The people of Dreketi Village, on the 13-square-mile island of Qamea, are eager to protect their resources, from ridge to reef. First, they have pledged to protect 30 acres of tropical forest under their control. The forest is home to many bird species, including the endemic orange dove. There are also colonies of the fruit bats called Pacific flying foxes, a species that is decreasing globally. Land crabs called lairo scuttle industriously through the trees.

The village will also protect an ecologically significant marine area that runs between the shore and the reef. The sea here is incredibly rich, full of fish (clownfish, lionfish, moray eels, and many more), dolphins, reef sharks. green marine turtles, and migrating humpback whales. The new protected area abuts an existing no-take area maintained by a small nearby resort, so protecting it will have a multiplied effect.

The village has serious needs. In 2016, a terrifying landslide destroyed the village school, teachers’ quarters, health center, and village hall. The government built a foundation for a new school, but work has stalled. Almost 10 years after the landslide, 40 students still attend classes in the church (when it’s available) or sit outside on mats under a breadfruit tree.

The village will use a Seacology grant to build a new village hall, which will serve as a temporary school and permanent kindergarten. It will be used not only for morning kindergarten, but also for afternoon women’s mat-weaving, evening meetings, and all-day funerals. And when a storm strikes, a sturdily built hall is often the safest shelter. Villagers will help build it, and will house the workers who move out to the island to provide skilled labor. The chief has offered the use of boats to bring building materials from the main island.