in producing expert marine scientists who serve our society and the country,” said Ajarn Khun, who was a student at the first camp. “Of those who have gone through this camp, about ten have got PhDs, more than thirty have become teachers, and others are scientists spread throughout various agencies who can share their learning, experience, and technology with the next generation.”
“My focus here from the beginning has been that I want to learn about the sea, because that’s what I’m studying,” said Chuthamat Phothakhwanpracha, or Praeo Prao, a fourth-year student studying conservation biology in the Faculty of Science at Mahidol University. “Once I actually got here I felt that it was a really worthwhile decision to join this camp. What has really impressed me has been the friendship of others attending the month-long camp. I think I’ll be able to incorporate everything I’ve learned here into my studies and share with other friends at university. In the future, if I have the opportunity, I would like to work in this field.”
The Marine Ecology Summer Camp continues to cultivate young students and cultivate an awareness of Thai marine conservation in the next generation. You can be sure that the 28 young people who participated in its 25th year will blossom into the Thai marine conservationists of the future, just as their seniors before them.
