eat
 |
| Key West High School H.O.P.E. club members volunteered for beach clean-ups at Boca Chica Beach and at Garrison Bight. Shown here are students (l to r) Vivian Tapia, Melissa Garcia, Renee Philips, Christina Stout and Shakti Assouline along with David Perkins their teacher and sponsor. Photo by Michael Blades |
Thanks
to a committed core of volunteers, Reef Relief has been able to
continue to expand efforts to reach into the community and educate
people about the myriad of problems facing our reefs, as well
as the potential for solutions. The outreach program may not seem
as exciting as programs such as the coral nursery program, photo-monitoring
or international projects, but it is critically important. As
the new millennium approaches, we as a society need to make some
fundamental changes in our way of life. We need to develop a greater
sense of conservation with a focus on a sustainable lifestyle.
Our education program hopes to bring this message to as many people
as possible.
There are other promising things happening
at Key West High School. This year, for the first time there is
an environmental club. H.O.P.E. (Helping Others Protect Our Environment)
formed by Celine Shakti Assouline that has over 70 student
members. Already they
have been active in the community participating in a number of
post-hurricane clean-up activities. They have also been instrumental
in helping during recent beach clean-ups at Boca Chica Beach and
Garrison Bight.
Reef Relief recently participated
in the Ocean Celebration held at the Dolphin Research Center.
Hundreds of Monroe County students were able to enjoy conservation
education and activities from more than 20 organizations dedicated
to protecting the environment including Reef Relief. Thanks to
Peggy Sloan of the drc for organizing this event. A new
volunteer, Alicia Stevenson, worked hard creating an activity
and a display just for this event. Alicia has been volunteering
two days each week in our offices. Already, she has created new
displays for our center and been an enormous help to our staff.
She will soon be planning our Earth Day effort.
Many volunteers have contributed to our success. I would like to especially thank Theresa Foley who has been serving as volunteer coordinator. Her hard work in revamping our volunteer program has eased the burden on our staff . Thanks also to volunteers Adrianna Hirtler, Pieter DeBoer, Michele Boettger, John Cornwell, Jody Weber, Benjamin Campbell, Gary Elston, Alain Chabert, John Butler, Dennis Weislick and India Weber.
A time proven method of educating residents and visitors of the Keys to protect our fragile marine environment is once again available. The Lower Keys Region site brochure for the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary has been produced, printed on recycled paper and distributed throughout the Lower Florida Keys. This cooperative venture between Reef Relief and the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary will complement a similar brochure being produced for the Upper Keys.
The new brochure includes all of the information contained in Reef Relief's educational brochure, Florida's Coral Reef Ecosystem, in a multi-lingual English/ Spanish format. This is our key educational piece for visitors and residents and includes information about the coral reef ecosystem; tips for divers, snorkelers, boaters and fishermen; and more. It is the most widely distributed and most popular educational brochure in the Florida Keys.
The brochure has been expanded to include all of the sanctuary regulations, a map containing the zones, a list of the locations of vessel pump-out facilities and boat ramps, navigational markers and charts for each of the reefs with mooring buoys. 200,000 brochures were printed for distribution this year and the first distribution has been completed, thanks to Reef Relief's Michael Blades, a team of volunteers, and sanctuary staff. It is provided to hundreds of locations, including all the hotels, motels, resorts, guesthouses, chambers of commerce, visitor information centers, educational facilities, marinas, dive shops, bait and tackle shops, sport and commercial fishing interests from Key West to Marathon, in addition to many educational venues, special events, school programs and information packets that are mailed out by both Reef Relief and sanctuary staff. Many hoteliers put the brochure directly in the rooms or hand them to their incoming guests in their welcome packet, or provide them to special groups prior to their arrival.
The Lower Keys Region site brochure was made possible through the financial support of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, West Marine Products, coralthe Coral Reef Alliance, the Key West Aquarium, the Community Foundation of the Florida Keys, American Express, Old Town Resorts, Key West Hotel Motel Association, padi's Project aware (Aquatic World Awareness Responsibility Education), Marriott's Casa Marina Resort, the Blue Marlin Motel and Best Western Hibiscus Motel.
Fundraising is still underway to produce 200,000 copies of the Upper Keys version. To date, supporters include the Herbert W. Hoover Foundation, West Marine Products, American Express, coral, Key Largo Resorts, Cheeca Lodge, and the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Check out the online version on Reef Relief's website, located at www.reefrelief.org. in the Educational Materials section. For more information or to receive a copy, contact Reef Relief.
