Here’s to the Winners!

Announcing this Year’s Reef Alliance Award Recipients

Each year, Reef Alliance (a conservation program sponsored by Sub Sea Systems) and its partners participate in the International Coastal Cleanup, an international volunteer effort founded by the Ocean Conservancy.

This worldwide cleanup event has made a tremendous impact on our waterways and sea life. Since its inception in 1985, over 249 million pounds of trash have been removed by over 12 million volunteers!

DePalm Cleanup Results

The International Coastal Cleanup is just one of many volunteer events that Reef Alliance members participated in throughout 2018. Members and volunteers also focused on conservation, education and proactive efforts within their communities. In recognition of these efforts, Reef Alliance selects one member as the recipient of the annual Reef Alliance Award. We are proud to announce that the 2018 Reef Alliance award winner is De Palm Tours, Aruba.

De Palm Tours, founded in 1960, operates a wide variety of tours and adventures for Aruba vacationers. De Palm Tours is committed to environmental and social sustainability, and is “silver certified” in the EarthCheck Certification Program.

DePalm Volunteers, Cleaning Up

De Palm completes weekly cleanups of the reef and beaches surrounding De Palm Island. For International Coastal Cleanup Day and Reef Alliance Day, De Palm hosted two cleanup projects and volunteered in a third. For the hosted projects, the team selected an area on De Palm Island that was not part of their weekly cleanups, but was inundated with trash and debris. 44 volunteers participated in the cleanup and helped move large boulders that were blocking access to the area, which will discourage illegal dumping in the future. A second cleanup of the site focused on the waters near the area. Participants included Sea TREK, SNUBA, Aruba Lionfish Initiative Foundation (ALFI) and Scubble Bubbles Foundation (coral restoration) divers. De Palm’s office staff also participated in the Aruba Hotel & Tourism Association (AHATA) cleanup.

Building "Trees" for Coral Propagation

In addition to cleanup efforts, De Palm staff is working with a group of local students to develop a coral nursery. The project received approval from the Ministerie of Milieu, allowing the students to grow and handle Staghorn Coral (acorpora cervicornis). Once established, the coral will be transplanted onto a special wall along the De Palm Sea TREK trail– creating a new home for marine life and implementing an extra dimension of sustainable tourism to the attraction. The group hopes to receive approval to grow a second type of coral in the near future.

Working With the Community

Included in its initiatives, De Palm Island hosts ALFI divers for a weekend of Lionfish hunting once per month, which raises awareness and creates a fun and educational adventure for families. Year-to-date, the ALFI divers have removed nearly 2,000 Lionfish. On average, a single, invasive Lionfish can eat 5,000 reef fish, crabs and lobsters per year. These efforts will have saved nearly 10 million native fish from the voracious Lionfish!

To learn more about De Palm’s conservation efforts, follow them on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/depalmisland

Check Out DePalm's Cleanup Here!

Incredible Efforts

In addition to the amazing efforts of De Palm Tours, Sub Sea Systems would also like to recognize OdySea Aquarium as the second place Reef Alliance award-winner for 2018.

OdySea Staff, Collecting Data

The team at OdySea adopted a site along the Salt River, an area known for wild horses, for routine monthly cleanups. On International Coastal Cleanup Day, OdySea organized two cleanup projects– one at Saguaro Lake and a second at Lake Pleasant. Additionally, OdySea was selected to pilot a new data collection form for Ocean Conservancy.

In collaboration with Arizona State University, OdySea worked with students to develop a program addressing single-use plastics. OdySea team members also volunteered at local school events, Boys & Girls Club lessons, and recently added a new conservation internship program.

In March 2018, OdySea earned the prestigious AZA accreditation (Association of Zoos & Aquariums), recognizing the facility as a leader in animal care and welfare, conservation, conservation education and professional excellence. This is an extremely challenging endorsement to receive, and speaks volumes of OdySea’s committed efforts.

OdySea Team, Cleaning Up

OdySea Aquarium’s Conservation Committee is responsible for organizing a full schedule of events throughout the year, including cleanup projects, school programs, community outreach and hosted events.

To learn more about OdySea’s conservation program, visit: www.odyseaaquarium.com/care-conservation/ 

We appreciate our operators and teams for being committed to conservation and cleanup efforts, not only during Coastal Cleanup, but throughout the year. Thank you to all of this year’s participants. Together, we can make a difference in keeping our waterways pristine and sea life safe.