'Sounds' like we ALL need to get involved!

• For our service learning project we had a difficult time figuring out the ways we could help save the Coral Reefs, that didn’t include us flying to Hawaii.  (Which of course we would have loved to do!) What we decided to do was to reach out to local environmental groups that are involved with cleaning up our oceans and local bodies of water.  We figured that helping a group that is trying to clean up the oceans is a roundabout way of helping to save the Coral Reefs. (Because all of the Oceans are connected)  We contacted the group Salem Sound Coastwatch, and the people we spoke with were very nice and welcoming.  Salem Sound Coastwatch is a group whose mission is to protect and improve the environmental quality of Salem Sound and its watershed.  They were excited to have us help out and were also very appreciative of our time spent there.  

• On Saturday, March 26 Salem Sound Coastwatch held a symposium titled “What is the State of Salem Sound? Past, Present and Future.”  The Symposium was held at Salem State University in the Marsh Hall Conference Room and ran from 9:00am until 12:30pm.  There were speakers who presented several different issues that are arising with the ecological condition of the Salem Sound.  Our job was to hold signs outside of the building to direct people to the correct location of the symposium.  Although this job seems less important we were actually surprised at how many people thanked us for being there to direct them into the building.  Marsh Hall is a newer building so people were having a hard time finding it, and when they got inside they told the director of the group that the “two girls standing out front” were nice, pleasant and helpful!  

Do you want to help out Salem Sound Coastwatch?

Click HERE for contact information and to read about what other things Salem Sound Coastwatch is doing to help save the Sound. 

                                         Reflecting Back...

Danielle's Reflection:  

        I enjoyed researching ideas for a service learning project and working with Leah on creating our project.   In doing this project, I learned a lot of new information on the damage being done to Coral Reefs.  I found that working on a project to help your community and/or the environment is very beneficial to me and would also be for my future students.  I understand that holding a sign outside of a building isn’t doing ALL that much to help the community but what we were holding the signs for was really helping the Salem Sound and spreading the word about it.  I also believe that any little thing that you can do WILL help.  I would absolutely help Salem Sound Coastwatch out again because when you are finished with your service learning project you feel very good about yourself and that you may have made a difference. 

       I think that I would like to have my future students create their own service learning project because I believe they would find it to be very beneficial.  I also think that because it gets the students out of the classroom they will be more interested and apt to help out their community! 

Leah's Reflection:
                I really enjoyed working with Danielle on this project and the service learning project. By engaging in this project, I really learned a lot about the coral reefs. I never knew that there were so many ways that they were being damaged. While researching information I thought to myself, I wish there was something I could do, but there are no coral reefs near me. Danielle and I quickly found out that even though we do not live near a coral reef, there is a LOT that we can do to help. Raising awareness is extremely important in helping to save coral reefs. Not many people know about the damages being done to the coral reefs and how it can affect ourselves and the ocean. Also, using less water and not polluting helps to ensure a healthier environment for the coral reefs to flourish. Like Danielle said, anything we do, no matter how small, WILL help. 
                I really enjoyed volunteering at the Salem Sound Coastwatch. It was great to see so many people caring about the Salem Sound and wanting to help. I would definitely love to help the Salem Sound Coast watch again. When I am a teacher I will definitely have my students do a service learning project. Doing a service learning project helps you become aware of your surroundings and the problems around you and it makes you feel good about yourself. If I teach older students, I would have them find their own service learning project. If I teach younger kids, we would brainstorm together and participate in a service learning project as a group. Like Danielle said, it would help students become more involved in their communities and become more aware of the problems around them.

Let's All Join in and Make a Change!

You may be thinking, “What can I possibly do to help save the coral reefs?”

We did some research and found tons of websites that are dedicated to helping save the reefs.

Below is a list of websites that we found to be the best websites for this issue:

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has created a top 25 list of things you can do to save the coral reefs.

http://www.publicaffairs.noaa.gov/25list.html

The Nature Conservancy is the leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people.

This website allows you to adopt a coral reef
Adopt a Coral Reef

More ways we can help through this website:

• Become a member of the Nature Conservancy or donate money- which enables them to continue working on a scale that matters and implement solutions that endure 
• Donate online: By giving an online donation you are providing essential funding for conservation initiatives that have been identified as needing the most support.
• Become a member: By joining the Conservancy today, you will be welcomed into a family of dedicated individuals committed to saving the last great places on Earth.

