# Sandwatch > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Sandwatch > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Sandwatch.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandwatch > Source revision: 1292334645 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these messages) A major contributor to this article appears to have a close connection with its subject. It may require cleanup to comply with Wikipedia's content policies, particularly neutral point of view. Please discuss further on the talk page. See our advice if the article is about you and read our scam warning in case someone asks for money to edit this article. (March 2014) (Learn how and when to remove this message) This article may rely excessively on sources too closely associated with the subject, potentially preventing the article from being verifiable and neutral. Please help improve it by replacing them with more appropriate citations to reliable, independent sources. (March 2014) (Learn how and when to remove this message) (Learn how and when to remove this message) **Sandwatch** is a [program](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/program) in which children, youth and adults work together to scientifically monitor and critically evaluate the problems facing their beach [environments](/source/Environment_(systems)). They then design and implement practical activities and projects to address particular issues, enhance their beach environment and build [resilience to climate change](/source/Climate_resilience). The Sandwatch approach is called MAST: Monitoring, Analysing, Sharing information, and Taking action.[1] Although Sandwatch has mainly focused on beach environments, the program can be used on other [ecosystems](/source/Ecosystem), such as [rivers](/source/River) and [streams](/source/Stream). Sandwatch has received support for activities over the years from organisations such as the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the [University of Puerto Rico](/source/University_of_Puerto_Rico) Sea Grant College Program, among others. ## History In 1999, participants at an [Environmental Education](/source/Environmental_education) workshop in [Trinidad and Tobago](/source/Trinidad_and_Tobago) recognized the potential of using the beach environment as an outdoor classroom. The students at the [workshop](/source/Workshop) came up with the name Sandwatch. Since then, the program has grown to include more than 30 member countries with over 300 [schools](/source/Schools) and community groups actively monitoring change in their beach environments.[2] In 2001, during the first formal Sandwatch training for [teachers](/source/Teacher), the action-based design was trialed and since then Sandwatch and the MAST approach have been successfully used by teachers around the world and are often portrayed as a working example of [education](/source/Education) for [sustainable development](/source/Sustainable_development).[3] In 2005 the Sandwatch Manual was [published](/source/Publish). In October 2010 the manual was revised to include [climate change adaptation](/source/Climate_change_adaptation). The manual: Sandwatch: Adapting to Climate Change and Educating for Sustainable Development is available in four [languages](/source/Languages) ([English](/source/English_language), [French](/source/French_language), [Portuguese](/source/Portuguese_language) and [Spanish](/source/Spanish_language)), and can be downloaded for free on the Sandwatch website, [www.Sandwatch.org](http://www.Sandwatch.org). As the program continued to grow, in 2006 a Sandwatch website and newsletter were launched. In 2008 the Sandwatch Foundation was established as an independent organization to oversee and coordinate the program and is operated by two volunteer directors, Paul Diamond and Gillian Cambers. In 2013 the long-awaited Sandwatch International Database was launched in Mauritius. The database provides participating Sandwatch groups the opportunity to upload their monitoring data to a secure site. Not only does this allow for proper archiving of environmental data, but it also allow users to analyse their results, create their own charts and graphs, and communicate their findings visually with the wider community. Non-Sandwatch groups can also visit the database and view the data. ## Activities Each Sandwatch school or group adopts a local [beach](/source/Beach) and regularly takes a series of measurements and tests of their beach using simple and readily available equipment. By measuring how the beach's [width](/source/Width), [currents](/source/Current_(fluid)), [waves](/source/Water_waves), [water quality](/source/Water_quality) and other factors change over months and years, the teams can determine whether their beach is stable and healthy or stressed and deteriorating, and the nature of the stressors. When a group identifies a problem it can, with the [community](/source/Community), develop a project to address and mitigate the problem or problems. Project activities include alerting authorities to potential problems such as [water contamination](/source/Water_contamination) (from [sewage](/source/Sewage) or [agricultural runoff](/source/Agricultural_runoff) for example), conducting beach clean-ups, replanting [mangroves](/source/Mangroves) or dune stabilization [vegetation](/source/Vegetation), creating [signage](/source/Signage) for proper beach use, monitoring and protecting marine [turtle](/source/Turtle) nesting sites, or monitoring the effects of [coral bleaching](/source/Coral_bleaching). By keeping the beach and related ecosystems healthy they are made more resilient and better able to adapt to climate change. All Sandwatch groups are encouraged to regularly post their [data](/source/Data), [photographs](/source/Photograph) and other project details on the Sandwatch [website](/source/Website), as well as to contribute [articles](/source/Article_(publishing)) and photographs to the twice-yearly [newsletter](/source/Newsletter), The Sandwatcher. Sandwatch representatives are often invited to participate in regional and international workshops and [conferences](/source/Academic_conference), where they share their experiences and data and forge [partnerships](/source/Partnership) with similar environmental groups. ## See also - [Sea turtle threats](/source/Sea_turtle_threats) ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Cambers, Diamond (2010). *Sandwatch: Adapting to climate change and educating for sustainable development*. [UNESCO](/source/UNESCO). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Verkooy, Michelle (2011). *Sandwatch Database Launch Plan*. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Cambers, Gillian; Chapman, Grace; Diamond, Paul; Down, Lorna; Griffith, Anthony D.; Wiltshire, Winthrop (2008). *Teacher's guide for education for sustainable development in Caribbean*. UNESCO. ## External links - [Official website](http://www.sandwatch.ca/) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Sandwatch](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandwatch) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandwatch?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.