Thanks for your interest in Fish & Friends! We are pleased to welcome Chris Bergh of The Nature Conservancy as our May 2019 speaker.

Chris Bergh was raised in the Florida Keys. He studied environmental conservation in Florida and Arizona prior to beginning a career that has run the gamut from nature preserve management to urban conservation strategy development. In 2005, he helped initiate the Florida Reef Resilience Program (FRRP), an interdisciplinary partnership among coral reef managers, scientists, other NGOs and businesses designed to help Florida’s reefs and reef-dependent people cope with climate change impacts. He has overseen the Conservancy’s partnership-based coral reef restoration efforts.

In 2013, he helped launch and now leads the Southeast Florida Regional Climate Change Compact’s Shoreline Resilience Working Group, which is focused on identifying opportunities for natural or nature-based coastal defenses for one of the United States’ most vulnerable regions, with respect to hurricanes and sea level rise.Chris led the Conservancy’s early and ongoing work on sea level rise vulnerability analysis for the Florida Keys, and is overseeing the development of online decision support tools that help people in the Keys and Southeast Florida’s urban areas to look beyond their vulnerability to the nature-based solutions for reducing that vulnerability.

REEF Fish & Friends is a free, monthly seminar series that features engaging ocean-themed presentations from guest speakers. Snorkelers, divers, and marine life enthusiasts are invited to join informal discussions and mingle with members of our friendly, ocean-minded community. Complimentary appetizers and refreshments are provided. The evening kicks off with a social starting at 6:15pm, and the presentation begins at 7pm.