At Liger, there is a project called LMRT, short for Liger Marine Research Team. Having an explanatory name, LMRT is a project consisting of 8 members, senior Liger students, who are interested and passionate about the ocean in their own unique way. These individuals came together to form the research team for one main purpose: to help Cambodia’s ocean. In achieving the big goal, they conduct research, surveys, and work with other organizations and conservations to identify and solve the problems Cambodia’s ocean is facing. As this is the last year for the seniors, they are spending much of their time getting ready to graduate and leave Liger which includes the 8 senior members of the research team. Regardless, LMRT is an important project that needs to continue due to the fact that Cambodia’s ocean still faces many harmful threats today. So to ensure this project continues, 8 junior students came together to form the second generation of LMRT. And I was lucky enough to be given the opportunity to be one of those 8 students.
To be able to continue LMRT on our own, we, the second generation of LMRT, needed to get ready first. For round two, we had an exploration that was designed to prepare and give us the necessary knowledge as well as key skills needed to keep LMRT going. With the help of our experienced and beloved senior LMRT members, we learned from them the Open Water Diver (OWD) course by SSI (Scuba School International). One of the many things we will be doing later is conducting surveys underwater, which is a very important part in marine conservation. In order to do that, we must know how to dive; hence we took the OWD course. The site we will be working at is Koh Seh island in Kep province in the southern region of Cambodia. The organization that works on the island to protect Cambodia’s ocean is Marine Conservation Cambodia, MCC for short. The first generation of LMRT has been working with and learning from them for a very long time and we will do the same. At the end of the exploration, we took a trip to Koh Seh for our dive certification which includes dive training and the exam. The OWD course and exam was very hard and challenging. In addition to there being just so much information, everything we were learning was new, so it required extra practice in our own time to get ready. Nonetheless, we all completed and passed the exam. I’m extremely proud of myself and everyone for achieving this task. The rest of the trip was very productive and fun. We got to meet many new people and do a lot of new things in the ocean. It’s an experience that I won’t forget. Overall, the exploration was a time full of learning and it was a great start to this project.
Before I was in LMRT, I felt like marine life was less cared for than terrestrial life and that there weren’t as many marine conservation efforts as terrestrial conservation efforts. The reason for that was that I was simply uneducated and unaware of what was being done to help the ocean. I knew most of the major problems and threats of the ocean, but not what was being done to try and solve them. Not only has being in LMRT broadened my knowledge of the numerous issues the ocean is facing, it has also introduced me to many threats I never knew of as well as amazing marine conservations and scientists who are trying to protect the ocean against those threats. I know now that the ocean faces more problems than I think, with new ones arising everyday, but I also know that there are people who love the ocean enough to be willing to fight for and protect it against those problems.
Being in LMRT has changed me in various ways as a person who loves and wants to protect the ocean. It has helped me understand that everything we humans do everyday has an effect on the earth including marine life and the ocean. On the first trip to Koh Seh island in Kep for our dive certification, one of the many things we did was beach cleaning. Every so often on the island, there would be a beach clean-up because there’s trash like plastic that washed up ashore at different parts of the island. To me, the island isn’t very big compared to other islands in the archipelago, so it is easy for us to spread out and collect waste. While I was walking on the southern coast of the island, in the parts that we don’t normally work at, and picking up trash, I realized a lot of what I was picking up could be reused and recycled to help the environment instead of just sitting on the coast polluting and destroying the waters. Today, that realization makes me really think of items I buy and how I use them to be more careful and make sure that they don’t end up in places like the ocean, where they could damage the environment. This way I can help protect marine life and their habitat without having to be there which is a thought that truly fills me with glee. It is something that has grown within me since being in LMRT and I’m thankful that it has.
Going into LMRT, I didn’t know what to expect because I thought the opportunity to work with people who share the same passion as you was already exciting on its own, so I didn’t really carry with me any expectations when I started. Now having been a LMRT member for a while, I can say that everything we do with each other is just great. Everyone is unique. The fact that we all love and are passionate about the ocean is what makes everything so much better. It is what connects us as individuals together when we work. We’re all teachers and learners and we help each other out all the time without any problems. This also applies to the people on Koh Seh. Even though I spent less than a week on the island, I already felt like there was a strong bond of friendship between us. For the entire time I was there, everything felt so welcoming. I guess I can and would like to say that being a part of this project just feels warm because you’re constantly surrounded by amazing and lovely people who are there to support and offer you help at any time. It is really wonderful.
For the time I’ve been in LMRT, there is so much we’ve done with each other and there is even more that I believe and know we will do and accomplish. As one of the many personal goals I have moving forward, I aim to get to know everyone in this project better and build upon the connection we already have into something greater. I also desire to improve and become more immersed in swimming and diving in the ocean. The past few months being a member of this huge project with lovely people has been truly enlightening and I hope for the years ahead to be so as well.