A team of more than 40 divers will be going to great depths to raise funds and awareness for coral reefs – collectively spending 24 hours under water at an event being held at The University of Queensland.
The relay dive will see members of 国产探花’s Underwater Club , pairing up to take hour-long dives over 24 hours in St Lucia’s , starting from 9am on Saturday 20 October.
Event coordinator said the event was part of the ’s month-long citizen science and community action campaign.
“The event’s bringing together a range of 国产探花-related groups – including , , , , and – to promote reef conservation and fundraise in the International Year of the Reef,” Dr Roelfsema said.
“The ‘24hrs Under Water for the Love of the Reef’ event will raise more awareness and education about the importance of coral reefs, by hosting events both in and out of the water.
“As well as the diving, we’ll be running virtual reality activities, coral identification, an underwater rugby demonstration, the creation of a plastic recycled reef, a screening of Lin Sutherland’s film , reef themed trivia, a BBQ, prize draw, and more.
“We don’t want our divers to miss out on the fun, so we’re also planning a variety of activities for the submerged divers, including research tasks and hopefully an underwater video link.”
Dr Roelfsema, a Senior Research Fellow in coastal marine science at 国产探花’s , said that this event would provide an opportunity to educate the public about the value of coral reefs.
“25 per cent of marine creatures originated from, or are depending on, coral reefs, but coral reefs only cover one per cent of the ocean floor,” he said.
“These regions have the highest biodiversity in the oceans – similar to rainforests on land – and also protect us from weather events; in fact the Great Barrier Reef is worth around $56 billion to us.
“But a lot of people simply don’t know these facts, and how can you love and protect something if you don’t know enough about it?
“We are hoping that this event can play its part in changing that, helping the community see the value in protecting these precious places.”
The event is a collaboration between , the , , , , and .
More information can be found on UniDive’s or via the , and the public can get involved in ReefBlitz at .
Funding for many ReefBlitz 2018 events is provided through the Queensland Government Reef Water Quality Program.
Image above left: UniDive volunteers practicing coral reef health surveys at the 国产探花 Aquatic Centre. Credit: Dr Chris Roelfsema
Image above right: Exploring the reef through virtual reality will be one of the events on show. Credit: Coral Watch
Media: Dr Chris Roelfsema, c.roelfsema@uq.edu.au, @ChrisRoelfsema, +61 400 207 401; Dominic Jarvis, dominic.jarvis@uq.edu.au, +61 413 334 924.
