Panay Explorers Reef Dome Project

[Babydamulag]

EXCELLENT IDEA!!! I actually thought about getting the SB members together to "get their hands dirty" as a way to spark interest. All of my cousins (children) loved making the ones on Christmas Eve. We are already going to mark them with their names. They made the cutest mini-reef domes! These will go on top of the stacks and will be wired in place. After doing this for a few days it is still fun. You idea is right on target though. I will talk to our Barangay Captain (for those that don't know - that is the lowest level government leader of the communities in the Philippines) to see if we can do an after school project with the local children. Keep the ideas coming.....I enjoy reading them and implementing them.
My OPEN WATER students donated 1000 pesos when they saw what we were doing. Of course they will get personalized domes as well.
Jag - We will mark yours tomorrow!

 

[D_B]

Thats a great idea! ... You guys are Awesome!

 

[CODMAN]

Hmmm... Child labor in the Philippines.... Would make NIKE proud..... Bwaaahaaa.... I'm kidding of course!!!

It really is a good idea! The the best part is the educational value you are implementing at a very early age! They might just grow up seing just how much it's in their, and the communities, interest of protecting the reefs and developping eco-tourism!

By the way baby D, texture is a good thing for helping colonisation!! Get as much in there as you can! If you gave those domes a smooth teflon surface, you wouldn't get many results! The texture helps those colonising organisms anchor themselves and build the first layer if living reef over the artificial part! And then you,re on your way...

Hey babyD, ever think of starting a VOLUNTEER program for building the domes? You could charge 200, maybe 300$ a week so that people can come from around the world to volunteer making domes for the projects!:cool2: With the right marketting angle, it's sure to work!!! Bwaaahaa

Happy holidays!

hey babyd, at the rate you're going it's not going to take long before it becomes a whole community effort...

a small idea (it might work):

propose to the local school (public or private w/c ever) and do a small interesting lecture on the marine ecosystem and how a reef works to keep the world spinning, how humans destroy the fragile system, how humans CAN help save it and how tourists will come when the fish are there...

then you take the kids out to play with shovels, stone and cement!

you'll probably have to feed them but a few boxes of zesto and some commercialized spaghetti goes a long way in satisfying hungry child workers...

after a couple days of curing each kid gets to write his/ her name in glowing red marine paint on a reef ball he/ she helped build...

you take photos both above water and below and over the span of a few months (by summer actually) you'll have a pretty cool photo gallery!

involving the kids gives them a sense of ownership - the investment could potentially pay off big time when they have to make the choice of destroying or preserving the environment in the future...

Jag

 

[Babydamulag]

New pictures

JAG - As promised. I hope you like it.

We also took a picture of the "ready to go" REEF DOMES.......
Another 5 tomorrow!







We will also make one for each dive site so you know where you are when you are diving.

 

[shugar]

thanks babyd! truly appreciate it

Jag

 

[Babydamulag]

You are very welcome! We hope that one day you can come and see how well it is doing.

 

[shugar]

i look forward to it... i might suddenly get a flight sked to kalibo then i can hop a jeep or something to your place...

Jag

 

[Babydamulag]

Another Day At The Reef Dome Factory

Well, here we are.......another day at the reef dome factory. The guys wanted to make 5 more. It is really a great after-lunch project. We are working on the resort property and our house property. At the same time we have students and fun divers......yep, it was supposed to be a vacation. NOT! But is a BLAST!
The guys wanted to move around a bit after lunch so they wanted to make more domes! We are blessed with some great employees. See the photos below. We have come up with a "BABY DOME". Just check out the pictures....



New Dome coming out



Baby Domes.



This is a cemented in plastic crate for starter coral plugs. It is a coral nursery kind of device.



A wet dome that will come out tomorrow for curing.

 

[Babydamulag]

SURPRISE!!!
We have 5 more reef domes in molds now.......but.....
I discovered we can buy RED MANGROVE starter trees for 10 pesos each. That is great news for us since our resort property is in front of some beautiful nipa wetlands. We're cutting a road through it (no choice, our land and we need a road) so we'll use the mini reef domes to house the starter mangrove trees that we plant. The nipa is nice but we need something to hold the soil next to the new access road. So, by way of chance, the domes will also used for mangrove starters....WooHoo!!! Gotta love that one!!

 

[D_B]

OK, you guys are getting too carried away with all this

:bounce3: :bounce3: :bounce3: