charks trip for marine conservation

Well hello there! Thanks for stumbling upon my page.  My name is Charlotte I am traveling to Cambodia to take part in a marine conservation program. My passion for conservation and environmental protection began as far back as I can remember. I recently stumbled upon letters written to Santa at the age of nine asking him to, "Stop global warming because I don’t want animals to die." If you wish to help support me that’s awesome; read on! If you don’t I hope you still read on!
 

My goal and passion is to help protect natural and beautiful places so that we have destinations like mountains, rivers, forests, and oceans to escape to. Along with this passion comes my drive to protect and care for animals that we share this planet with. In particular, I work with animals and rebuild their habitat that may have previously been destroyed. In Cambodia I will be doing exactly that plus more.
 

I am going to Cambodia to work with a community closed off to tourism. This community is in trouble; in the past years fishermen have been dynamite fishing which has destroyed the reef. These fishermen may not have known the extent of the damage done to the reef as they caused it to be un-habitable to marine species. Becuase of these actions that took place along time ago current communities along this stretch of ocean have no fish supply. This is devastating to a costal community whose main food source would normally be fish.

 

I am going to help implement a artificial reef along the coast. I will work everyday to rebuild the reef, monitor species and clean up toxic materials along the coast. This reef will promote coral growth and once again provide a home for many types of aquatic species. Most importantly, we hope to bring this reef back to life, which can give the local communities a sustainable food supply. This reef will last at least 500 years so we are not just providing a temporary fix to their food supply problem but we are giving them a reef that will supply them with fish for many generations. 

 

Along with the reef I will be setting up clean water catchments in the community so that they have access to safe drinking water, something that is currently out of question for them. As well, we will help the community  plant a vegetable garden in order to give them a sustainable food supply. 

 
I will also be going to a elephant sanctuary to care for abused elephants who have been rescued. The residents in the elephant sanctuary were workers in the logging industry and were severely abused. It absolutely breaks my heart to hear about how some of these elephants were treated. In some cases elephant would pass out from exhaustion after working 16 hour days. To get them on their feet again people would pour gasoline down their trunks in order to keep them working. At the sancturary I will be providing these elephants with their basic needs, nursing them back to health, and giving them the peaceful life they deserve. 
 

The program I am going with is a non-profit organization, which means all the funding for building these reefs comes from volunteers like myself. I am in university and doing my best to pay for this opportunity but any support would be very much appreciated. The money you decide to donate will be going directly back into the community and the reef by my work hours. I cannot wait to help this extraordinary community and help rebuild such beautiful waters.

Thanks for the visit! 
Charlotte