How I Learned to Plant and Save Our Coral in Cozumel!

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I learned to plant and save coral during a trip to Cozumel in September 2018. Saving and replanting coral is more important now than ever as our oceans warm, chemicals from sunscreens abound, and acidification continues to threaten our ecosystems. I now have a Coral Reef Conservation Specialty from PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors), and I am ready to travel to help save our reefs!

Taking the course from Dr German Mendez at the Cozumel Coral Reef Restoration Program was not only fun, but a great learning experience. I have done quite a bit of volunteer and citizen science with Marine Megafauna, Ray of Hope, REEF, and ALL OUT AFRICA, but now I am ready to travel far and wide to plant and save coral. During my travels I have seen first hand the results of Climate Change on our oceans, and it is extremely alarming. One of the reasons I wrote my book, ALL FISH FACES, was to teach people about our ocean friends and how important they are to our own human existence.

It is always nice to run into a happy face!

You can see the platforms where we plant the salvaged corals. Here I am brushing off algae.

Dr Sylvia Earle is honored on the coral farm!

Jacques Cousteau is also honored. These busts honor those who have led the way in ocean conservation.

These are the remains of a plane that was sunk back in the 70s for a James Bond movie!

There are many places concentrating on coral restoration. In the Florida Keys, there are efforts being made to restore coral to the reefs that have lost 97% of their corals! Coral Reefs have been around for over fifty million years, but they are under severe threat. They could be gone in less than fifty years! Coral reefs are full of life, and humans depend on the ocean for our very existence. What can we do to help? We can stop using single use plastic, we can recycle, reuse, and stop using chemical sunscreen in our waters. Our oceans support life on this planet, and we all need to be much more conscious of what we are doing to harm them.

coral reefs, ocean, biodegradable sunscreen, reef safe sunscreen brands, biodegradable sunscreen brands — We have to protect our coral reefs!

I spend a lot of time in Cozumel, and plan to spend time on every trip helping restore coral to our reefs. Are you a diver? You will love this course! Come on down to Cozumel and get your Coral Reef Conservation Specialty! Volunteers are always needed!

You would enjoy:

More Fabulous Cozumel Diving from September 2018!

GREAT GIFTS FOR OCEAN LOVERS

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