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Island reef adventure for Tourism students
Four University of the Sunshine Coast students will snorkel around Queensland’s most southern coral cay island in an exciting assignment to deepen their understanding of tourism and the environment.
The Bachelor of Business (Tourism) students will travel to Lady Elliot Island off Bundaberg for four days this month to get up close and personal with the marine flora and fauna they are researching.
Raechyl French, 19, of Gympie, and Krystal Ashby, 17, of Narangba, said they couldn’t wait to start the project on 22 May.
They will be launching a pilot program involving USC, Tourism Queensland and Reef Check Australia, a global network of volunteers who monitor reef and ocean health.
Joining them will be Ben Southall, of “Best Job in the World” fame, visiting the island for his “Best Expedition in the World” campaign for Tourism Queensland.
Reef Check Australia General Manager Jennifer Loder, who discussed the plan with the University students on campus recently, said it would promote community education and conservation of reef resources while collecting useful information for an online database.
“USC has been really supportive of Reef Check’s south-east Queensland projects, helping with training and local expertise, and this project will continue to build on our great working relationship,” Ms Loder said.
The new Reef-Search program involves snorkellers and divers recording their observations and photographs of marine organisms on underwater slates.
The group wants people to look more closely at the reefs they visit and develop their appreciation of reef ecology and management.
USC Tourism Lecturer, internship coordinator and member of the USC Sustainability Research Centre, Dr Gayle Mayes said the students would greatly benefit from their “island internship”.
The program was expected to be a long-term collaboration between the University, Lady Elliot Island and Reef Check.
“Students in future years can snorkel the same sites and examine trend data,” Dr Mayes said.
“It will give them a better understanding of sustainable tourism practices while helping improve our knowledge about the health of the fragile reef environment.”
— Julie Gatehouse