Reef Relief has a new partner for educational projects in the Florida Keys. We are delighted to announce that we will be working with the South Florida Water Management District on an exciting multi-media endeavor to integrate these key educational concepts into our efforts: water supply planning and development for the Florida Keys; water conservation in the Keys; ecosystem restoration of the Everglades as it relates to freshwater supply of Florida Bay and the Keys marine ecosystem; retrofitting the current water management system (the "Restudy") specifically as it relates to water flow into the Everglades, Florida Bay and the Keys; freshwater impacts to coastal estuariesspecifically those in the Everglades and Florida Bay; and individual responsibility for water pollution prevention.
These educational concepts will reach Keys residents and visitors through the following strategies:
Discover
Coral Reefs School Outreach Program for 4th grade students
at 6 Lower Keys public schools.
New
educational materials for educators, students and the public.
A
teacher workshop for Monroe County educators to be planned
as a full day event on May 8th at Pigeon Key.
Internship
program for Florida Keys Community College students and out
of town college students.
An
expanded Key West High School Mentoring Program led by Reef
Relief's Joel Biddle and Michael Blades.
New
displays for the Reef Relief Environmental Center & Store.
Website
expansion to incorporate new materials and programs with links
to the new homepage for the sfwmd Keys office and their headquarters
website.
Reef
Awareness Week—July 25-31st with a Water Resources Partnership
theme.
Participation
in other Special Events.
Reef
Line to be provided to more county-wide educators.
Re-distribute
existing supplies of Tips for Ecofriendly Living to all
vacation rentals in the Keys.
Produce and air radio public service announcements
for all Keys stations with water conservation tips.
This new initiative provides a great opportunity to look at the total watershed in South Florida, how it can affect our quality of life and that of the natural environment. More importantly, hopefully we will all learn more about how to reduce harmful impacts—some of them upstream and some in our own backyards—on Florida's coral reef ecosystem. We hope you'll join us in this new adventure. Remember, we all live downstream.
This winter, the Reef Relief Environmental Center & Store has received visits from a variety of different groups. As usual, each group received free educational materials, video presentations about the reef, and tours of the Center & Store. Groups included visits from Sea Camp, the Mel Fisher Museum, and Dade County Girl and Boy Scout troupes, among others.
In December the Collier County Audubon Society asked me if I could adapt the video presentation I provide students and groups into a slide show format and come to Naples, Florida. I was happy to comply. I also gave the same presentation to the Elder Hostel Program—an on-going program sponsored by Barry University. The shows went so well that we decided to make it part of our educational outreach program. Additionally text and slides are being made available in our store and on the internet for sale to all who are interested in making presentations within their community and other educational purposes. This, along with the Reef Relief Teacher Kit and the Reef Relief Teacher Guide, provide all the elements needed for educators interested in presenting coral reef ecosystem curriculums for all ages.
Planning for this year's School Outreach program is underway page. Our efforts will extend to over 400 fourth graders from public schools in Monroe County who will have tours of the Center & Store and video presentations about the reef. They will also visit the reef aboard the Glassbottom Boat, Discovery, and receive follow-up talks in their respective schools about how reefs can be saved. We want to extend extra special thanks to the South Florida Water Management District and Discovery Glassbottom Boat Tours, for making this event more exciting and inclusive than ever.
In recognition of sea turtle nesting season coming up, our display case will sport a sea turtle theme with educational information about protecting endangered species. In addition, the Reef Relief Center & Store is now offering a wide array of turtle gifts, from floating turtle candles and books about turtles, to turtle pins and turtle plush toys. Turtles rule the day at Reef Relief. So don't be shy, Come on Down! And… think turtle to save a turtle!
 |
| The Reef Relief team includes (l to r) volunteer Alicia Stevensen, new environmental center & store staffer Sarah Zimm and store manager Mutzee Hiller. Photo by Michael Blades. |
All of us at Reef Relief would like to welcome Sarah Zimm, who will be assisting Store Manager, Mutzee Hiller, in representing the Center & Store. Sarah recently moved from California to Key West. In California Sarah worked with at-risk and incarcerated students in an art-outreach program. "I am glad to be a part of Reef Relief" says Sarah, "I learn something new everyday and I feel like I'm contributing to help save the reef, rather than just watching it waste away." So welcome, Sarah, to our team!
In closing I would like to thank Evelyn Russell for her kind contribution to Reef Relief in memory of her son, Preston "Pete" Sergent Russell who lived and loved life here in the Florida Keys.