* We have emailed Abigail Alling, the general information specialist of the Planetary Coral Reef Foundation (PCRF). The Planetary Coral Reef Foundation's mission is to "stop the destruction of the world's coral reefs by 2020 and restore their beauty, health and abundance within this century". The members of the PCRF are amazing people who are doing all they can to help save these amazing coral reefs. We asked Abigail for more information about coral reefs in general and the danger they are in. We also asked her what we could do to help out. We are excited to hear back from her. 
If anyone feels as strongly as we do about the coral reef issue and wants to contact a member of the PCRF, click here!!

Critical Attributes Strategy

What is critical attributes strategy?

                The focal point of this strategy is to teach the procedural knowledge of a specific concept so that students will not form incorrect ideas and beliefs about the important topics at hand. 

Critical Attributes of Coral Reefs	Noncritical Attributes of Coral Reefs
Overfishing is hazardous to the balance of coral reefs.	Coral can be different colors.
Hurricanes, storms, etc. can cause an imbalance in the coral reefs.	Coral can be all different shapes and sizes.
Destruction of coral reefs affects humans.
Coral reefs are made up of plants, animals, and organisms.

  

We believe that in order to understand how and why coral reefs are being destroyed we first need to understand what coral reefs are and what they are made up of. 

Informational Knowledge of Coral Reefs

What makes up a coral reef. (click here to find out)

How the environment of the coral reef works.                 

The different types of coral.

Each part of the coral reef environment depends on each other.

Procedural Knowledge of Coral Reefs

The coral reefs are being destroyed by overfishing.

The coral reefs are being destroyed by storms, hurricanes, etc.

Imbalances of the coral reefs are occurring because of these factors. 

-In order to teach our topic we believe that it needs to be presented in an easy to understand language and there also needs to be accessible information such as quick definitions for coral reefs.  We also believe that too much information cannot be covered at once and new topics and subjects will be introduced at a steady pace. 

Hard Coral, Soft Coral, and Fish are just a few of the many things you find on a coral reef

Coral Reef Zones

What do you know about Coral?

            Coral is made up of thin layers of calcium carbonate. The calcium carbonate comes from hundreds of soft-bodied animals known as coral polyps. Just like a plant, coral goes through a process of photosynthesis and requires a large amount of sunlight. This is why coral reefs are found in shallow, clear water. 
            There are two kinds of coral: hard and soft. Hard corals have a stiff exoskeleton that protects their bodies. Some examples of hard coral are brain, star, staghorn, and pillar corals. Soft corals do not have an exoskeleton which allows them to sway with the currents and waves. Some examples of soft coral are sea fans, sea whips, and sea rods.

           Second to tropical rain forests, coral reefs are the most biologically diverse ecosystems on earth. Coral reefs are not made up solely of coral. They also contain sponges, crustaceans, mollusks, fish, sea turtles, sharks, dolphins, and many more things. Each part of the coral reef is interconnected with innumerable amounts of other plants, animals, and organisms.

            Since everything that is a part of the coral reef is interconnected, the balance of the coral reef can fluctuate drastically. For example, variation of one species can drastically change both the diversity and abundances of others. These variations can come from natural causes such as hurricanes or large storms. Unfortunately, it is more common that these variations occur from the result of people. For example, overfishing is hazardous to the balance of coral reef. When fishermen overfish herbivorous fish, there is an increase in the growth of algae and sea grass. This may result in the over abundance of other herbivorous marine life, such as sea urchins.

What are some ways we can help preserve coral reefs in known areas of destruction?

Do the fishermen know they are destroying these beautiful reefs?

To find out what is being done to prevent the destruction of coral reefs click below. 

Art Contest for Coral Reefs

Facts about Coral Reefs

http://reefrelief.org/learn/coral-reef-ecosystem/

                                                                     Soft Coral 

Hard Coral

Let's begin...

Hello everyone! Our names are Leah Potcner, Danielle Jones and Sal DiStefano.  We are in the Arts and Social Studies section of the curriculum block at Salem State University and have been assigned a group research project. Our topic is about the Coral Reefs and how they are in serious danger! This not only affects living things in the ocean, but it also affects US! "Coral Reefs benefit the environment and people in numerous ways such as protecting shores from the impact of waves and from storms, providing benefits to humans in the form of food and medicine, and providing economic benefits to local communities from tourism". (Coral Reefs: Ecosystems of Environmental and Human Value)

The reason we are researching this is because the Coral Reef is so valuable and we really need to be aware of how much danger it is in. It is hard to be aware of it because it is not something that we can easily see - such as the rain forest. We can all see that the rain forests are being destroyed, but because Coral Reefs are underwater, it is "out of sight, out of mind". We really need to raise our awareness on this issue and we are hoping that our research project will help all of you to become more aware as well.