When and how did you first volunteer with REEF or become a REEF member? How did you first hear about REEF?
My first REEF experience was a lionfish trip to Curaçao. There was one fish surveyor on the trip, who showed me the survey sheets and some DB reports on his laptop, which I immediately found interesting. I went on a survey trip to Grenada the next year, and I was pretty much hooked by the end of the trip.
Jay Funaro, a Marine Education & Conservation Intern at REEF this summer, was drawn to REEF by the chance to work for a nonprofit while gaining experience in the varied marine ecosystems of the Florida Keys, where coral reefs meet seagrass beds, mangroves, and even the flowing grasses of the Everglades. Jay graduated from California State University, Monterey Bay, with a B.S. in marine science, became certified as an American Academy of Underwater Sciences (AAUS) scientific diver, and took part in multiple monitoring projects while cultivating a passion for public engagement.
Bring REEF's mission into your classroom with Virtual Discovery Programs! Designed for students of all ages, these one- to two-hour Zoom programs combine an engaging live lesson with hands-on activities and show students that anyone, anywhere, can be a citizen scientist.
Featured programs include:
REEF's Field Survey Trip to Bonaire in July had two special guests: Educator in the Field Fellows Erin Schmidt and Mikayla Neff. REEF Educator in the Field Fellows are dedicated educators who applied to receive a fully funded participant spot on the trip. They spent their week diving, learning fish identification, building relationships with other REEF members, and gathering ideas on how to bring REEF's citizen science programs back to their classrooms.
There are some new faces at the Ocean Exploration Center this season. REEF is delighted to welcome four new Marine Education & Conservation Interns for the fall, along with a new Marine Conservation Fellow who is no stranger to Key Largo.
Our interns spend the season working alongside REEF staff on education programs, citizen science, and community outreach, gaining hands-on experience across every part of the organization. Please join us in giving them all a warm welcome.
Ava Tidball
One of my favorite things about REEF's Campus changes with the seasons, but it has nothing to do with the weather. It's the arrival of new interns.
Every January, May, and August, we welcome a new cohort of young people — usually four — to live and work with us for a semester. They come from all over, most in their final year of college or recently graduated, and arrive through a genuinely competitive application and interview process.
Submissions for the 2026 REEF Discover the Sea Underwater Photography Contest are now open! All ocean photographers are invited to submit their favorite photos. It’s free to enter, and you may submit up to three photos per person in each of the following categories:
If you’re looking for a Field Survey Trip that offers more than just snorkeling and diving, REEF’s Costa Rica Eco-Adventure Field Survey Trip is right up your alley. This unique eco-adventure combines diving and snorkeling with Costa Rica’s incredible marine life and exciting land-based adventures through its vibrant tropical rainforests. The weeklong itinerary includes four days of diving and snorkeling, with two dives per day to conduct REEF surveys, along with land tours in Monteverde that showcase the incredible biodiversity of this amazing destination.
Meet our September Fish of the Month, the Painted Comber, Serranus scriba, a small but spectacularly decorated member of the sea bass family. Its name says it all: the intricate scribble of blue and red lines across its head looks as though an artist signed their work, and once you have seen one up close, it is hard to forget.
Congratulations to REEF surveyor Steve Vinitsky, who recently joined the Golden Hamlet Club! This distinguished group is made up of highly dedicated volunteers who have conducted 1,000 or more REEF surveys in contribution to the Volunteer Fish Survey Project.
