CORAL COLLABORATIONS
This past month, twelve of our interns headed to the Coral Shores High School to join Beth Rosenow’s Marine Science Two class. This partnership started last year, when CRF™ interns collaborated and assisted students in the development and implementation of marine science projects.
After the interns introduced themselves, the students shared their initial thoughts and plans for a project. These projects ranged from examining the effect of electromagnets on shark embryos to lionfish hunting robots to studies on spiny lobsters and much more. Based on their own interests and backgrounds, our interns paired up with students to help mentor and support them with their project plans.
Our interns will be working with these students through the fall term and we are excited to see where these assignments go.
Each of these projects will ultimately culminate in a product presented at the high school’s science fair in December. Depending on the results, the students will have the opportunity to attend the district level fair as well.
Lead intern Genny Wilson says,
“I’m really looking forward to working with the high school students, their generation plays a really important role in the future of our environment and it’s really awesome to see them caring about our oceans. They are motivated to come up with a project that will get them to districts. My group and I are planning on assessing the population status of long spined sea urchins on local reefs down here in the keys.”
FIRST EVER REMOTE INTERN
CRF™ is excited to welcome Daphné De Celles back to the intern team! Daphné first came to CRF™ as an intern in January 2019. She was passionate about this field and excited to learn about non-profits as well, but was a little nervous about public speaking. However, after four months at CRF™, she has overcome these fears, and is now enthusiastic about speaking in front of people and inspiring students on coral and ocean conservation.
Daphné is now coming back as CRF’s first ever remote intern! She is our Broward County Lead Education Intern for this fall term and will be handling many of the outreach events we do north of the Keys and Miami.
Additionally, she will be facilitating many of CRF’s education departments’ northern groups including the Girl Scouts of South Florida, Coral Club at South Broward High School, the Sierra Club, and fostering relationships with institutions such as the Frost Museum. Daphné’s previous involvement with CRF™ has made for a seamless transition into her new role, and we are excited to see how she develops this position in the months to come.
“I am thrilled to be back at CRF™ as the Broward Lead Education Intern! I’m incredibly grateful for all the connections and friendships I’ve made already and am excited to return in this new position. The foundation has already taught me so much and I look forward to bringing a little bit of the Keys up to Broward and Palm Beach!”
- Daphné
EDUCATION ANYWHERE
One way our education department reaches the public is through online classroom or group seminars. Using the power of technology, we can video call into any classroom anywhere to talk to learners of all levels about the mission to save and restore coral reefs.
These programs provide an excellent opportunity for groups all over the country to engage with us and learn about coral restoration and conservation. We also highlight ways that everyone can help to contribute to saving the reefs and ocean, even from land-locked states.
Lead Intern Genny Wilson recently had a day on land with a few of these web seminars! She presented to two different high school groups to teach them about CRF and the work we do.
Genny spoke to the Marine Science Society at Cypress Bay High School in Southern Florida, as well as an AP Environmental Science Class in North Carolina. The students were engaged, asking questions about diving and how the outplanting process works. They hope to make a trip down to the Keys soon to visit us in person.
These are fantastic opportunities for students to learn no matter where they are in the country. We hope to ignite a spark and passion for this field to inspire the next generation to continue to fight for our environment.
Book your classroom presentation with us today! Email us at education@coralrestoration.org
HEADING WEST
This fall we're focusing on our Key West Dive Programs and invite you all to join us in our coral restoration work in the Lower Keys. The second Restoration Adventure in the Lower Keys is scheduled for Sunday November 3rd. Begin your morning with Coral Restoration Foundation™ with an educational discussion about coral and our work and then apply this knowledge in the water with CRF™ and Captain’s Corner for a hands-on, tailored, SCUBA diving or snorkeling program! Our programs are designed to suit all levels, letting all ocean lovers have a positive impact.
Key West Nursery. Photo credit: Tiffany Duong
Photo courtesy of Captain's Corner
For more information or to sign up, contact our Recreational Dive Program Coordinator Roxane (roxane@coralrestoration.org).
Please note: all in-water activities are weather dependent.
"Heads Up" Editorial Intern
Shane's love for the ocean was obvious from a young age. During family trips to Cape Cod, he would spend all his time digging in the sand or wading through water and grass, net and bucket in hand, looking for any creatures he could catch. He continued to explore his passion by learning as much as he could from books and documentaries. He began scuba diving in 2011, and would eventually graduate from Stony Brook University in 2018 with a B.S. in Marine Vertebrate Biology. It was during his time at Stony Brook that he developed a desire to not only improve the conditions of our oceans and planet, but to educate others and share his passion. Shane is ecstatic to be a part of the CRF team. He looks forward to learning as much as he can while directly contributing to the health of our reefs and educating and inspiring future generations to share his passion.