Introduction
Every year, as sargassum washes ashore, our coastal communities face both challenges and opportunities. What if the solution to understanding sargassum trends wasn’t just in a high-tech lab, but in the hands of Junior and High school teachers and students along our coastlines? Across local schools in the Western region of Ghana, teachers and students have been working collaboratively with researchers from the University of Ghana and the University of Southampton in the biology and data collection of sargassum events and are leading the charge in monitoring sargassum beaching trends - turning their classrooms into hubs of environmental discovery and action. Equipped with teaching manuals, smartphones, laptops, and CoastSnap points, they track sargassum beaching, providing researchers with vital data while inspiring the next generation of environmental stewards. Through our recent one-day workshop held at the University of Ghana, we explored our journey together in monitoring sargassum and the strides being made toward understanding the sargassum influx through continuous monitoring and data collection.
Highlights
This exciting and highly anticipated workshop brought together 13 teachers from 7 schools* in the Western region of Ghana who have been engaged and trained in data collection of their beaches daily to help researchers develop an early advisory system as well as the researchers from the University of Ghana and the University of Southampton.
The researchers showcased the observed trends in sargassum beaching based on the initial analysis of the CoastSnap data from the Esiama Community. It revealed two (2) peaks, February – April and August – September in 2023.
They also highlighted the results from nutrient and heavy metal assessments that have been carried out on sargassum samples taken from the participating communities. It was noted that the initial results indicate low levels of heavy metal contents in the samples however, continued assessment is required. The continuous engagement of the community through the teachers is a vital step to the success and achievement of the ultimate aim which is to develop alternative uses for sargassum. Hence, knowledge of the frequency of occurrence and volumes at each time and the nutrient content are vital.
Teachers Perspectives
The teachers shared how over the past years they have been able to integrate sargassum lessons into their teaching schedule deepening the understanding of both teachers and students in this environmental challenge. They shared how enthusiastic the students are to learn and monitor using smartphones and laptops. They also shared how they have formed environmental clubs in the various schools to help students interact with each other. So far, over 500 students across the 7 schools have been engaged in the sargassum monitoring activities.
Participants were also introduced to the Seaweed School & Community Network (SSCN) website, a platform with open access educational resources and information about ongoing citizen science projects on seaweeds in Ghana, Mexico, Jamaica and the UK. They were trained on how to access the community area and create and share blogs and ongoing activities from their respective schools. The platform will help connect schools participating in this project across the globe to share their experiences and good practices.
Recommendations given by the teachers included:
Prioritizing training sessions for teachers and a platform for students to interact across schools.
Regular communication among collaborators to facilitate updates and share good practices.
Additional funding to expand the network and support exchange among students.
The workshop ended with a brief tour of interesting points on the University of Ghana Campus including the iconic Great Hall.
Looking Forward
The teachers look forward to more collaboration and more frequent engagements with researchers and the local communities to expand the monitoring activities as well as develop more sustainable ways of managing the sargassum menace. They also hope that student representatives can participate in the next workshop.
‘I believe that by working together, we can empower students to become environmental stewards and contribute to sustainable solutions for sargassum management’ Meshach, Teacher
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Researchers also look forward to a future with more coverage and involvement of all communities impacted by sargassum or other seaweeds and communities that are citizen scientists!
Photo credits: Public Affairs Directorate, University of Ghana, 2025.
*The schools are Princess Town Basic Catholic Basic School, Esiama Anglican Basic School, Sanzule-Krisan D/A Basic School, Beyin Catholic Basic School, Jaway Basic School, Egbazo Basic School and New Town Basic School
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