White House (Coral Gardens) Reef Snorkel Trail Restoration Completed
CORAL GARDENS (WHITE HOUSE REEF) SNORKEL TRAIL RESTORATION WORK COMPLETED
21 December 2011, Providenciales, TCI – On this past Sunday, 18 December 2011, the Turks & Caicos Reef Fund (TCRF) and a group of volunteers completed the restoration of the White House Reef Snorkel Trail located in front of the Coral Gardens Resort. The work involved scuba divers working underwater all day to remove and replace the existing trail markers and volunteers on the beach who worked hard to clean the accumulated deposits of calcium carbonate and algae on each of the snorkel trail markers.
The snorkel trail, which was installed by a group of local residents and the Department of Environmental and Coastal Resources over 10 years ago, had not been properly maintained, so most of the trail markers were virtually illegible. The trail markers consist of a ceramic tile made by local artists on Providenciales mounted to a reef ball anchored to the sea floor. Each marker describes an important fact about coral reefs and how to protect them.
“The White House Reef (Coral Gardens) Snorkel Trail is probably one of the most frequently visited sights on this island visited by tourists coming here,” said David Stone, Deputy Chairman of the TCRF. “We are very pleased with the outcome of the work completed today. The trail markers all look like they did when they were first placed around this gorgeous inshore reef.”
During the work that lasted all day on Sunday, the TCRF also signed up members and explained to passing tourists what the organization had in the works for additional projects. Somewhere Café and Lounge assisted the effort and helped to promote the project. They hosted a barbecue and had life music to help attract tourists to the event.
“We want to extend a big thank you to all the staff at Somewhere Café and Lounge,” said Don Stark, Chairman of the TCRF. “Without their help with logistics and with promotion we couldn’t have completed this work as quickly and as easily as we did. We also want to thank Provo Turtle Divers who graciously supplied our scuba divers with the scuba tanks needed to complete the work.”
In addition to completing the snorkel trail restoration, the TCRF raised over $1,000 through generous donations from people who stopped by to learn more about the work going on that day and about the TCRF.
About TCRF Founded in 2010, the Turks & Caicos Reef Fund is an all volunteer-run organization that provides funding for education, research and conservation programs to individuals, organizations and agencies that help to preserve and protect the marine environment of the Turks & Caicos Islands. Our goal is to have at least 85% of all funds raised through voluntary contributions from divers and snorkelers visiting the Turks & Caicos Islands are directed to the Fund’s programs. More information about TCRF can be found at www.tcreef.org.
Snorkel Trail Restoration Work Scheduled for 18 December 2011
CORAL GARDENS (WHITE HOUSE REEF) SNORKEL TRAIL RESTORATION WORK TO BE UNDERTAKEN ON 18 DECEMBER 2011
5 December 2011, Providenciales, TCI – The Turks & Caicos Reef Fund (TCRF) announced today the work to restore the snorkel trail markers on the Coral Gardens (White House) Reef will be undertaken on Sunday 18 December 2011. Work on the reef will begin at 9:00 am and at 2:00 pm Somewhere on the Beach will be hosting a beach party with food and drink specials and live music.
The work will involve removing and thoroughly cleaning all the markers that are underwater at strategic locations around the popular inshore snorkeling reef. Each ceramic tile trail marker will be carefully removed from its reef ball base by local scuba divers and then brought to shore to be cleaned by volunteers using a environmentally friendly cleaning protocol developed by the Turks & Caicos Reef Fund. After cleaning, the trail markers will be reinstalled by the scuba divers. In addition, several of the trail markers are either missing or damaged and new ceramic tile markers have been produced by the local artists who produced the original trail markers. These new markers will be installed that day and this work will involve also repairing several of the reef ball mounts.
