Eyes of the Reef Marianas (EOR Marianas) has resumed its in-person training sessions, marking their first seminar since the COVID-19 pandemic.
The citizen science program teaches local water enthusiasts how to identify and report threats to Guam’s coral reefs, allowing biologists to gather long-term data and stay informed about reef health.
The recent training session covered coral identification, the ecological importance of coral reefs, and the causes and effects of coral bleaching.
Sabrina Medina is a fellow with the Guam Coral Reef Initiative and helped organize the training session. She said community involvement can help preserve reefs.
“There are more people on the reef snorkeling every day than we’re able to get out and see ourselves,” said Medina. “And so this is a really easy way for the community to stay in touch with what we’re doing, and then we’ll actually respond to those threats, and it helps us.”
Organizers plan to hold more training sessions throughout the year.
