The Attitude Foundation collaborates with the RECOS Project to expand Sandwatch in Mauritius
July 2025: In an exciting new step forward, the Sandwatch programme is expanding its reach in Mauritius with the support of a private, non-profit organization - The Attitude Foundation. The Sandwatch Programme in Mauritius is supported by The Indian Ocean Commission and its partners and implemented through the RECOS “Coastal Populations and Ecosystems Resilience in the South-Western Indian Ocean” Project, co-funded by Agence française de développement (AFD) and Fonds français pour l’environnement Mondial (FFEM).
In 2023, the RECOS Project started the Sandwatch programme in Mauritius with the support of The Ministry of Education and Human Resources and the Ministry of Environment, Solid Waste Management and Climate Change. In 2024, six schools started monitoring five beaches in Mauritius. The Attitude hotel group is an established name in the Mauritian hospitality industry with eight hotels offering a variety of guest experiences. The group is committed to responsible tourism by creating sustainable experiences and encounters which are rooted in the local area and culture.
July 2025: In an exciting new step forward, the Sandwatch programme is expanding its reach in Mauritius with the support of a private, non-profit organization - The Attitude Foundation. The Sandwatch Programme in Mauritius is supported by The Indian Ocean Commission and its partners and implemented through the RECOS “Coastal Populations and Ecosystems Resilience in the South-Western Indian Ocean” Project, co-funded by Agence française de développement (AFD) and Fonds français pour l’environnement Mondial (FFEM).
In 2023, the RECOS Project started the Sandwatch programme in Mauritius with the support of The Ministry of Education and Human Resources and the Ministry of Environment, Solid Waste Management and Climate Change. In 2024, six schools started monitoring five beaches in Mauritius. The Attitude hotel group is an established name in the Mauritian hospitality industry with eight hotels offering a variety of guest experiences. The group is committed to responsible tourism by creating sustainable experiences and encounters which are rooted in the local area and culture.
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The Marine Discovery Centre at Lagoon Attitude at the north end of the island offers many opportunities to both hotel guests and other visitors, adults as well as children, to explore and learn about the marine environment, including guided tours along a snorkelling trail, citizen science programmes, learning about sea turtles and interacting with marine biologists. The Centre is funded by the Attitude Foundation.
The Manager of the Attitude Foundation, Nina Svensson Dubois, participated in one of the first RECOS workshops in February 2023 and heard about the Sandwatch programme. |
Seeing its relevance to the ongoing activities at the Marine Discovery Centre, she worked with the team to explore how the programme could be implemented within the Attitude group. "The Sandwatch programme is a great fit with our existing initiatives. It offers an opportunity for both our guests and the local community to learn more about the importance of beach environments and coastal ecosystems, and get involved in a meaningful way."
In preparation for launching the Sandwatch programme, the Attitude Foundation purchased Sandwatch monitoring equipment and they designed a user-friendly data collection form. Examples of first 2 pages below
As part of the group’s commitment to being paperless, the team introduced an innovative measure in line with the approach taken across all its hotels. Instead of using paper forms on the beach, the Sandwatch data form is printed onto reusable slates. Students write their measurements directly on the slates, and once the data is recorded on the Beach Records platform, the slates are wiped clean and ready for the next field session.
They have conducted two monitoring sessions with a total five local schools (about seventy students) in the area and the data from the February session have been entered onto the Beach Records Platform on the Sandwatch Foundation website. They are planning with the schools to conduct monitoring as a regular activity, possibly every six months, to observe and record changes in the beach environment.
Their future plans include introducing the Sandwatch Programme to hotel guests, although this will require modification to the beach data collection protocol to select elements that are most relevant and accessible – to create a shorter and more engaging experience for guests.
Seeing that beach environments are a major part of the tourism experience in many islands and coastal states around the world, this innovative collaboration with the private sector is an important step forward in building coastal resilience – the objective of the RECOS and Sandwatch programmes alike.
In preparation for launching the Sandwatch programme, the Attitude Foundation purchased Sandwatch monitoring equipment and they designed a user-friendly data collection form. Examples of first 2 pages below
As part of the group’s commitment to being paperless, the team introduced an innovative measure in line with the approach taken across all its hotels. Instead of using paper forms on the beach, the Sandwatch data form is printed onto reusable slates. Students write their measurements directly on the slates, and once the data is recorded on the Beach Records platform, the slates are wiped clean and ready for the next field session.
They have conducted two monitoring sessions with a total five local schools (about seventy students) in the area and the data from the February session have been entered onto the Beach Records Platform on the Sandwatch Foundation website. They are planning with the schools to conduct monitoring as a regular activity, possibly every six months, to observe and record changes in the beach environment.
Their future plans include introducing the Sandwatch Programme to hotel guests, although this will require modification to the beach data collection protocol to select elements that are most relevant and accessible – to create a shorter and more engaging experience for guests.
Seeing that beach environments are a major part of the tourism experience in many islands and coastal states around the world, this innovative collaboration with the private sector is an important step forward in building coastal resilience – the objective of the RECOS and Sandwatch programmes alike.
Page 1 of User Friendly Collections Form
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Page 2 of User Friendly Collections Form
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