I’m contacting you on behalf of Reef Renewal USA, an organization near and dear to my heart, whose mission is to renew the coral reefs of Florida. As an avid scuba diver, I have appreciated the beauty and ecological significance of coral reefs for a long time. My motivation being on the board of RRUSA is in knowing that we can’t stand by and do nothing as these precious coral reefs decline. I believe we must act so that future generations will enjoy their beauty and ecological significance as we did.
I have served on the Executive Board for RRUSA as a Board Member since 2023. Since its inception the people at RRUSA have made great progress in restoration methods which will improve the state of the Florida Keys coral reefs. Growing and planting thousands of new corals, educating and training youth and adult divers to volunteer in the coral nurseries, and forming meaningful collaborations with coral practitioners, scientists, government agencies, and dive shops are some of RRUSA’s milestones so far.
This year, I’m proud to showcase an important new chapter in RRUSA’s operations: a land-based coral production facility in Ruskin, Florida. This state-of-the-art aquaculture facility offers exciting new opportunities which will be piloted by members of a newly formed Science Advisory Committee. We will continue to grow corals in the offshore nurseries, but with this added land-based component we have greatly increased space for coral production. This new chapter means we can achieve the coral production goals set forth by NOAA to replace lost coral cover in Florida over the next 10 years. But the huge potential for this space hasn’t been fully funded yet.
With every donation we can increase the staff hours and materials needed to fill the available space in Ruskin with more coral. For your 2024 year-end giving I am asking you to adopt a coral or make a commitment for an annual adoption that will sustain production over the long term.
Here’s how you can help:
- Adopt a coral
- Adopt an elkhorn tree
- Adopt a boulder coral tree. (For contributions larger than $1000, let’s make a time to discuss a personalized adoption package.)
- Donate your Stream2Sea points – Exchange 500 points to donate $5 to Reef Renewal USA
I hope you will consider supporting Reef Renewal USA grow and plant more corals for the future reef. Let’s do what we can today to give future generations a healthy coral reef ecosystem to enjoy.
Ecoconsciously,
Autumn Blum
CEO & Founder of Stream2Sea