IYOR – a year of learning and action to care for our reefs
As 2008 comes to a close, so too does the International Year of the Reef (IYOR) campaign. Throughout this year, Hawai‘i has joined many other states and countries across the globe to focus attention on the importance of coral reefs to our everyday lives and what we all can do to better care for them.
Sunrise above Haleakalā viewed from Kaho‘olawe, taken at an IYOR co-sponsored teacher training workshop by photographer Andrea Charuk.
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Hawaii’s International Year of the Reef campaign was coordinated by a partnership among Mālama Hawai‘i, the State Department of Land and Natural Resources, NOAA, Coral Reef Outreach Network, and the Office of the Mayor, Maui County and its committee – Ola nā papa i pūlama ‘ia. Together with dozens of other organizations, we held educational activities celebrating our coral reefs on every major Hawaiian Island except Ni‘ihau, reaching many thousands of people of all ages. In addition, with the help of a lot of talented people, we created a wide variety of informational materials as well as television and radio public service announcements and a central website, www.givethereefabreak.org. Media attention on coral reefs increased significantly this year, informing the public about new scientific studies about the health of our reefs and fisheries and how community groups are caring for their bays, beaches and reefs.
Volunteers participated in countless beach and alien algae clean ups, reef and human use monitoring activities, educational fairs, native plant giveaways, film festivals, art contests, teacher workshops, sustainable fishing tournaments, concerts, conferences and much more. And we collected nearly a thousand signatures from everyday people to pledge to care for the reefs. What a year!
But as we all know too well, caring for our reefs and ‘āina from the mountains to the sea cannot stop just because a campaign comes to an end. It’s something we must continue each and everyday. To support continued information sharing about our reefs and what we can do as volunteers, we will keep the www.givethereefabreak.org website updated and active for at least one more year.
Mahalo nui loa to the generous grants received from the Hawai‘i Tourism Authority, NOAA, Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument and in-kind support from The Nature Conservancy and many other organizations to fuel this grass-roots campaign.
Let’s remember . . . More reefs, more fish, more fun, mo‘ bettah! |
