In addition to this, some of the community will be planting 1000 mangroves to help reforest the local habitat. Over half the world’s mangroves have been cleared in recent times, but mangroves play a vital role within the coastal ecosystem. They provide nurseries for many young marine species, and act as a natural protector against coastal erosion and storm surges. The Rewilding Phuket initiative began in May 2016 with a group of students, parents and staff traveling to a local mangrove swamp and planting trees. It is our intention to develop this initiative, with the aim of planting thousands of small mangroves each year, and growing them from saplings either on campus or partnering with a farmer to grow them locally.
On 7 September UWCT honoured the local Thai tradition of 'Wai Kru'. It is a time for Thai students to pay their respects to their teachers. Being a Thai UWC, we reflected on how different cultures approach education. At the end of the assembly students presented teachers with mangroves, which will be kept at the school under favourable conditions until they are ready to be transported and planted on 21 September. 
Media: Here is a link to the first mangrove planting session we did back in May, which also has a little video for reference. We plan on making another (better!) one following the planting on UWC Day. We've also attached a picture of the Wai Kru ceremony from this afternoon, and one from the G11 orientation in August.