Giving reefs a helping hand

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Reef Renewal Foundation Bonaire is delighted to announce the addition of Beyond the Corals as our latest Dive Shop Member. Beyond the Corals joins Buddy Dive Resort, Eden Beach Resort, Harbour Village Beach Club, and Tropical Divers Resort as a partner and education center for Reef Renewal Foundation Bonaire.

RRFB and Beyond the Corals staff installs the duckbill anchors at Bachelor's Beach.
RRFB and Beyond the Corals staff installs the duckbill anchors at Bachelor's Beach.
Three coral nursery trees hover above the reef at Bachelor's Beach.
Three coral nursery trees hover above the reef at Bachelor's Beach.

On the 14th of February 2020, three nursery trees were installed at Bachelor’s Beach to serve as a training nursery for Beyond the Corals. Since then, staff members from Reef Renewal and Beyond the Corals have returned to hang the first fragments of both elkhorn and staghorn corals. In total, the nursery has the capacity to hold 300 corals once full.

After sufficient time has passed and the nursery-raised corals have reached an appropriate size, they will be outplanted back to the reef at Bachelor’s Beach. However, until then, the nurseries will require regular maintenance, which will be handled and organized by Beyond the Corals on a regular basis.

Kim Kloet, owner of Beyond the Corals, expressed her excitement in joining the project, saying, "Beyond the Corals is very happy and proud to take part in Reef Renewal. Working with Reef Renewal Foundation Bonaire we all can learn a lot about corals and their importance to our aquatic world. We are convinced that it is important to help Mother Nature and give back to her."

Beyond the Corals owner, Kim Kloet, carries the initial coral fragments to be placed in the Bachelor Beach nursery.
Beyond the Corals owner, Kim Kloet, carries the initial coral fragments to be placed in the Bachelor Beach nursery.
RRFB staff hangs the initial staghorn fragments on a coral nursery tree at Bachelor's Beach.
RRFB staff hangs the initial staghorn fragments on a coral nursery tree at Bachelor's Beach.

Beyond the Corals joins a group of four other RRFB affiliated dive centers, which are essential to the functioning of Reef Renewal Foundation Bonaire. Dive Shop Members support the Foundation through event organization and the selling of RRFB merchandise. Even more importantly, they are involved in education and outreach events. Partner dive shops act as an education outlet for members of the public to learn more about coral reefs and reef restoration, encouraging the public to become more involved with Reef Renewal Bonaire.

RRFB and Beyond the Corals staff together with the RRFB educational sign.
RRFB and Beyond the Corals staff together with the RRFB educational sign.

Dive Shop Members also serve a pivotal educational role by teaching the PADI Reef Renewal Diver Distinctive Specialty. This is a three-dive course aimed at introducing participants to the basic techniques involved in reef restoration. Upon successful completion of the course, divers can then choose to become involved in RRFB’s volunteer program. Through these activities, RRFB partner dive shops transform educational opportunities into community involvement.