As part of our effort this week to learn about corals, we are excited to have on Dan Burdeno from the Coral Restoration Foundation. Dan talks all about corals and how the foundation is working hard to restore our oceans corals. Coral’s are critical to a healthy ocean ecosystem and as we learned this week, they are in desperate need of our help. Listen to Dan to learn more.
Coral Restoration Foundation
The Coral Restoration Foundation is the World’s largest coral reef restoration organization in the world. Based out of Key Largo , Florida, members work hard to restore the coral reefs around the Florida reef tract. They are also sharing their knowledge to help coral reefs from around the world.
Biography
Dan’s love for the ocean and coral reefs began at an early age after numerous trips to the New England Aquarium. His first experience with coral restoration was in 2011 when he spent a week with CRF™ as a volunteer diver for Eckerd College. Since then Dan has made it his goal to work in the field of coral restoration. In December of 2016 he graduated from the University of Miami with a Masters degree in Marine Biology and Ecology. During his time at UM he worked with their coral restoration program, Rescue A Reef, where he was able to focus his thesis research on restoration and citizen science. He has received training as an AAUS Scientific diver and a PADI Dive Instructor and is completely at home working underwater. As part of the restoration team Dan is responsible for organizing and planning the dive schedule as well as conducting restoration activities across the board. This includes everything from building and designing new structures to coral propagation and active outplanting. Dan is also one of CRF’s boat captains and trip leads. His big passion project at CRF is the boulder coral program, where CRF has begun to fragment and outplant Orbicella spp. in an effort to broaden CRF’s species diversity.
