Cayman: Local education programmes thrive and research progresses at CCMI

Local Scholarship-Funded Education Continues, Research Update & Looking Ahead

This summer, CCMI hosted two week-long Caribbean Marine Ecology Camp (CMEC) sessions for local students, supported by the R3 Cayman Foundation and the Edmund F. and Virginia B. Ball Foundation. Ocean Science Scholarships fully funded the experience for 13 students and provided additional support for local interns.

Jovian, one of the Ocean Science Scholars had this to say about the experience, “(The course) changes how you look at the world and how much humans have affected it.”

We're excited that the 2020 Young Environmentalist Leadership Course is under way! We have six students from Grand Cayman participating and one student from Cayman Brac. Two Ocean Science Scholars who participated in the CMEC were also admitted as YELC participants. The students are all currently undertaking scuba training in preparation for their trip to the Little Cayman Research Centre November 29 - December 4.

CCMI is grateful for the support of Go Pro Cayman Diving, Reef Divers Cayman Brac, Foster's and Cayman National Bank in making this programme possible.

We are also thrilled to announce that two lucky Year 6 classes from Creek & Spot Bay Primary School on Cayman Brac and Sir John A Cumber Primary School on Grand Cayman have been selected as the recipients of a fully-funded Marine Ecology Course experience in Little Cayman this December, generously sponsored by the Boda Charitable Trust. Students will fly to Little Cayman and spend three days and two nights learning about coral reef ecosystems at the Little Cayman Research Centre. We had many deserving applicants this year and will be planning one-day in-school experiences for all of the other classes who applied.

Research Update

CCMI's research initiatives have continued apace this year, with field work taking place on all three Cayman Islands. CCMI's team has conducted our annual fish and coral surveys around Little Cayman as well as "Quiet Ocean" fish surveys on Grand Cayman and Little Cayman. Data from these surveys will contribute to long-term analysis and understanding of our reef health state and the impact of humans on our reefs. Our coral restoration work continues, as our staff monitor, measure, maintain and characterize experimental coral outplants and coral fragments in our nursery setting. In October, the team observed 89% average survival of staghorn coral outplants on the experimental coral dome structures that were installed in the spring. Dr. Gretchen Goodbody-Gringley has also assisted the Cayman Islands Department of Environment with surveying and sampling coral from Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman for analysis related to the arrival of Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease on Grand Cayman.