CNMI Coral Reef Initiative Program
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Coral Reef Initiative Outreach Activities
A CNMI Coral Reef Initiative was started in 1997 in conjunction with the first International Year of the Coral Reef. Funding through US Coral Reef Initiative Mangement and Monitoring Grant programs provided renewed momentum for this program. The listing below is only a partial overview of CNMI's coral reef focused outreach and education activities. A selection of CNMI CRI funded products can be downloaded at the Coastal Resources Management Office Education Webpage.
Coral Reef Fisheries Habitat Protection at CNMI Dive Sites
Click the link above to learn more about an ongoing project to install and maintain moorings with the help of local stakeholders.
Internship program
Since 2002 college students and recent High School Graduates, have completed summer internships at the Division of Environmental Quality , Coastal Resources Management Office and Division of Fish and Wildlife. Their projects included developing a survey for a watershed outreach campaign, orthorectifying aerial photographs, and assisting in coral reef research efforts, to name a few.
Environmental Newspaper Column
Starting on October 7, 2004 outreach staff have written weekly articles on environmental topics for the Saipan Tribune.
Educational Materials
*With the assistance of the education and outreach intern, a series of 5 educational placemats were created to distribute to local restaurants. Topics covered by the placemats include marine debris, fish identification, a coral reef word scramble, and coral reef friendly tips for fishermen.
*Magnet with coral reef tips,
*Posters about marine debris and the value of coral reefs,
*Snorkeling and diving brochure
*Coral reef friendly boating display for Boater's Awareness Week.
*Permit process brochure
*Environmental trivia game
*A series of Power Point presentations on CNMI Coral Reefs (importance, threats, what you can do), and Hazardous Marine Life and General Marine Safety, Fish Identification
Fishing Regulations Booklet
In conjunction with DFW, the CRM Outreach coordinator created a fishing regulations brochure. The brochure incorporates educational material and simplifies the regulations for local fishermen.
MARAMP 2005 cruise website
An educational website was developed for the biannual Marianas Archipelago Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program, on board the NOAA vessel Oscar Elton Sette. An onboard educator posted daily logs from the field, wrote feature articles, and answered questions submitted to the website. The site was very well received by local schools.
Outreach-related meetings and training
A series of meetings and training events were held to increase managerial support for outreach and education, and to assist in outreach planning efforts within the three management agencies. A contractor from Canada was hired to facilitate individual meetings at CRM, DEQ, and DFW, as well as with the coral reef committees. The contractor also ran two training sessions; an introductory message development seminar for a broad audience, and a more targeted session on creating outreach campaigns.
Participation in regional training event
Eight staff members from CRM, DEQ, DFW, and the Western Pacific Fisheries Management Council attended a regional outreach and education training session in Hawaii. CNMI's attendees showcased outreach materials they had produced, and participated in a panel on the various types of media that can be used for outreach.
Volunteer monitoring
The CRM outreach coordinator has assisted in a community volunteer reef flat monitoring program, as well as in a school monitoring project run by a local private school.
Curricula
Several curricula have been created to assist teachers in educating students about environmental issues.
*A small grant was awarded to ARC environmental services to create a middle school environmental curriculum. That is currently in the final stages of completion.
*Coral reef trunks for elementary school teachers were completed.
*A watershed curriculum was produced by John Furey.
*A K-12 coral reef curriculum is currently up for contract.
Snorkeling and Diving awareness
A safe snorkeling/diving short video PSA has been created. It has run on the local cable television visitor's channel since 2006.
Fairs and school visits
Presentations about the value of coral reefs and the threats to the ecosystem have been made at a variety of outreach events, including the annual DEQ Environmental Expo, the EcoArts Fest, Rota Watershed Fair, Build a Castle Save a Reef sandcastle building competition, and CNMI Recycles Day. In addition, the CRM and DFW outreach coordinators and the Coral Management Fellow have given presentations to multiple school classes.
Dive/snorkel video
A dive and snorkel video was produced by a contractor, and will be shown on the visitor's channel.
CNMI Organization for Conservation Outreach (CoCo) Interagency campaign
CoCo was established to assist the agencies in coordinating various environmental interagency outreach efforts. It is an organization with representatives from many different government agencies, including CRM, DEQ, DFW, DPW, NMC CREES, CUC, and the Division of Forestry. Currently the group is working to develop messages for a coral reef educational campaign. Other ongoing projects are regularly scheduled radio talk show appearances and coordinated island wide school visits.
