Spanish River High School Presents

The Reef Ball Construction and Deployment Project

IN COOPERATION WITH:
(Art by Samamtha Burns 96')

WHAT IS A REEF BALL?

A Reef Ball is a hollow, dome shaped structure, made of marine friendly concrete that serves as an artificial reef when placed in the ocean. They are constructed by pouring concrete in to irregular fiberglass molds. These molds create highly complex habitats at relativity low construction costs.

Reef balls have been shown to be stable even in high impact zones, because of their construction and weight (approx. 3,000 lb.).

The beauty of our oceans will disappear if we do not strive to preserve their natural support systems.

WHY BUILD ARTIFICIAL REEFS?

Natural Reefs have become endangered ecosystems not only in South Florida, but throughout the world. Man's increased development, pollution and over fishing have caused great stress on these fragile underwater gardens. Our efforts will increase available habitat and possibly alleviate some strain on existing reefs by providing interesting alternatives for recreational divers. We must restore our reef systems to their once natural and beautiful balance.

PATHWAYS TO SUCCESS

Although the primary purpose of this project is to construct Reef Balls and deploy them off the coast of South Florida, we plan to participate in other eco-friendly projects. Some of the other projects include:

• Wetland Restoration at Munyon Island
• Sea Turtle Research
• Ocean Engineering
• Public Education Efforts
• Mangrove Reforestation
• Beach Clean-Up Efforts
• Gumbo Limbo Volunteer Programs

Being Involved in other activities will provide this project with more community exposure and expand our knowledge of the marine habitat. This will immeasurably benefit our primary goal.

A HELPING HAND

The Reef Ball construction and development project has been fortunate enough to locate and work vith quality local, national and international entities. We wish to acknowledge them for their support and ,enerosity of this endeavor. Without their support rone of our work can be accomplished.

WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT!

Due to the grand scope of this project, additional sponsors are needed. If you or your corporation has any interest in supporting this worthy cause please contact Ken Weemhoff at Spanish River High School (561)241-2200.

REEF BALL CONSTRUCTION AND DEPLOYMENT PROJECT IS:

Faculty Sponsor: Ken Weemhoff

• Kathy Dunaj
• Christina Hernandez
• Brion Tingler
• Kathy Fink
• Asif Mohamed
• Kendall Lawn
• Rachel Croft
• Randy Chen
• Samantha Burns
• Mike Scali
• Jenny Tuby

THIS PROJECT IS BEING CONDUCTED BY SPANISH RIVER HIGH SCHOOL AND GUMBO LIMBO NATURE CENTER.

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This page was created from a brochure made by the students involved in this project. The formatting was changed slightly to be accomodated on the Internet by RBDG volunteer programmers. RBDG is proud to have donated the molds for this project under our Reefs Around The Nation Grant Program.

This page has been accessed  times since 4/19/97
Copyright ©1996, RBDG, Ltd. all rights reserved. See brochure page footer for information on patents, copyrights, trademarks and service marks referenced, but not indicated, on this page.

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