Yesterday was easily my favorite day so far—packed with fieldwork, discovery, and some truly inspiring conservation efforts. We started the day at Cayo Media Luna, where we set BRUVs (Baited Remote Underwater Video), measured transects, and collected sediment cores to analyze seagrass biomass. After finishing up, we got the chance to snorkel in the deepest water I’ve ever swum in, where we finally encountered a vibrant, living coral reef. We saw butterflyfish, boxfish, angelfish, and even cuttlefish—an incredible contrast to the damaged coral areas we've seen in heavily trafficked tourist zones. The snorkel was a powerful reminder of what healthy reefs look like and how important it is to minimize our impact on the water.
Back on land, we toured the university’s marine labs and learned about their amazing restoration projects. They are farming crabs and sea urchins to aid in coral growth. They also take corals from the wild, bring them back, and saw them into fragments! You would think this is counterproductive, right? Wrong! Adding to the surface area of the edges actually encourages growth! One of the most exciting parts was seeing pillar corals (pictured) being grown in the lab—an especially sensitive species that’s rare to find in the wild. Watching science in action gave me so much hope for reef restoration and confirmed my passion for this field.
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