Volunteers are needed to assist in this effort. Snorkelers are needed to provide surface assistance to the divers working underwater. The snorkelers will help transport the trail markers from their site on the reef to the shore for cleaning and then back out to the divers for reinstallation underwater. Other volunteers will be asked to help with the cleaning effort which will be done right on the beach so people can learn more about the Turks & Caicos Reef Fund and the snorkel trail. Page 2 of 2 Turks & Caicos Reef Fund Providenciales, TCI (649) 347-8455 (Don Stark) Info@TCReef.org (E-mail) (649) 346-3111 (David Stone) www.TCReef.org Any one interested in volunteering to help on this project can contact the Turks & Caicos Reef Fund via email at info@tcreef.org. Starting at 2:00 pm, Somewhere on the Beach will be host a beach party with specials and music.
One highlight of the event will be a raffle for a Beaches Day/Night pass for two people, a prize valued at $250. Raffle tickets can be purchased at the event or in advance of the event by contacting David Stone at 346-3111. The drawing will be held during the Beach Party at Somewhere on the Beach.
“Since this is such a popular destination for both guests and local residents, we felt it was an important project for the Turks & Caicos Reef Fund to undertake,” said TCRF Deputy Chairman David Stone. “The trail markers have been unattended for so long that most are no longer readable by snorkelers on the surface. When this work is done, the trail markers will be clearly visible to all visitors to this reef.” “We also want to take this opportunity to thank all of our supporters who have made this project possible,” added Don Stark, TCRF Chairman. The Trip Advisor Turks and Caicos Specialists have generously underwritten the cost of one of the replacement trail markers. Provo Turtle Divers is generously providing the air fills for the scuba divers who will be working underwater most of the day.
We also want to thank Beaches for providing the day/night pass for our raffle and Somewhere on the Beach for assisting with promoting the event and hosting the beach party that afternoon.”
About TCRF Founded in 2010, the Turks & Caicos Reef Fund is an all volunteer-run organization that provides funding for education, research and conservation programs to individuals, organizations and agencies that help to preserve and protect the marine environment of the Turks & Caicos Islands. Our goal is to have at least 85% of all funds raised through voluntary contributions from divers and snorkelers visiting the Turks & Caicos Islands are directed to the Fund’s programs. More information about TCRF can be found at www.tcreef.org
David Bowen and Heidi Hertler, PhD Join TCRF Board
15 November 2011, Providenciales, TCI – The Turks & Caicos Reef Fund (TCRF) announced today that David Bowen and Heidi Hertler, Ph.D. have joined the organization’s Board of Advisors.
David Bowen is a widely recognized Turks & Caicos Islander who was born and raised in Grand Turk. Bowen began his career in 1977 as a Professional Dancer and Choreographer in Freeport, Bahamas and later New York. He has served as a teacher, actor, musician, yoga and wellness Instructor in countries such as the United States, Great Britain, Jamaica, Japan, Sweden and India. His big break came in 1983 as a dancer in the Michael Jackson's video 'Beat it'. David spent 10 years (1986-1996) in Tokyo, Japan as dance instructor and performer with the Geki-Dan Shiki Theatrical Company. He returned to the Turks & Caicos Islands in 1997 to become the first Turks and Caicos Islander to hold the post of Entertainment Manager at Beaches Resort and at Sandals Jamaica.
As a musician, David is locally known as the Bass player with the popular bands 'Bowen Arrow' and 'Soul Redemption', and the harmonica player with the local Rake-n-Scrape Ripsaw Bands. Since 2003 David has been the Turks & Caicos Director of Culture with the Cultural & Arts Commission under the Ministry of Education. He is also a member of the Consultative Forum. Additionally, he works as a Yoga and Zumba Instructor at various hotels and health clubs. “Joining the TCRF Board is an honor for me as their efforts are directed toward helping to maintain the beautiful environment we have here in these islands that I have enjoyed all my life,” said Mr. Bowen about joining the Board.
