We want to extend a special thanks to our members who have already made a donation during our Winter Fundraising Campaign. If you haven't yet, please take a moment to support REEF's critical marine conservation work. You can contribute securely online at www.REEF.org/contribute or call REEF Headquarters at 305-852-0030.
With your support, we will build on twenty years of success. In 2014, REEF plans to:
We are excited to introduce Ellie Splain, who recently joined REEF staff at headquarters in Key Largo, FL. Ellie will serve as REEF's Education Program Manager. Ellie is no stranger to REEF, as she was a REEF Marine Conservation Intern in the summer of 2013. From a small rural town in Illinois, Ellie attended the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where she earned a Bachelor of Science in FIsh and Wildlife Conservation. Despite growing up landlocked, Ellie has always been drawn to the ocean (and the good weather of South Florida doesn't hurt!).
Over the summer, REEF hosted the second year of Ocean Explorers Summer Camp, a marine science camp designed to get kids outdoors and on the water. 57 campers joined us over 4 weeks of camp, and it was a blast! Led by REEF Education Program Manager, Ellie Splain, and assisted by our wonderful Marine Conservation Interns, each week was filled with fun and interesting activities. Campers snorkeled at the coral reef, kayaked through the mangroves, dissected squid, created lionfish jewelry, and even got up close and personal with some animal visitors!
Be sure to check out the REEF online store for all of your holiday shopping needs! We have a great selection of field guide books, REEF surveying supplies, lionfish collecting gear, REEF swag, and the cutest collection of marine-themed plush animals! Shop today at www.REEF.org/store.
Are you a diver or snorkeler looking to make a difference in the health of our oceans? If you haven't already, we hope you will make plans to join us on a REEF Trip in 2018. We have a great lineup of trips and a few spaces remain. You will participate in our citizen science programs, dive with like-minded individuals, and learn about the marine life around you. The full 2018 schedule is online (and keep an eye out for the 2019 schedule to be released this spring).
Here are 2018 trips that still have space:
REEF Fest is just ten days away! Sponsored by Capital Bank Foundation, REEF Fest is an annual celebration of marine conservation held in Key Largo, Florida, on Oct. 17-20. The event features diving, ocean-themed seminars, and social events. REEF Fest is open to the public, and most events are free to attend. To see the complete schedule, visit www.REEF.org/REEFfest.
Eating invasive species has become a popular form of environmentalism in recent years. This article discusses REEF's work to address invasive lionfish and shares other invasive species currently on the menu around the world.
Hello and Happy September! We are pleased to unveil the 2008 Field Survey Schedule in this edition of REEF in Brief, as well as fill you in on some of the important field work that we have going on around the REEF survey regions. Learn about the fifth year of monitoring at the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary in Washington, new and growing partnerships with the New England Aquarium and others in the northeast, a collaborative research project at the world's only undersea laboratory in Key Largo, and the results of ongoing exotic species work on lionfish in the Bahamas.
