Volunteering With TRACC In Marine Conservation
As a child my favorite Disney movie was the little mermaid and for 3 weeks I was Ariel. I lived steps away from the sea and could swim with nature's magical creatures as much as I wanted on Pom Pom island.
The dreadful “Monday morning” feeling never came, and each day started with a sunrise and breakfast by the sea. Whether you began your day with a dive doing scientific research, surveys, building Artificial Reef Crests (ARC REEFS), coral transplanting, reef maintenance or turtle identification, you knew that you were directly having a positive impact on the marine life. If having the capability to dive 4 times a day isn’t enough for you, than you could walk down into the shallow waters and snorkel around the house reef where you’ll be lucky enough to see different types of corals, fish and sea turtles.
The staff on base are incredibly knowledgeable and helpful when teaching you all about the projects you work on. My absolute favorite job was making coral biscuits. This is done by taking broken pieces of corals found at the bottom of the sea bed and planting them in quick drying cement. Each biscuit is placed in the nursery only three meters deep underwater for approximately one year before being moved to the ARC Reefs. Learning new techniques and putting them in place really made me feel like I was making a difference in the future of our planet. One day, when the corals we planted are big and strong, fish will make it their home, turtles will nestle underneath them to rest and I will know that I left a piece of my heart in a place I will never forget.
Pom Pom Island is truly a magical place, for I lived and breathed on land and underwater. I was a mermaid. Although it was only for a short time, my small efforts made a large impact on the future of our helpless oceans and desperate planet.
The staff on base are incredibly knowledgeable and helpful when teaching you all about the projects you work on. My absolute favorite job was making coral biscuits. This is done by taking broken pieces of corals found at the bottom of the sea bed and planting them in quick drying cement. Each biscuit is placed in the nursery only three meters deep underwater for approximately one year before being moved to the ARC Reefs. Learning new techniques and putting them in place really made me feel like I was making a difference in the future of our planet. One day, when the corals we planted are big and strong, fish will make it their home, turtles will nestle underneath them to rest and I will know that I left a piece of my heart in a place I will never forget.
Pom Pom Island is truly a magical place, for I lived and breathed on land and underwater. I was a mermaid. Although it was only for a short time, my small efforts made a large impact on the future of our helpless oceans and desperate planet.
