Reef Renewal Foundation Bonaire

Couldn’t join us live for our impact webinar? The recording is now available! We’re thrilled to have hosted our first live webinar on Tuesday, with over 170 new and familiar faces in attendance. Listen in to hear more about challenges facing Bonaire’s reefs, our current projects, and priorities going forward. 📌 Plus - an impactful introduction by President of our Board of Directors, David J. Fishman, on RRFB’s origin story, his journey to coral restoration, and why private support is crucial now more than ever. https://lnkd.in/eYF7kFqq

NEXT WEEK 🌊💻 Get a Behind-the-Scenes Look at Coral Restoration on Bonaire! Join us on November 26 at 12 pm EST for State of the Reef: RRFB Impact Webinar, a special opportunity to dive into our latest coral restoration projects, strategies, and how anyone can support our mission this Giving Tuesday. Our team will share insights on the current state of Bonaire’s reefs, how we’re combating threats like bleaching and disease, and how you can make a difference. This FREE webinar is open to everyone and includes a Q&A session with our team. We’d love to see you there! 🔗 Register now: https://shorturl.at/1bF8t Save the Date — Giving Tuesday is December 3! Help us reach our $15,000 goal to protect Bonaire’s reefs and secure a future for our marine ecosystems. 🐠 How You Can Help: 💙 Register for the webinar — see the impact of your support in action 💙 Donate on Giving Tuesday (December 3) to help us meet our $15,000 goal-with partial funds matched by Bonaire Cruisers and accounting office Brandaris BV! 💙 Share this post to help us reach more reef lovers like you! Register: https://lnkd.in/eq2McBBS

Last week, our board member and former Managing Director Francesca Virdis represented RRFB at the First Saudi Arabian Red Sea Coral Restoration Forum! Hosted by SHAMS (General Organization for Conservation of Coral Reefs and Turtles in the Red Sea - shams), this event brought together leaders and experts from across sectors to drive collaborative coral restoration efforts in the Red Sea. Francesca shared insights from our work in Bonaire, focusing on how RRFB uses data metrics to improve coral nursery production and monitoring. By tracking coral growth, survival rates, and environmental conditions, we can fine-tune our restoration practices and boost the resilience of coral populations. 🌱📊 The forum provided a fantastic opportunity to exchange ideas and innovations with other organizations dedicated to coral conservation. From government and private sector representatives to scientists and NGOs, participants united around a common goal: protecting and restoring coral reefs for future generations! General Organization for Conservation of Coral Reefs and Turtles in the Red Sea - shams

November is #CoralBleachingAwarenessMonth, and we're bleaching our logo together with Coral Reef Alliance and many more organizations around the world. Bonaire's waters have reached record high temperatures this year and we're seeing significant bleaching on our reefs. 🌎 While change at a global scale is necessary, scaling up our restoration efforts locally and supporting our network of restoration practitioners is crucial as temperatures continue to rise. Read more about our mitigation strategies here: https://lnkd.in/eATKVc3C

We’re excited to announce a major leadership update at Reef Renewal Bonaire! Ernst Noyons, who has been with RRFB for the past three years, has stepped into the role of Chief Operating Officer (COO). We’re thrilled to have him at the helm as our team and operational capacity continues to expand! 📰 Read more details in the press release: https://shorturl.at/YCxR9

Exciting new research from our Caribbean restoration network! 🔗 https://shorturl.at/DSi81 Led by SECORE International, Inc., this groundbreaking study finds that young corals produced through assisted breeding showed higher tolerance to 2023’s severe Caribbean heatwave. We’re proud to have provided data and feedback to this research regarding the survival of young corals (called “recruits”) from our coral breeding program, alongside our partners across the region. Coral breeding allows us to produce unique offspring via sexual reproduction, enhancing the genetic diversity and, as this paper reveals, resilience of vulnerable species! We’re eager to continue working with SECORE International, Inc. and FUNDEMAR on a multi-year project exploring coral breeding technologies and best practices in the Caribbean, supported by G20 CORDAP (Coral Research & Development Accelerator Platform). 🌎 Read the paper here: https://shorturl.at/DSi81 🔗 Photo of an assisted coral recruit by Raul Tecalco Renteria #coralspawning #coralbreeding #coralrestoration #cordap

Sharing more on our collaborative, 3-year project to advance coral breeding in the Caribbean with FUNDEMAR and SECORE International, Inc.! 🔬 Our joint project is supported by G20 CORDAP (Coral Research & Development Accelerator Platform) and aims to scale each step of the breeding process via cost-efficient technology and overall strategy.

From Reef to Research Lab 🧬✈️ DNA samples from corals in our nurseries and gene bank are currently in transit to Florida State University! Last week, our team continued a collaboration with Florida State University PhD candidate Allie Blanchette. We collected coral fragments from our gene bank and nursery at Buddy’s Reef, prepared them for transport, and sent them off to Florida for DNA sequencing. Allie’s research can shed light on the relatedness of coral genotypes in our nurseries, and the role of genetics in influencing their tolerance to stressors. Stay tuned for more updates on this exciting research journey! 🌊🔬

Samen met Reef Renewal Foundation Bonaire koraalriffen herstellen? Doen we! 🪸 En dat is belangrijk omdat: ▶ Bijna een kwart van alle vissen en andere zeewezens leeft rond, in of van koraalriffen. ▶ Honderden miljoenen mensen zijn direct afhankelijk van gezonde koraalriffen. Zij vissen hier namelijk elke dag hun avondeten bij elkaar. ▶ Grote golven kunnen behoorlijk wat schade opleveren aan onze kusten. Gezond koraal zorgt er onder water dat golven worden afgeremd, tot wel 97%! cc Nathalie Houtman