Reef Check Italia and Coral Eye organise an international field course on coral reefs monitoring approaches opened to both marine biology students and diver volunteers from around the world. The course, taught in English, aims to:
- provide the basic knowledge for the identification of hard corals and their diseases
- present an overview of the well-established coral reefs monitoring approaches
- learn and apply different methods underwater, including Reef Check and Coral Watch protocols
- contribute to the monitoring and conservation of the coral reefs at the Bangka outpost
Lectures and seminars will be alternated with day and night dives, as well as practical sessions in the lab. At the end of the course, it is expected that the participants demonstrate what they learned and discuss the results achieved. Participants will obtain the international tropical EcoDiver certification issued by the Reef Check Foundation.
Venue
Coral Eye  is a unique Boutique Resort on Bangka Island, North Sulawesi in Indonesia. Originally founded as an outpost for marine studies, today Coral Eye Bangka is a melting pot of passionate travellers, dive enthusiasts, underwater photographers, and marine biologists. Coral Eye was designed to place the guest at the centre of the space, creating a unique environment that favours socialisation and communication between people united by a common passion for the sea.
The project came to life in 2009, as four young marine biologists decided to pursue their dreams & passions and set up a marine outpost on Bangka Island, North Sulawesi – Indonesia, right in the heart of the Coral Triangle. The original idea was to create a co-working outpost where universities and students could exchange ideas and develop their projects on tropical marine environments. In 2013, following the construction of the diving centre and lots of hard work, Coral Eye opened its doors to tourism as an alternative to mix science with passion and love for the sea. Through the new concept we were able to finance environmental projects, offer scholarships to students and better support local communities.
In 2022 Coral Eye joins forces with the Siladen Resort and Spa to form a new partnership and elevate the resort to a new level of comfort for guests. While keeping the original community spirit of Coral Eye and the characteristics that have distinguished it from other resorts since its founding, the new partnership adds a touch of luxury with 7 new private beach view villa’s and an upgrade of the existing rooms and general guest services.
Course contents
This intensive course, at its 9th renewed edition, combines different aspects of coral reef conservation. It includes basic knowledge in corals identification and their diseases, the pollution risks and many approaches to coral reefs monitoring. In particular:
Reef Check Tropical EcoDiver Program
The Reef Check EcoDiver program allows anyone with an interest in the ocean to learn more about tropical coral reefs. Reef Check combines education with action to give volunteers a unique experience while taking an active role in conserving the world’s reefs. The EcoDiver program allows participants the rare opportunity to work with teams of scientists throughout the world to combat the crises affecting our reefs today. The world’s reefs are changing fast, and it is up to us to ensure that reefs are around for future generations. Using the globally standardised scientific protocol, the Reef Check EcoDiver program collects valuable data to establish the status of coral reefs world-wide. The data are analysed and used locally by marine park managers, nationally by fisheries and environment managers and internationally by organisations including United Nations agencies to help better track and care for coral reefs.
Become certified to conduct your Reef Check surveys and take an active role in conserving your favourite coral reefs. This course is designed to teach you everything you need to know to conduct full-scale Reef Check surveys. In this program, you will learn all about the globally standardised Reef Check methodology as well as how to identify key indicator fish, invertebrates and substrates selected by Reef Check for global monitoring and conservation of coral reefs! This course will allow you to join the Reef Check monitoring team and assist in underwater surveys around the world.
Methods include substrate, fish and invertebrate transects coupled with a socio-economic survey.
Materials: Reef Check EcoDiver Kit for Indo-Pacific, including data board.
Testing and Certification: PowerPoint ID test (80% to pass) and field ID test (90%) to obtain regional certification. Certification qualifies the holder to participate in Reef Check surveys in the region and to submit their data to the global database.
More info here.
CoralWatch Protocol
CoralWatch is a citizen science project based at The University of Queensland, in Brisbane, Australia. CoralWatch helps non-scientists around the globe understand and support effective reef management by using engaging tools that provide people with accessible information and hands-on-experience collecting scientific data about the health of corals using the Coral Health Chart. This chart standardises changes in coral colours and provides a simple way for people to quantify coral health and contribute to the CoralWatch global database. The Coral Health Chart is used by dive centres, scientists, school groups, and tourists.
Materials: an underwater kit with Coral Health Chart and data board.
More info here
Scholarships
Scholarship application deadline extended to 11 April 2023
Reef Check Italia offers 6 scholarships, € 600 each, to partially cover the accommodation costs to the most deserving undergraduate students and young (<28 yrs.) graduate biologists or naturalist based on their CV, including scholastic merits, diver qualifications and previous volunteer experiences.
Scholarships applications must be submitted within the 11st of April 2023 by filling the following application form. Scholarships selection results will be communicated by email and published on the website within the 17th of April 2023.
Scholarships winners must send all the required documents and paying the non-refundable course and deposit fee of € 300.00 to Reef Check Italia within the 30th of April 2023 either by PayPal or by bank transfer. See the previous “Course & deposit fee” section.
In case of withdrawal, the scholarships will be assigned to the next one on the waiting list.
Follow this link to find out more.