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About Blue Water Volunteers The Blue Water Volunteers (BWV) is a marine conservation volunteer group who seek to complement current research activities and increase awareness and understanding of local marine habitats such as coral reefs. We strive to achieve our aims for marine conservation, awareness and education through our four main programmes: ReefFriends, ReefWalk, ReefTalk and ReefExhibits. ReefFriends is mainly a coral reef survey programme. Volunteers are SCUBA divers who are trained mainly in Reef Check or line-intercept transect (AIMS LIT) methods. Survey trips are conducted in conjunction with the National Parks Board. Co-ordinated by Jani Thuaibah and team, you can find out more about the programme HERE. You can also visit the blog of the dives HERE. ReefWalk is an outreach programme. Volunteer guides bring up to 100 participants from members of the public to view and experience the coral reefs of Kusu Island during low tide. The guided walks are free-of-charge, but participants need to pay for their and the guides� transport to the island. Co-ordinated by Minsheng and team, you can find out more about the programme HERE and read the blog of the walks HERE. ReefTalk is also another of our education and outreach activity. Local researchers and conservationists are invited to present and engage members of the public on topics and issues pertaining to marine conservation and biodiversity. Our diverse ReefTalk topics include "Sex on the Coral Reef" and "Life on the Edge: Southern Haunt". All talks are free of charge. Co-ordinated by Dionne, you can find out more about the programme HERE. ReefExhibits is our publicity as well as outreach programme. Colourful photos of Singapore's rich marine biodiversity and information pamphlets are displayed at booths during various activities, BWV or otherwise, throughout the year. If you need more information, you can also talk to our volunteers at the booths who will readily share with you about marine life in Singapore. Guidesheets and books on marine life in Singapore, along with marine-themed toys are also on sale at the booths, as part of our fund-raising effort. ReefExhibits also showcase BWV activities at relevant events, such as Celebrate the Sea and Asian Dive Expo. Co-ordinated by Abby and team, you can find out more about the programme HERE. A short history of BWV as told by Jeffrey Low The formation of the Blue Water Volunteers was the result of one-too-many drinks at a Christmas party in 2002. An innocent question from the head of the Reef Ecology Lab (as it was then known), on who would like to run coral reef survey expeditions to Cambodia, got a chorus of "Yes!" "Me!" from his assistants. The direct result of this was the first Koh Kong Expedition (KK1), funded by the Singapore International Foundation. Subsequently, KK2 and KK3 were run, including Beyond Lands End (or BLE) 1, 2 and 3, Project Comeco in East Timor and Surin 1 and 2 in Thailand. Long before the latest expeditions were run, however, the question of what to do with the return volunteers arose. A lot of time and effort had been expended to train these volunteers in reef survey work. Researchers at NUS had spent countless hours refining the training materials into a slick presentation. The team leaders and scientific officers of these trips had accumulated tremendous knowledge on organizing expeditions and working with volunteers in field conditions. More importantly, the volunteers had returned with a zest to know more about the coral reefs, and, in particular, what was in our own back yard. In March 2003 the first ReefFriends survey was organised, with seed money from PADI Project AWARE. The survey at Pulau Hantu, brought together volunteers from KK1, BLE1 and BLE2 expeditions. Other ReefFriends surveys followed, at Sisters, Kusu and Pulau Jong - new faces, same questions, more reefs surveys. While the ReefFriends programme was underway, similar questions were brewing at SIF, which eventually formed the YEP Alumni. The ReefFriends co-ordinators were asked to sit in the exco for the Alumni. Suddenly, from an ad-hoc working group, ReefFriends had greater legitimacy and status. Several more meetings and many email discussions later, the Blue Water Volunteers was formed, and launched on 14 Feb 2004, along with (?) other "sister" groups under the YEP Alumni banner. BWV has since gone from strength to strength, due in large part to the enthusiasm of the volunteers. Three other programmes were developed: ReefWalk, ReefTalk and ReefExhibits soon after its formation on14th February 2004. |