Heidi Hertler, Ph.D. holds the position of Center Director at the School for Field Studies (SFS), Center for Marine Resource Studies (CMRS). As an SFS alumnus, Dr. Hertler was attracted to the Turks and Caicos Islands program and the ongoing center research. Her personal research focuses on relationships between land use and the coastal marine systems. This includes the integration of science and research into environmental strategies and policies for the conservation of biodiversity and coastal resources. With the advent of mainstream tourism to South Caicos, she seeks to study the effect on near shore marine resources and how we can work with local user groups and government agencies to develop policies that protect and conserve natural resources for future generations. Through this research she is hoping to develop environmental awareness to empower the local community.
Prior to her position at CMRS, she was appointed as Distinguished Research Professor at Inter American University of Puerto Rico. Dr. Hertler also led the start up a Native Alaska environmental consulting firm that created NEPA document presentation and fostered relationships between clients and government agencies. “I am delighted to join TCRF Board because they share my passion for educating the public about coral reef preservation,” said Dr. Hertler. She has over 20 peer reviewed presentations and publications. Dr. Hertler has a BS in Biology from Bates College, M.S. in Biological Oceanography from Florida State University and a Ph.D. in Environmental Science from Drexel University
“We are very excited about David and Heidi joining our Board of Advisors” said Don Stark, Chairman of the TCRF. “Heidi brings scientific expertise that meshes with our mission and David brings a strong local and cultural perspective to our efforts.”
About TCRF Founded in 2010, the Turks & Caicos Reef Fund is an all volunteer-run organization that provides funding for education, research and conservation programs to individuals, organizations and agencies that help to preserve and protect the marine environment of the Turks & Caicos Islands. Our goal is to have at least 85% of all funds raised through voluntary contributions from divers and snorkelers visiting the Turks & Caicos Islands are directed to the Fund’s programs. More information about TCRF can be found at www.tcreef.org.
Turks & Caicos Reef Fund Established
15 February 2011, Providenciales, TCI – The Turks & Caicos Reef Fund (TCRF) has been established to help preserve and protect the marine environment of the Turks and Caicos Islands.
Don Stark, one of the founders of the TCRF and the organizationʼs chairman, said, “I have been coming to the Turks & Caicos since 1993 and I have been impressed by the conservation efforts already in place here with the National Marine Parks system, but rapid development on the islands is placing tremendous pressure on the marine environment. As one of the consistently highly rated dive destinations, snorkelers and scuba divers have a vested interest in seeing the reefs and related marine environments.” The TCRF will raise funds from the voluntary contributions from island visitors. In exchange for a voluntary contribution, visitors will receive either a wristband ($5) or a plastic dive tag ($10) that can be attached to their scuba gear, bag or suitcase to demonstrate their support for the TCRF. We hope to involve all tourists whether they come here to fish, snorkel, dive, or just to enjoy our beautiful beaches.
“We have tried to model our program on the very successful Bonaire Marine Parks Fee program,” said David Stone, the other founder and the Deputy Chairman of the TCRF. “We intend to facilitate marine environmental research efforts, educational programs, and conservation efforts with the funds we raise.” The TCRF has begun to accept grant applications from individuals, groups and organizations for projects that will enhance the marine environment of the TCI.
The TCRF has selected as its first project, in cooperation with the Turks and Caicos Islands Department of Environmental and Coastal Resources, the refurbishing and replacement, as needed, of the snorkel trail markers on the reef in front of the Coral Gardens Resort. The snorkel trail is an attraction that is well known and heavily utilized by visitors to the islands, but hurricanes, storms & algae growth has taken its toll over the past several years. Our goal will be to replace the markers and reef ball support stands and to regularly visit the site to perform cleaning and maintenance of both the markers, reef ball stands and marker buoys for the benefit and enjoyment of all visitors.
Founded in 2010, the Turks & Caicos Reef Fund provides funding for education, research and conservation programs to individuals, organizations and agencies that help to preserve and protect the marine environment of the Turks & Caicos Islands. Over 85% of all funds raised through voluntary contributions from divers and snorkelers visiting the Turks & Caicos Islands are directed to the Fundʼs programs. For more information on the projects funded by the Turks & Caicos Reef Fund and funding opportunities, visit us at TCReef.org.