Dear {{recipient.first_name_or_friend}} 

Wow it's 2022 already and February! Our team had a well earned break but were back into the action by mid January. So much happened towards the end of last year that we could not fit it all in the December news, so we have included some in this months newsletter. We have lots of activities coming up in the next few months so we have a busy time ahead. 

This months email includes:

• Action of the Month: Love is in the air
• News from the Field
• Brain Food
• Current Coral Affairs
• Get With the Program

It's February, which means Love is in the air!

To celebrate, Februarys Action of the month is to bring more HEART into your life.

This month, we want to take a deep dive into looking at ways to bring more heart into everything we do, which means starting with yourself. It's been said time and time again; it's important to look after yourself, and with the world around us changing as often as it is, we want to make sure we really take that to heart. This month, let's make sure we all practice self-care first and foremost; fuelling our bodies, getting enough sleep, doing things that make us happy, connecting with nature, or reaching out to friends and family if we need support. The past days, weeks, months have been hard on many of us, so remember to be kind; to each other, and ourselves.

There are plenty of ways to bring more heart into all our lives; a heartfelt message, or note of appreciation is a beautiful way to show you care. Or a hug, some home baked goodies, a coffee, or even a walk with a friend who needs a friendly shoulder all encourages connection.

So, let's bring more heart into our lives this month; for yourself, those around you, and the planet. What will you do?

A small team got out on the beautiful Moreton Bay with our friends from River to Bay. Surface conditions were magical and although the underwater visibility was low, it was still enough to allow us to complete our 2 surveys at Mud Island. Once again, as happens every summer, we were greeted by large amounts of Sargassum algae, but we did find some small soft corals hiding amongst it. We look forward to our winter surveys when this algae has gone and we can see the amazing corals in this area.

This project has received funding support from the Port of Brisbane.

Clean up for the Hatchlings

Unfortunately due to Omicron the annual Clean-up-for-the-Hatchlings was not able to be run in it's normal format. We missed the interaction with all the community groups that get involved in this activity and the people who come along and help out with the snorkel. We did however still manage to get a team in the water to collect rubbish on behalf of this event.

Great Barrier Reef

Alma Bay, Magnetic Island, Clean Up

Participation in marine conservation activities is a fantastic way for the local community to connect with nature, learn about threats to its ongoing health and do something that can ‘make a difference’. Over the weekend Reef Check Australia in partnership with Tangaroa Blue hosted 24 enthusiastic volunteers at Alma Bay, Magnetic Island as part of the Great Barrier Reef ReefClean project. Participants completed an underwater and beach clean up. The dive team of four explored the seabed of Alma Bay looking for trash discarded or washed into the sheltered bay. Aluminium cans and broken glass along with a couple of hair ties dominated the limited debris located underwater. 18 Students from the local Pimlico State High School’s Global Studies program joined in the land based activities assisting Reef Check team leader, Nathan Cook in completing a thorough scour of the beach for debris. ‘I am amazed at how much rubbish we found’ said Pimlico student Satya Cook. “When we arrived the beach looked pretty clean so I am surprised we found so much rubbish’. The students completed an AUSMAP microplastics survey and a beach clean up. All rubbish found was sorted, categorised and uploaded to Tangaroa Blue’s Australian Marine Debris Initiative. Since 2004 more than 7 million pieces of data have been inputted into the Australian Marine Debris Database, creating a comprehensive overview of what amounts and types of marine debris are impacting beaches around the country. Among the debris found at Alma Bay on the weekend the rubbish was dominated by broken glass and plastic bits and pieces.

The @reefclean project is funded by the Australian Government’s Reef Trust and delivered by @tangaroablue Foundation and a number of partner organisations including Reef Check Australia

Nelly Bay, Magnetic Island, Clean Up

Despite the grey skies, a small team of Reef Check Australia volunteers ventured out to Nelly Bay at Magnetic Island in search of marine debris. We conducted a beach cleanup and an underwater cleanup, targeting around the backpackers and along the beach. We found 208 pieces of hard plastic remnants amongst other items like plastic cutlery, bottle lids, cigarette butts and aluminium cans and removed this from the area in time for the turtle hatchlings due to emerge in a months time! Thanks to our fantastic team of volunteers who weathered the rain and change of plans and made a day of it, we simply could not have done it without them!

The ReefClean project funded by the Australian Government’s Reef Trust, delivered by Tangaroa Blue Foundation and a number of partner organisations including Reef Check Australia.

Whale Sharks Biology, Ecology and Conservation. Edited by Alistair D.M. Dove and Simon J. Pierce

Want to know all about whale sharks? Did you know they are bigger than Megalodon? I have only read an excerpt from this book and it is amazing. They have brought together the world's leading experts on whale sharks to discuss the lives of these magnificent creatures.

Breath The New Science of a lost Art by James Nestor

If you're looking for an interesting read, this was one of the most popular books from the 2021 Mindlife Project Bookclub. There is nothing more essential to our health and well-being than breathing: take air in, let it out, repeat twenty-five thousand times a day. Yet, as a species, humans have lost the ability to breathe correctly, with grave consequences. Journalist James Nestor travels the world to figure out what went wrong and how to fix it.

Sunday 6 Feb | Moreton Bay Habitat Restoration, come and chat to our team. 6.30am for BBQ followed by a tour of the local ecological habitat . This will have representatives of UQ Marine Society, Ozfish, Reef Check etc to take tours of the under water environment. Mangroves, Migratory birds oyster reef restoration projects and more. Come and be a citizen science participant for a couple of hours and join our experts and be a tourist, for a brief encounter with the wild side of the world. Bring your camera, your children, grandparents etc and your wellies/ gumboots for a walk on the wild side of nature.
Meet you at the cnr of Endeavour Esplanade & Oyster Point Parade Scarborough.
6.30am to 11am Sunday
Contact [email protected] for more details

Reduce your carbon footprint in March 2022, while raising funds for environmental organisations (think Reef Check Australia). March 4 Earth is working to connect and empower Aussies to live more sustainably and support climate action. Find out how you can get involved by checking out their website.  

If you missed any of our Coast to Coral online events, remember you can always catch-up by taking a look at our YouTube Channel here  

Thanks for reading! If you want to help our work to empower more people to protect Australian reefs, please consider making a monthly tax-deductible donation. 

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Reef Check Australia
1/377 Montague Rd
West End, QLD 4101
Australia