The Reef Institute building out a new coral lab on South Caicos

Dear Friends and Supporters,

As we dive into Spring, we’re excited to share some of the amazing progress we’ve made since our last update. March was a period of growth, collaboration, and new opportunities, and we’re grateful to have you alongside us.

Last month, we had the incredible opportunity to head to South Caicos, where we were able to help and learn from the building of a 20ft self-contained, off-grid container coral lab. We also participated in the Sea Day outreach event, connecting with the community to raise awareness about marine conservation and inspire collective action for our reefs.

To top it off we’re also celebrating a couple of exciting team updates! We’ve officially welcomed a captain to our crew, which strengthens our ability to carry out our mission at sea. We had our first staff and core volunteer field trip to Grand Turk which was a huge success. To top it all off, our Executive Director was recently elected to the Board of Directors of the Turks and Caicos Hotel and Tourism Association—an honor that helps us further integrate conservation into the tourism industry.

While we celebrate these accomplishments, we’re also mindful of the challenges ahead. But with the support of our incredible partners (exciting news enclosed!!), we continue to move forward with determination and optimism.

Thank you for being a part of this journey. Your support makes all the difference as we continue our work to protect and preserve the beautiful reefs and marine life of the Turks and Caicos Islands.

With Hope,

Alizée Zimmermann
Executive Director
Turks and Caicos Reef Fund

Positives to keep our hearts inspired…

new coral lab in south caicos!

In March, our partners The Reef Institute (TRI) went to South Caicos to build out a solar-powered self-contained Coral Lab in a 20ft shipping container. This project, headed by the School for Field Studies (SFS) is part of the South Caicos Coral Reef Consortium which includes SFS, TRI, TC Reef, and Salterra Resort & Spa. Alizee was able to go over for a night to help and learn from the team as TC Reef continues working on our design for a 40ft biobank and container lab.

executive director elected to tchta board

On March 20th, Alizee Zimmermann was voted in to serve on the Board of the Turks and Caicos Hotel and Tourism Association (TCHTA) for the period of 2025-2027. She looks forward to serving and doing her part to increase stewardship and marine conservation amongst the sustainability initiatives of the TCHTA. Programs such as Reef Keepers have paved the way for collaborative partnerships with the hotel industry and this appointment as an Allied Board Member will only further strengthen our reach and impact.

field day to grand turk

Thanks to our Advisory Board Member Ed Forbes of Exclusive Escapes Grand Turk and Katharine Hart of the TCI Whale Project (@tciwhaleproject), our staff and core volunteers had an amazing day trip to Grand Turk.

We were lucky to have some wonderful whale encounters, and take in the views!

Thank you to everyone who helped make this happen. It was a great team bonding experience!

Eric Cardin, TC Reef Volunteer & Captain of Reefsaver

A DEDICATED CAPTAIN FOR REEFSAVER

We are thrilled to announce that we now have a dedicated boat captain on our team, and the Reefsaver is going out twice a week!

Over the years, we've been lucky to have amazing captains who volunteered their time on their days off. However, since Don's retirement in 2022, we’ve lacked a regular captain, which, during busy seasons, has limited our ability to get out on the water as often.

Enter Eric Cardin. A TC Reef volunteer for over 5 years, Eric has increasingly taken on more responsibilities, particularly with mooring installations. Recently, he earned his captain’s license and now runs the Reefsaver twice a week. This is a game-changer!

With a dedicated captain, we can now establish a weekly mooring day, ensuring that each of the five geographical areas we maintain around Providenciales gets inspected every five weeks. The second weekly field day is reserved for tasks such as coral nursery work, swim zone installations, and reef monitoring efforts.

Sea day in south caicos

While we were in South Caicos, we also had the opportunity to participate in the SFS ‘Sea Day’ outreach event, where groups of students from both primary and middle school visited the campus to learn about the many wonderful and important aspects of our seas.

It was an inspiring day of education and connection, as young learners engaged with marine life, conservation efforts, and the vital role the ocean plays in our lives and environment.

Challenges we’re facing…

mooring infrastructure

We are actively working on improving the mooring infrastructure for snorkel sites along the north coast of Providenciales and along the Caicos Cays.

The boats are getting larger every year and it’s time to upgrade the Leeward snorkel sites to double rock pins to meet the weight requirements and demands.

This project will cost approximately $20,000