Cayman Islands home to the Caribbean’s newest and finest biological field station
Little Cayman Research Centre opens with a focus on conservation and education
Cayman Islands (July 2005) - Vision became reality this summer when construction of the Central Caribbean Marine Institute’s (CCMI) Little Cayman Research Centre was completed. The Caribbean's newest and finest biological field station, the centre will enhance the Cayman’s regional standing in support of conservation and education by offering both tropical science education programs and facilities for research or meetings with an educational focus.
“What makes us unique from similar institutions is that Little Cayman has world-renown coral reefs with well-established marine-protected zones juxtaposed to the deepest open ocean waters in the region providing excellent clean water and a variety of ecosystems for research and education. This setting provides an excellent and much needed reference site or control site for tropical biological and oceanographic research and education” says Dr. Carrie Manfrino, president of CCMI, an international non-profit organization with US, UK and Cayman Islands charity status. The organization envisions the Little Cayman Research Centre becoming a premiere education and scientific research centre by providing exemplary tropical biology programs and conducting excellent research aimed at solving global issues facing coral reefs.
Located on 1,400 feet of beachfront adjacent to the Bloody Bay Marine Park, the research facility consists of meeting rooms, classrooms, laboratories, a library, and dormitories for up to 28 people. A model for sustainable living for everyday life, it includes the only off-grid sustainable design in the Cayman Islands that incorporates solar power, composting toilets, gravity-controlled water flow, and a grey-water garden.
The only facility of its kind in the Cayman Islands, the Little Cayman Research Centre offers college credit for students of all ages through several major US universities. The centre runs a summer abroad research internship for college students and the Caribbean Sea Camp, an academic program for international and local high school students. For the general public and professionals the centre offers the unique Dive with a Researcher program so that anyone can become directly involved in marine conservation by assisting in coral reef research. Special interest groups, teachers, and researchers are also welcome to book their own conference, workshop or course.
“We would like to extend our sincere thanks to the Cayman community and to the supporters of our campaign to raise the funds to complete the new facility. It has been a five-year journey that has required an enormous amount of generosity from our community. This generosity has seen us progress from meager beginnings where our students and scientists were hosted by local resorts and where we borrowed everything from water and air for our tanks to dock space for our boats and experiments. We now plan for the community to directly benefit from this new institution by enhancing our regional standing in the support of conservation and education and by conducting excellent scientific research.”
For more information contact the Little Cayman Research Centre at (345) 926-2789 or by e-mail at manager@reefresearch.org.
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