On Sunday, June 4th, Coral Restoration Foundation™ (CRF™) is kicking off our world-renowned Coralpalooza™ celebrations. We will be at Zoo Miami with an event for kids of all ages that promises interactive reef conservation experiences and captivating challenges – Captain Coral’s Scavenger Extravaganza 2023!
Click here for details: https://www.coralrestoration.org/post/dive-into-world-oceans-day-at-zoo-miami-with-captain-coral-s-scavenger-extravaganza-2023
And RSVP to our Facebook event here: https://fb.me/e/2VsSVi8qv
PARTY FOR THE PLANET AT ZOO MIAMI
Zoo Miami hosted Party for the Planet, a two day Earth day celebration. They invited the Coral Restoration Foundation as one of their special guests, as well as a DJ, and speakers that spoke about animals at the zoo and how to protect them and their environments.
Each day of the event, four interns spoke to visitors about our mission at Coral Restoration Foundation to restore the reefs of the Florida Keys. Participants were able to play trivia, testing their knowledge on recycling, diving, and coral reef ecology to win free ENSO rings. They also got the chance to try our sensory box to see what coral mucus, polyps, and coral feel like. Zoo Miami also hosted interactive animal enrichment activities. Two CRF interns created a coral-themed enrichment box for one of the animals at the zoo.
CORAL COMMUNITY CORNER
Like humans, corals excrete mucus. This mucus is used as a protective barrier from irritants, as protection from harmful UV rays, to grab morsels of food floating in the water, and to retain moisture if they are ever exposed to dry environments.
Florida is home to 10 species of dolphins, an animal that has adapted a unique way to fight off skin infections. Dolphins have been observed rubbing up against corals to heal skin infections and abrasions. Dolphins can get yeast, bacterial, and viral pox infections that can cause lesions as well as getting abrasions from run ins with other sea-life and boats. The dolphins will rub up against the corals to get mucus on their skin, mucus that is believed to contain antimicrobial and antibacterial properties. This behavior could mean that corals and their mucus could potentially be the pharmacy of the ocean!
From their observations of dolphins, scientists are looking to the sea to find medicine. Corals and sponges could be the cure to many superbugs that withstand current antibiotics, degenerative conditions that don’t currently have cure, and potentially even cancer. Corals and sponges may be the answer because they are sedentary animals that are unable to move to avoid a contaminated area and therefore have to develop their own chemical compounds to fight diseases and predators!
KEEP IN TOUCH!
Coral Restoration Foundation™ is an active member of the Florida Keys Community and we are always excited to join in for local outreach! You can keep up to date with all of the public outreach events we will be attending in upcoming months by subscribing to our email newsletter and checking our website calendar: https://www.coralrestoration.org/events
If you are hosting an event that you think CRF™ could make a difference at please let us know! We offer educational activities for all ages including an unforgettable virtual reality SCUBA dive through our Coral Tree™ Nursery! If you’d like CRF™ to be at your event please reach out to our Education and Outreach Coordinator Melissa Giresi via email mgiresi@coralrestoration.org
Written by: Julia, Former CRF Intern and Madalen Howard, Former CRF Communications and Outreach Coordinator
