Educational EcoExpedition to Bangka Island Open for Registration

Submitted by Reef Check Italy

An international educational expedition to Bangka Island, Indonesia, is now open for registration.  Reef Check Italy, the Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Sciences of the Sam Ratulangi University, and Coral Eye have organized an international field course on coral reef monitoring approaches. The expedition, which will take place from October 27 through November 4, 2018, is open to both marine biology students and volunteer divers from all around the world.

The course, taught in English, aims to:
•    provide the basic knowledge for the identification of hard corals and their diseases
•    present an overview on well-established coral reef monitoring approaches
•    teach different survey methods underwater, including Reef Check and Coral Watch protocols
•    contribute to the monitoring and conservation of the coral reefs at the Bangka outpost

The number of participants is limited to 15, including five fellowship winners. Reef Check Italy offers these fellowships to partially cover the cost of accommodations to the most deserving undergraduate students and young (< 28 yrs) graduate biologists or naturalists on the basis of their CV, diver qualifications, and previous volunteer experiences. Fellowship prizes are as follows:

•    1st place = € 800.00 (i.e. full board accommodations and dives)
•    2nd place = € 700.00
•    3rd place = € 600.00
•    4th place = € 500.00
•    5th place = € 400.00

Grant applications must be submitted by May 31, 2018. Grant selection results will be communicated by email and published on the website by June 18.  Application forms are available at https://reefcheckmed.org/italiano/reef-check-tropical/bangka-2018-bando/.

For more information, contact postmaster@reefcheckitalia.it.