Category Archives: 2023 REEF Marine Conservation

Carolyn Corley

Behind the Scenes: Crafting a Cultural Landmark

By: Diana Phillips

Have you ever walked into a museum and wondered what went into making the place? Me either! I have always happily interacted with the beautiful exhibits, merely excited to learn new things alongside the people I love.

My perspective has evolved after interning at the Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF) this summer. On June 7-8^th, 2025, REEF will open a brand-new Ocean Exploration Center (OEC). This center will become a cultural landmark and a staple of Key Largo. Within it, REEF will showcase all its incredible citizen science projects with a multitude of interactive exhibits.

FRAME meeting to discuss the details of the sign at the new center.

As an intern, I was able to participate in meetings with FRAME, a team dedicated to creating spaces visitors love, staff can maintain, leadership can champion, and the organization can sustain. Over the course of a week, I watched as these essential meetings molded the direction of the Ocean Exploration Center. This involved things you would expect, such as reviewing exhibits, providing feedback on tabletop games, and creating a timeline before the grand opening. Mostly, we all agreed on prospective changes, but occasionally we had differing opinions. One of our most heated discussions related to what sign should be positioned in front of the Ocean Exploration Center as a photo opportunity for social media. Questions dropped like a rainstorm. Should the logo have a cutout fish or a fish impression? Should the background be a photo or a drawing? Should it be swirling fish or a horizontal school? So on and so on. It was fascinating how we could see details differently, which most others would consider minute. Yet, this sign will draw in visitors and should inspire them to share it with their friends and family. Therefore, these decisions play a huge role in representing who we are and how we want our beautiful center to be shared.

I was shocked by how many of our discussions went beyond the museum itself. A crucial part of this experience was developing confidence and direction within the organization during this critical time. We discussed our mission and what excited and concerned us about opening the new center. Beyond that, we discussed how to deal with the increased capacity for visitors and how staff positions would need to evolve to meet the demands of the new center. The experience taught me that museums couldn’t exist without the dedicated staff behind them being united in mission and execution.

I am so grateful to REEF for being included in these meetings as an intern. One component I spoke up about was increasing diversity by creating opportunities to engage the Hispanic community, which makes up over 30% of our local population, yet has been historically underrepresented in participation within our programming. To work towards this goal, we had several discussions about translating exhibits and additional materials for Spanish speakers. Over the course of my internship, I got the opportunity to translate materials for the new center. As a Colombian American, it makes me proud to help increase accessibility for other Spanish speakers.

I am proud to have contributed to decisions for the new center, which will educate and inspire visitors for generations. It is so special to have an organization that concerns itself with the voices of its youngest members. Being a part of this pivotal moment in REEF’s history has been inspiring, and I am left in awe at the tremendous leadership demonstrated by the directors to accomplish the grand task.

Hands-On Learning: Building Educational Activities for All Ages

Leave a reply

By: Diana Phillips

Sterile classrooms. If you asked me what it meant to educate the public before my internship began, I would have envisioned sterile classrooms with seated audiences for hour-long lectures. Imagine my surprise when my first educational event involved thirty people packing into a hallway to drink and eat snacks. It became immediately obvious that not everything I learned that night would happen during the lecture next door. An equally important component was the opportunity for the community to come together: to have fun, to interact, to catch up on projects, and to hear about each other’s goals. Nor was the classroom sterile, as the room was covered in a mural of fish, the audience filled with laughter, and the lecture filled with equal parts information and jokes about the ghost that haunted our building.

That night was my first introduction to the concept of passive learning. Not everyone who learned something was trying to or would even realize that they eventually internalized new information. Rather than expecting participants to become well-versed in a topic, the focus was on highlighting key concepts that any passerby could internalize.

Another such passive learning opportunity was my project to fabricate a lionfish model which participants could shoot at with foam darts. The message was simple: invasive lionfish are harmful and removing them is good. I began by dismembering an old model, ripping it apart to start anew. The body was made with an old water jug, while the fins, head, and tail were made from cardboard, with some structural support from wood and wire. The model was covered in duct tape to secure the fins and create an even texture, then it was given an eye-catching lionfish paint job.

Child shooting a nerf bow and arrows at an educational lionfish game.

Ironically, the fins that make real lionfish hard to predate upon also make it incredibly difficult for an intern to transport as a 3 ft model when packing it into their car. To overcome this obstacle, I decided to add hinges to the pectoral fins. Aesthetically, this meant that the fins could “swim” while simultaneously giving us a flat side of the fish so it could be more easily transported. Interestingly, adding this singular moving component was surprisingly difficult. It made me understand the saying common in engineering: “The fewer moving parts, the better.” Eventually, the fish was complete and positioned as an activity for participants in our derby to engage with. Ultimately, there are a few things more gratifying than watching people of all ages enjoy the activities you created. Seeing the family’s bond as their curiosity was stoked was satisfying.

Child learning to spear a lionfish while avoiding the coral reef.

The lionfish model was not the only educational activity I fabricated for our derby, as we had another key concept we intended to share. Avoid hitting the reef when spearing lionfish. This game utilized a real lionfish spear with the tip removed and replaced with a tennis ball for safety. Then, I fabricated two boxes designed to look like a coral reef. Images of fish attached to cut-up pool noodles were covered in Velcro and attached. The game taught participants how to shoot the lionfish spear and capture the lionfish while avoiding the reef and other fish species. This activity was heartwarming to facilitate as it became an intergenerational activity for parents who go lionfish hunting to show their kids how to use the spear. It was so sweet to hear the eagerness of their children, hoping to join their parents for lionfish hunting. It was also fulfilling to hear the fishermen explain to their kids why they should avoid hitting the reef and other fish species with their spears as they helped them play.

Fabricating these hands-on activities during my internship showed me that not all learning happens in classrooms. I realized that the most influential information can be shared in ways that are fun for the audience. Facilitating interactions between participants is equally as important as the message we hope to share.

Summer with REEF!

Leave a reply

As my internship wraps up, things have been very busy here at REEF. It is crazy how fast this summer flew by but I am happy to say my time with organization is not over, as I have accepted a position as the next Education and Outreach Fellow. By the time you are reading this blog, I will have made an over 3,000 mile drive across the country back to the Keys to start this new role and will be helping prep for the annual Florida Keys Lionfish Derby & Festival!

Through my undergraduate honors thesis, I did extensive research on the marketing strategies for lionfish and the opportunities for different local communities to benefit from lionfish removal, which led to me learning about the lionfish jewelry business, started by women in Belize. At REEF I had the opportunity not only to make my own jewelry, but to lead a workshop for the community teaching them about how the lionfish invasions began, why these species are dangerous for reef ecosystems, and to make their own unique jewelry. Along with REEF programs and classes, each intern is given the time and freedom to work on our own personal project (or for most interns projects) and this workshop was one of mine! It was great to see how excited each of the attendees was when their piece was complete, knowing that they had created something that was sustainable, personal, and educational! In addition to this project, I have been working on a presentation to show college students how to access and use our database for their thesis work, have been working on my fish ID skills and advanced to a Level 3 surveyor in the Tropical Western Atlantic Region, and have been helping collect images of Atlantic Goliath Groupers (Epinephelus itajara) for the Grouper Spotter citizen science project.

My friends and coworkers at REEF, Katie and Alexis, showing off their new jewelry from my workshop!

Of all of the students I got to work with this summer, my favorite was those from Camp Open S.E.A.S. This group is an annual summer camp for adaptive divers who traveled from all over the country to dive in Key Largo and volunteer with many of the marine conservation non-profits in the Upper Keys. As part of our Volunteer Fish Survey Project, I got to teach the students about the characteristics and behaviors of the most common and interesting fish we would see. After that we were each paired with one of the adaptive students that we got to lead on a fish survey dive. Seeing how happy my buddy Eli was when he finally got in the water and we started pointing out fish we had learned in the classroom was one of the highlights of my internship.

Our awesome team with the students and leaders from Camp Open S.E.A.S. Camp leader Rosemary taught everyone basic sign language so we could communicate with the deaf students before I taught them hand signals for the fish we would see during our dives.

