Children perception of wrack-covered beaches and beach grooming in SE Spain
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1
Instituto de Ecología Litoral, Marine Area, Spain
Problem statement
The Posidonia oceanica seagrass meadows form extensive and highly productive ecosystems that are both biologically diverse and economically valuable. This species is a common vascular marine plant in Mediterranean coastal waters and it can develop a wide leaf stratum. Seagrass leaves are produced continuously and usually shed in the autumn. In addition to phenological stages, the wave action, storms and heavy swells remove seagrass material, which is eventually washed up on shores. Mediterranean beaches in some areas receive large amounts of wrack composed of dead leaves. Wrack has a multi-functional role that provides several crucial ecosystem services [1]. Examples include acting as natural barriers to large waves and trapping windblown sand. The dead leaves consequently may help sandy beaches to combat erosion processes [2] [3].
The organic material deposited on the shore is often seen as a nuisance by beach users. Most local residents and holidaymakers think it is both unsightly and smelly. Most of individuals do not appreciate the environmental benefits of wrack although they are conscious of the role of the beach on the local economy. It should be emphasized that individuals are not aware of coastal erosion problems and they demand that beaches be groomed regularly and wrack cleared away from the shore [2]. These attitudes hinder the beach management interventions and striking a balance between seagrass meadows and amenity activities is a challenge. Environmental campaigns may influence the local society in order to bring about change in the attitudes towards beach grooming. This paper examines children’s perception of baseline seagrass meadows and tests the impact of an educational intervention.
Method
A total of 495 students aged 12-16 years from five high schools in SE Spain participated in the study. The study comprises an educational intervention and a pre- and post-survey. A short questionnaire was developed using clear, age-appropriate language. The intervention was designed to highlight the seagrass environmental benefits and beach grooming practices. The presentations took place at the schools and were carried out by external staff. Children completed a pre-intervention questionnaire under the supervision of their teachers. The survey had to be completed in less than 10 minutes and students received no information on the role being evaluated. After the intervention children completed an identical survey. The average time span between initial assessment and the intervention was 6 months.
Results
While 495 students completed a survey, 107 of these completed the post- but not the pre-survey. The error margin for the survey is 5%, based on a 95% confidence level. The number of pre- and post-intervention questionnaires was 883. The survey basically measures the knowledge base concerning seagrass meadows and awareness of beach grooming environmental problems.
The pre-survey started asking about beach wracks, using an image to help children recognise this sort of deposits. A significant majority (81%) recognised the organic material that is washed ashore the beach. Nevertheless, over two-thirds answered that wrack is composed of seaweeds (68%). This was a dichotomous question and there were only two possible answers: seaweeds and plants. Moreover, children’s baseline pre-intervention responses indicate that they felt seagrass meadows have some ecological functions but they are not familiar with them (63%). Only 23 percent of children stated that organic materials have beneficial ecological functions. The post-intervention reveals important changes in baseline knowledge. Nearly eight out of 10 children learnt that wrack is composed of plants. They realized about the presence of seagrass meadows in coastal waters and also they learned about the phenology of the species. The intervention had a higher success in 14-16 year-old students (90% selected “plant”) than 12-14 (60%). Post-intervention results showed that 77% of the children perceived the beneficial functions of beach wrack (included erosion processes).
The results concerned awareness of beach grooming and environmental problems, and evidenced that organic material annoys children on the beach (67% in pre-survey). Only one third of children did not consider wracks as a nuisance. Nearly half of students therefore perceived wrack as a public health problem (49%). Nevertheless, it is generally recognized that wrack deposits of Posidonia materials are not a source of diseases [4]. Over half of the sample answered properly that cleaning techniques are employed as the main way to meet beach users’ expectations of a “clean” beach (51%). The intervention shifted some perceptions from pre- to post-survey. The choice “health problem” drops to 14%. More problems were found to influence the perception of wrack as debris instead. 58% of the responses still considered wrack as a problem after intervention. It is only nine percentage points less compared to pre-survey. The higher success was obtained in students with 15-16 years (49%).
Conclusions
The pre-survey suggests that children are regular beach users and easily recognise the Posidonia wracks. Children’s baseline pre-intervention responses indicate that they are unfamiliar with the ecological functions of seagrass meadows. They cannot specify the role this species plays in the beach even and improperly identify this plant as a seaweed. The educational intervention boosts a positive reinforcement in seagrass meadows knowledge and ecological functions. Most respondents in post-survey actually selected the proper choice. The intervention may also make children aware of problems originating from beach cleaning interventions. Nevertheless, children perceived wrack as a nuisance both in pre- and post-survey. They easily understand the ecological benefits of wrack but there is a significant opposition against any perception other than an annoyance.
Educational intervention in secondary school age may underpin knowledge base and strengthen positive attitudes to environmental problems. Children may also have the potential to bring a change by influencing the local society [5]. Nevertheless, the environmental education presented in this paper was moderately successful at decreasing the perception of wrack as an annoyance. This paper is a further contribution to limited research literature in public attitudes and behaviour related to Posidonia oceanica and beach grooming. The perception of wrack is an important component defining beach management policies. More effective methods of educating beachgoers/students may be experimented to understand how to influence this perception and, thus, facilitate sustainable beach management.
Acknowledgements
This survey was funded by European Commision LIFE Programme under contract LIFE11 ENV/E/000600 "SEAMATTER: Revalorization of coastal algae wastes in textile nonwoven industry with applications in building noise isolation".
References
[1] Cullen-Unsworth, L.C., Nordlund, L.M., Paddock, J., Baker, S., McKenzie, L.J., Unsworth, R. 2014. Seagrass meadows globally as a coupled social–ecological system: Implications for human wellbeing. Marine Pollution Bulletin, Vol. 83, Issue 2, 387–397.
[2] LIFE SEAMATTER. 2013. Study of the current situation of the management of algae and seaweed deposition wastes from the coast. Technical Report, 70 pp.
[3] Simeone, S. 2008. Posidonia oceanica banquettes removal: sedimentological, geomorphological and ecological implications. PhD Thesis. Università degli studi di Viterbo (Italy), 127 pp.
[4] Gacia, E., Granata, T.C., Duarte C.M. 1999. An approach to measurement of particule flux and sediment retention within seagrass (Posidonia oceanica) meadows. Aquat. Bot. 65, 255-258.
[5] Hartley, B.L., Thompson, R.C., Pahl, S. 2015. Marine litter education boosts children’s understanding and self-reported actions. Marine Pollution Bulletin, Vol. 90, Issues 1–2, 209–217.
Keywords:
Posidonia oceanica,
Wrack,
Beach grooming,
survey research,
Spain
Conference:
XIX Iberian Symposium on Marine Biology Studies, Porto, Portugal, 5 Sep - 9 Sep, 2016.
Presentation Type:
Poster Presentation
Topic:
5. ECOTOURISM, ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION AND SCIENCE OUTREACH
Citation:
Triviño
A,
Soler
G and
Guillén
JE
(2016). Children perception of wrack-covered beaches and beach grooming in SE Spain.
Front. Mar. Sci.
Conference Abstract:
XIX Iberian Symposium on Marine Biology Studies.
doi: 10.3389/conf.FMARS.2016.05.00219
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Received:
05 May 2016;
Published Online:
03 Sep 2016.
*
Correspondence:
Dr. Alejandro Triviño, Instituto de Ecología Litoral, Marine Area, El Campello, Alicante, 03560, Spain, alejandro.trivino@ecologialitoral.com