REEF members are the heart of our grassroots marine conservation programs. Divers, snorkelers, and ocean enthusiasts worldwide stand behind our mission.
This month we highlight Callie Mack, who has been a REEF member since 2011. She is level 5 expert surveyor on the U.S. west coast in the PAC region, and has submitted nearly 400 surveys. Callie lives in San Diego, where she enjoys diving the nearby kelp beds and rocky reefs to search for interesting invertebrates and fish.
We are excited to share that our website has recently undergone a significant update and has a new look. Many of you may have already seen it, but if not, you can check it out by visiting http://www.REEF.org.
Even though summer has only just ended, the cold days of winter will be here before we know it. Don't worry - you can escape to the Caribbean and get involved in a meaningful citizen science dive trip! We still have some openings on two of our upcoming liveaboard trips to the Eastern Caribbean and the British Virgin Islands. We have also released our complete 2019 Field Survey Trips schedule, and we hope you can join us on a trip soon!
REEF members are at the heart of our grassroots marine conservation programs. More than 70,000 divers, snorkelers, students, and armchair naturalists stand behind our mission.
This month we highlight Susan Lokey, who has been a REEF member since 1995. She is a level 3 surveyor in the Tropical Western Atlantic region and has completed 175 surveys. Susan lives in Virginia, outside of Washington D.C., and enjoys traveling on dive trips. She attends REEF Field Survey Trips whenever she can!
REEF's inaugural Field Survey Trip to Thailand was held in April 2018, and the survey results of the trip were recently processed into REEF's marine life database. We are excited to share that during this trip, REEF citizen scientists conducted 305 surveys at 24 sites throughout the Andaman Sea, and reported a total of 649 species! These surveys represent the first REEF data from Thailand, which is a valuable addition to REEF's database, currently containing more than 225,000 surveys.
This summer, we celebrated the 25th anniversary of REEF's cornerstone citizen science program, the Volunteer Fish Survey Project. Our annual summer fundraising campaign kicked off on World Oceans Day on June 8, and since then, thanks to the support of members like you, we were able to reach our goal of raising $60,000 to support our conservation programs!
REEF members are at the heart of our grassroots marine conservation programs. More than 70,000 divers, snorkelers, students, and armchair naturalists stand behind our mission.
This month we highlight REEF member Alev Ozten. Alev joined REEF in 2016, and became an expert level surveyor in the Tropical Western Atlantic (TWA) region the following year, in 2017. To date, she has conducted more than 180 REEF surveys. She lives in Bonaire, where she frequently enjoys diving and surveying!
Seventeen dedicated REEF surveyors recently visited the beautiful Caribbean island of Grenada for a week of diving and fish surveying. The results from the trip were recently processed into REEF's database, adding to the survey count for the largest marine life sightings database in the world. Altogether, the group conducted 181 surveys at 15 sites and recorded 208 different species. Several of the reports were new records for the area, including the Greenbanded Goby, Bridled Burrfish, Striped Grunt, Red Banner Blenny, Goldline Blenny, Molly Miller, Bantam Bass, and Bluelip Hamlet!
We are thrilled to be celebrating a quarter-century of citizen science success by recognizing the 25th anniversary of our cornerstone program, the Volunteer Fish Survey Project. In the summer of 1993, a small group of pioneering conservationists took a slate on a dive in the Florida Keys, and initiated what would eventually become the world's largest marine life sightings database.
The most comprehensive tax law changes in more than 30 years occurred in 2018 and may have important implications on your charitable giving. We know these laws can sometimes be confusing, so we have outlined some important details for you below.
Estate and Gift Tax
