Florida Coral Nursery Workshop

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Host: Coral Restoration, Florida Keys, 501 (c) 3
Type: Education - Workshop
Date: Saturday, March 7, 2009
Time: 9:00am - 6:00pm
Location: Florida Keys Dive Center - Tavernier, FL
Street: 90451 Old Hwy -- MM-90
City/Town: Tavernier, FL
Phone: 305-852-4599
Email: FloridaKeysDivectr.com

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Coral Nursery Workshop
March 7, 2009

Workshops centered around the coral nursery include classroom instruction and nursery dives to care for measure and cut corals in preparation for relocation to restoration sites.


During the cooler months of the year, generally November through May, the Coral Restoration Foundation will lead multiple one-day trips to the offshore coral nursery to cut and mount new corals and to clean and maintain the corals at the nursery. These trips are coordinated through local dive shops and are open to certified divers from any age group with any level of dive experience.

Each trip will involve a morning of classroom training followed by a two-tank dive trip to the nursery in the afternoon. The classroom sessions are required for all first time divers at the nursery, and will provide:

* An orientation to the nursery
* Hands on training in preparation for the days work
* A short PowerPoint lecture on our reef restoration program that is associated with the nursery program.


The diving part of the program will involve two dives at the nursery where participants will undertake multiple tasks including:

* Cutting and mounting new corals
* Expanding the nursery to accommodate more corals
* Measuring and recording health data for the corals a the nursery
* Cleaning algae from around the corals an
* Repairing broken or damaged corals
* Photographing the corals
* Preparing corals for restoration projects


For the 2009 winter/spring season, most of the work at the nursery will be with staghorn coral, Acropora cervicornis. This is a fast growing, branching coral that was once the dominate coral in the Florida Keys and parts of the Caribbean, but due to a wide variety of stressors, the population has declined to less than 5% of its former size, prompting it to be listed under the US Endangered Species Act as a “Threatened” species.

The Coral Restoration Foundation, Inc, a 501 c (3) non-profit, operates a one of a kind volunteer based coral nursery and restoration program in the Florida Keys. Volunteers from around the world have participated in this unique program that is striving to develop effective, cost efficient restoration strategies for our threatened coral reefs. CRF offers one day and three-day programs suited for high school aged students through retirees.

The one day workshops are composed of small intense groups and space is limited.

Please make your reservations early: 305-852-4599