October 08, 2024
Paige Haehlke
Tamino Köhne ’24 pivots to empower youth on coral reef rescue
Tamino Köhne ’24, winner of the Projects for Peace grant, spent an unforgettable month in American Samoa this summer leading workshops and creating a hands-on workbook for local children to teach them how to care for and protect coral reefs. His journey, however, took an unexpected turn.
Originally, Köhne envisioned taking community members out to the reefs to restore them together, but his plans had to pivot after the reefs were struck by the fourth global coral bleaching event. Coral bleaching, often caused by rising ocean temperatures linked to climate change, made restoration impossible due to the fragile state of the reefs.
While studying abroad in Fiji, Köhne quickly realized his original plan wasn't going to work. He immediately reached out to coral restoration experts he knew in Fiji for advice on how to overcome these challenges. The experts reminded him of an important truth: real coral conservation starts with the community.
“You can’t protect the corals if you don’t have a community that takes care of them—that doesn’t pollute the water or touch the corals, for example," Köhne explained. "They need to be educated on coral restoration for the whole thing to work.”
With that in mind, Köhne decided to shift his project’s focus to community education and outreach. He teamed up with American Samoa’s Department of Education to understand the educational standards for each grade level. Realizing that coral reefs weren’t taught until sixth grade, Köhne saw an opportunity: why not introduce these concepts earlier? He created a workbook for fourth graders, making sure it could seamlessly fit into the existing curriculum, ensuring that kids start learning about coral reefs at a younger age.
“The workbook teaches about American Samoa’s coral reefs, the importance of the ecosystem, and how you can try to save and protect them,” he said.
Köhne wanted the workbook to be directly relevant to American Samoa, rather than talking about coral reefs in far-off places.
“I think it’s very important for children to know that if they read something, it applies to the environment they’re living in,” he said. “It will be easier for them to learn if they can say, ‘Oh yeah, I know this area.’ They can better relate to it.”
Köhne’s journey was a testament to adaptability, the power of community, and the impact that education can have on environmental conservation. His experience shows that sometimes, the most meaningful change starts not with direct action, but by inspiring those who will carry that action forward for years to come.
