MLA for the Sister Islands Moses Kirkconnell and Mrs. Kathy Kirkconnell joined the Earl of Wessex at a private dinner party in London recently to celebrate the completion of the latest phase of the Little Cayman Research Centre.
A press release from the Central Caribbean Marine Institute explains that the Earl of Wessex became the Royal Patron of the institute after he participated in the groundbreaking dedication in 2003. He addressed the 60 guests at the event expressing his continued interest in the mission of the organization, the release says.
‘MLA Moses Kirkconnell is committed to improving education and technology in the Cayman Islands and will help the organization by working with the Earl of Wessex to establish a new educational opportunity that encourages an international exchange between the UK and Cayman Islands.
‘At the event, CCMI President and Kean University Associate Professor of Oceanography, Dr. Carrie Manfrino, addressed the group by describing the importance of a healthy ocean not only to coral reefs but to climate, weather, and on a grand scale, to life on earth,’ explains the release.
‘She described the major goals for CCMI in 2006: to build the capacity of the organization, to increase interest and investment in technology for the islands, and to establish clear research and education programs that are aligned with the local environmental needs.’
Completion of this phase of construction includes a kitchen pavilion, bath house pavilion, and main field station pavilion which has dormitory-style rooms, a classroom, laboratories, and a library. The bath house is an off-the-grid model of sustainable development and will be completed later next month.
With this completed, CCMI has plans to increase the technological capability of the islands by installing an oceanographic observatory called an Integrated Coral Reef Observing Network (ICON). The US National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has awarded CCMI a small conservation grant to install the system, says the press release.
‘The grant was also awarded this year to the Heron Island Field Station on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. The data collected by the NOAA-CCMI station will bring the new Little Cayman Research Centre on-line as a global source of oceanographic data and will link to the NOAA website along with stations recently installed in Puerto Rico and the Bahamas.
‘The near real-time data collected by the system will be immediately available through the internet. The instrument is solar powered and contains sensors for measuring air temperature, wind speeds and gusts, wind direction, barometric pressure, sea temperature, salinity, tides, and light intensity in the water and at the surface.
‘CCMI has established a Technology Fund, a Reef Research Fund, and an Education Fund which will focus efforts on raising funds to install the observatory and to increase the capacity of the Little Cayman Research Centre by hiring full-time staff. Fundraising efforts have been re-focused (from construction) to make it possible for first rate coral reef research to take place in the Cayman Islands. The organization is committed to education in the Cayman Islands and sees this project as being an excellent opportunity to promote science education in the schools.’
Later in the spring, CCMI will launch coral disease and conservation research programmes in an effort to understand the recent catastrophic decline in Caribbean coral reef systems. To fulfill their mission, CCMI is bringing together international experts to develop innovative solutions to global coral reef degradation, explains the press release.
The evening was sponsored by founding members of the Little Cayman Research Centre, Mr. and Mrs. Henry Harford. Others in attendance at the dinner in London included several Little Cayman residents including Mr. Peter Hillenbrand, Mary-Ellen Cutts and Mr. and Mrs. Craig Mock.
The ex-governor of the Cayman Islands Mr. Bruce Dinwiddy and his wife Emma, and Grand Cayman residents Mr. and Mrs. Andreas Ugland joined 60 other prominent guests.
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