Colleen will be away from 6 January until 8 April 2015, working on a reef conservation project in The Philippines with Coral Cay Conservation. The image above is of Sogod Bay on Leyte Island in the Philippines which is where the organisation is based.
The areas Colleen will be working in are remote and living conditions are basic, with diesel generated electricity for a few hours a day and without internet access most of the time. If you need to contact Colleen during this time, please allow for the fact that it make take some time before she is able to reply to you but don’t give up as she would be pleased to get your message.
She will be taking part in scientific surveys, collating data on the condition of underwater habitats to provide maps which are used to identify ‘candidate sites’ where conservation efforts of local communities will be best placed to create sustainable management plans. Funds are directed towards the training of local people to join the survey work. There will also be workshops to educate and raise awareness of the serious issues in relation to the threats facing reefs and forests and what action to take.
A bit about Coral Cay
Since 1986 CCC have run over 20 successful conservation projects in more than 10 different countries around the world involving more than 10,000 volunteers, training several hundred scholars and publishing more than 300 key scientific research papers.
Across the world, CCC have had several internationally notable accomplishments such as the introduction of several Marine Protected Areas including the creation of the UNESCO World Heritage Site in Belize; The Danjugan Marine Reserve and Wildlife Sanctuary for Negros, Philippines in 2000; The Limasawa Community Managed Marine Protected Area for Southern Leyte, and Philippines in 2008. CCC actively campaigned for the designation of the Chagos Marine Protected Area, which is now the world’s largest.