Reef Ball Foundation Photos and Project Description Database

In Feb. of 1994, a Reef Ball (tm) was constructed on site in an outdoor aquarium designed for sea turtles. In March of 1995, a Bay Ball was added to a smaller touch tank display. In May of 1995, an Oyster Ball (tm) was also added to the touch tank. Model Reef Balls (tm) are in the saltwater aquariums inside the nature center. The project was under direction of the staff marine biologist.

Palm Beach Post, July 1993
By Chris DUMMIT,
Palm Beach Staff Writer

SINGER ISLAND - Laura Barber tied Fiberglass strands on the round wire frame until it looked like a giant ornament. Next it would need several coats of concrete. But despite its unusual appearance, the balloon-and-wire structure is of the work of some avant-garde sculptor - it's a reef ball designed to attract fish. Barber her husband, Todd, and their friends are building the latest in artificial reefs on the beach of the Bellatrix Resort on Singer Island. By noon Sunday, the four 1-ton balls will be towed to a county reef site in the Intracoastal Waterway. The balloon inside each of them will be deflated and the balls will sink to the bottom of Lake Worth. We've always been avid divers, said Todd Barber whose father, Jerry helped design the reef balls. "We came up with the idea when a we were sailing through the Virgin Islands." Barber said his father who is an inventor who once built amusement park rides. Jerry Barber now owns an import/export company, Fortuna Inc., with offices to Greenville, S.C., and St. Petersburg, Russia, his son said. The Reef Balls came to Palm Beach County because Jerry Barber wanted a tropical location and County officials granted him a test site. Another group of the balls will be tested in the surf of Destin later this year. Barber wanted a low-cost way to make an artificial reef, his son said. Dive clubs or fishing clubs could buy the materials for a reef ball from the hardware store for about $75 and build one in about six hours, he said. With government approval, the reef balls could be sunk in a string or built into a pile.
County officials said they are often approached with artificial-reef ideas... Some have merit, such as the pyramids sunk by University of Miami researchers two years ago off Palm Beach Others, such as tire reefs and artwork, don't pass muster says Jim Vaughn, analyst for the county's Environmental Resources Management. The county has given Barber permission to use a permitted site for the reef balls on the east side of the Intracoastal south, of Palm Beach Inlet. "We're not promoting it or discouraging it,"' Vaughn said. "We told them a couple of concerns we had." Vaughn inspected the structures Friday to make sure the materials wouldn't harm the environment.

At Spanish River Community High School in Boca Raton, a group of seven senior students enrolled in an honors marine research class are constructing modular reef units called "reef balls." The program, which was initiated in 1996, deployed 12 "reef balls" in June 1997. Students obtained $10,000 in funding for the project by writing and submitting numerous grant proposals to private foundations. Six months following the first deployment, the teacher and a group of SCUBA-certified current and former students assessed the new reef ball habitat during dives at the deployment site. They observed numerous fish species in or around the reef ball structures, which were completely encrusted with marine growth. From these observations, the team concluded that their reef habitat project was successful. Through the program, students learn concepts in marine and environmental science and interact with local scientists in marine or environmental fields. Public speaking and presentations to elementary students and the general public concerning the project and its marine habitat benefits build students' oral communication skills. Writing and submitting grant proposals and site permit applications strengthen written communication and technical writing. The program helps students meet several Science and Language Arts benchmarks in the Florida Sunshine State Standards. Assessment of student learning takes place via the quality of their science fair projects, the effectiveness of their permit applications and grant proposals, their oral presentations to elementary school students and others, and their participation in reef ball construction and deployment. Contact: Mr. Ken Weemhoff, Teacher Supervisor: Dr. Wallis J. Sherman, Spanish River Community High School Initiated: 1996