Over my summer with REEF I have learned so much about the non-profit and marine conservation fields and have discovered my love for educating others about the ocean. I have had the chance to explore much of the Upper Keys and Miami areas both in and out of the water, and am excited to continue doing so over the next year. I am so grateful for all of my coworkers at REEF and for the support of everyone at OWUSS for making this possible.

Sharing the Underwater World with the Community

Leave a reply

Hello everyone and welcome to my internship blog! My name is Carolyn and I am thrilled to have been selected as the 2023 Our World-Underwater Scholarship Society® Dr. Jamie L. King Reef Environmental Education Foundation Marine Conservation Intern.

At REEF we like to say that working for a non-profit means you wear “lots of different hats.” Each day looks a little different than the one before- one day I am hunting for lionfish, the next I am teaching a Fish ID at the local visitor’s center and the one after that I am developing a curriculum to make our database more accessible to students. Of all of the experiences I have had at REEF so far, my favorite has been any time I get to interact with the community and share the work we are doing. REEF’s main focus is citizen science, and through the classes I teach, my main goal is to convince the audience that they can be a “scientist” and help contribute to an important database regardless of their background. Seeing the way one of our new surveyor’s face lights up when they are able to take what they learned in the classroom and recognize the species they are seeing is one of the greatest feelings as an educator. A couple of weeks ago I was leading a virtual workshop for a zoo summer camp, similar to one I attended for many years back in elementary school. Being on the presenter’s side of it was truly a full circle moment for me, and I hope that those kids felt as inspired to save the ocean as I did when I was in their shoes.

Performing a REEF fish ID survey with a group of students.

Photo Credits: Madalyn Mussey

The REEF Intern and fellow team at our monthly community "Fish & friends" event.

Below are photos of a few of the many species I have spotted during fish ID surveys! After a recent trip to Blue Heron Bridge, a dive site in West Palm Beach known for its diversity of marine life, my survey sighting lifelist has surpassed 100 species!

Southern Stingray — DCIM\100GOPRO\GOPR0977.JPG

Goldentail Moray

Photo Credit: Dylan Heppell — DCIM\100GOPRO\GOPR0977.JPG

Smooth Trunkfish — DCIM\100GOPRO\GOPR0968.JPG

Juvenile Hawksbill Sea Turtle

Photo Credit: Madalyn Mussey — DCIM\100GOPRO\GOPR0968.JPG

With REEF I have also had the opportunity to continue studying invasive lionfish. Over my last 2 years of school I completed both my honors thesis and major capstone research on lionfish in Utila, Honduras, so I often joke about how these fish have taken over my life. Even with the completion of those projects, I wasn’t ready to be done with lionfish quite yet and it has been interesting to compare the education, removal, and marketing strategies in the Keys versus in Honduras. Through the Invasive Species Program I have had the opportunity to lead presentations giving an overview on the lionfish invasion, dissected lionfish to explain their adaptations to students, and even gotten permits from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to hunt for lionfish in Sanctuary Preservation Areas (SPAs).

Using a Hawaiian sling and zookeeper to remove invasive lionfish from the reefs.

Photo Credits: Madalyn Mussey

Madalyn and I with 2 lionfive we removed from the SPAs.

My internship city of Key Largo could not be more different than where I started my journey just 2 months ago at the annual OWUSS weekend in New York City. About 48 hours after graduating from college and moving out of my apartment in San Diego, I was on a plane across the country to get started on one of my greatest adventures yet. In three short days in the Big Apple, I was welcomed into the OWUSS community, met some of the most inspirational people in the diving and marine conservation field, was blown away by the presentations from last year’s scholars and interns, and even got to make a side trip to Broadway to see my favorite actor perform! Even after a couple months I am still having a hard time believing I am a part of this organization. From the moment I walked into the Explorers Club I felt like a bit of an imposter- there I was newly graduated from college and surrounded by artifacts from many of history’s greatest explorers. Being in the presence of so much history and of so many members of OWUSS gave me a glimpse of what I would like to accomplish in the future and I cannot wait to return to New York next year to share my internship experience.

The internship crew at the 2023 OWUSS Awards Weekend.