A LITTLE HELP FROM OUR FRIENDS!
Every year during our summer season, CRF™ brings on a few extra helping hands to aid our always-busy restoration staff with whatever they need to continue our mission of restoring reefs. This summer, we had an incredible team of temporary hires that made days in the office and on the boat that much more enjoyable!
Paige Carper
First, we welcomed back one of our temporary hires from last summer, Paige Carper! Paige worked with us during the 2019 summer season, and we're super excited to have her back with us this year.
Paige Carper holds a crate of staghorn coral about to be outplanted. © Rebecca Creighton/Coral Restoration Foundation™
My favorite restoration task is definitely outplanting! I enjoy all the different types of outplanting because each coral requires a different method, so it’s nice to change it up on any given day," said Paige Carper, CRF™ Temporary Restoration Associate.
Shane Gallimore
Additionally, we transitioned one of our own interns over to the Restoration Team for the summer: Shane Gallimore! Shane initially joined the CRF™ team in the spring of 2019 as an intern. When our summer 2020 temporary hire positions opened, he knew staying at CRF™ was exactly what he wanted to do.
Shane Gallimore returns coral back onto Florida's Coral Reef. © Alexander Neufeld/Coral Restoration Foundation™
When asked what his favorite task to do as part of our Restoration Team, he replied, "Outplanting! Elkhorn, preferably."
“Working with CRF™ for nearly the last two years has been an amazing experience. Being able to work with such a dedicated restoration team through the height of our busy outplanting season has been extremely rewarding. I am very grateful to have had this opportunity and am excited to see what the future has in store for me," said Shane Gallimore, CRF™ Temporary Restoration Associate.
Bobby Steele
We also had Keys local Bobby Steele join us for the beginning of the summer. Bobby joined us from Horizon Divers to help us kick start the first half of our outplanting season! He is a skilled dive instructor at Horizon Divers who knows the Keys and our reefs well.
From left to right: Diver Bruce Roesler, Science Program Manager Amelia Moura, Restoration Program Manager Jess Levy, Horizon Diver Instructor Bobby Steele, and Chief Development Officer Martha Roesler after a dive on June 29, 2019.
“My favorite part of helping the Restoration Team was getting to participate in the actual restoration. I've lived in Key Largo for five years and have been on charter boats with CRF™ during their dive programs. It was a wonderful experience to outplant coral rather than just watching from the surface. My time with CRF™, while short, was amazing. The staff were awesome and took me under their wing. I got to learn so much about coral biology from some pretty fantastic individuals. I tell all of my scuba students about the experience and point them to CRF™ when they ask how they can make a difference,” said Bobby Steele, Horizon Divers Instructor.
We could not accomplish all that we do without the dedication of divers like Paige, Shane, and Bobby. We appreciate all those who volunteer their time with our Restoration Team, especially during our busy season when our full-time restoration associates benefit greatly from the extra help!
"Bringing It Back" Editorial Intern
Lauren studied psychology and environmental studies at Seattle University, where she had the life altering experience of studying abroad in the Galapagos Islands. There, she was introduced to marine biology, conservation, and diving. After that, her passion for diving only increased, and she is now a dive instructor and has traveled to explore the marine ecosystems in the Maldives, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia, Mexico, the Caribbean, the Pacific Northwest, and the Florida Keys. An avid learner, Lauren immersed herself in the local environment and started volunteering with Seattle Aquarium as a diver, beach naturalist and salmon naturalist. Lauren is interested in one day conducting deep-sea research, so she earned her certification as a ROV pilot and technician. Most recently, she became a marine educator at Pacific Marine Research Afloat and was taught to inspire change through educating young people to make an everlasting change on the planet. Lauren is excited to still be working in education while making a visible difference on the planet with CRF™.