BREEF Introduces Updated Iconic Life On The Bahamian Coral Reef Poster

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Workshop participants snorkel the Van Oord’s Coral Engine nursery located at Goulding Cay, managed by The Royal Bahamas Defense Force as a part of the Reef Rescue Network. Elkhorn, Acropora palmata, is a prominent Caribbean reef-building coral, and is an endangered species.

The Bahamas Reef Environment Educational Foundation (BREEF) is thrilled to officially release the newly revised “Life on the Bahamian Coral Reef” educational poster.  The original poster was part of BREEF’s Virtual Coral Reef Field Trip Multimedia Toolkit, which is an educational tool designed to showcase the diversity and importance of our coral reefs and promote marine conservation among students and also to the general public via local media.  The new poster was re-developed to again highlight the importance of Coral Reef ecosystems and bring specific focus to ongoing coral reef restoration programmes in The Bahamas and promote coral reef conservation.

Casuarina McKinney-Lambert, BREEF’s Executive Director stated, “Coral Reef ecosystems are important for many of our commercially important fish species that use these areas as nursery habitats.  Coral Reefs are particularly important to the fishing industry and the crawfish industry, both of which support the economy around the islands.  It’s critically important to have a multi-faceted approach to protecting our precious Bahamian marine environment: abiding by the fishing regulations, protecting our waters from poaching, and sustaining the habitats that animals need to survive at all stages of their life.”

BREEF believes the new “Life on the Bahamian Coral Reef Creek” poster will be another valuable teaching and learning tool for teachers, students, citizens and visitors throughout the Commonwealth of The Bahamas as it creates awareness of the Benefits, Threats and Conservation efforts to safeguard our Coral Reefs.

BREEF’s Education Coordinator, Kevin Glinton said “BREEF is grateful to Allen Coral Atlas for permitting BREEF to use their new Coral Reef map of The Bahamas.  This poster supports BREEF’s coral reef field study activities and complements the Ministry of Education’s Science and Social Science National Curricula.”

Funding for this project was made possible through the generous support of Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Vibrant Oceans Initiative and Rolex Perpetual Planet.  Teachers are invited to contact BREEF at 327-9000 or email breef@breef.org for a copy of the poster to display in their classrooms. BREEF is a non-governmental nonprofit Bahamian foundation concerned with educating our people about the value of and need for conserving our marine environment.  BREEF promotes the conservation of the Bahamian marine environment that sustains our way of life.