Key Largo, FL -- Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF) offers internships throughout the course of the year to introduce college-age individuals to working in the non-profit sector of marine conservation. This fall, REEF had an extra special intern, wanting to make a difference. Sarah Goldman, a recent graduate from Bowling Green University, came to REEF early in September after having interned in Biscayne National Park over the summer. After spending three months with REEF learning fish identification and data collection she wanted to contribute to the organization by starting a fundraising project. Sarah decided to ride her bicycle from Key West to Key Largo, over 100miles, and asked her friends and family to make a small donation in support of her "RIDING FOR REEF". "I've wanted to bike through the Keys for a long time" said Sarah. "It just made sense to make it into a fundraiser for REEF".
Sarah embarked on her 100-mile bike ride December 7 starting at the southern most point in Key West and ending on December 9 at REEF's headquarters in Key Largo. During her trip she was a special guest of Cheeca Lodge in Islamorada. "The ride has given me a great appreciation for the kindness of strangers" Sarah explains the hardships of the ride. "The hardest part of the ride was the second day where I was stuck on 7 mile bridge in a thunderstorm and had to hitch hike to get across and then 25 miles later had a flat tire and had to walk." So far Sarah has raised over $600 for REEF and made a bicycle trip of a lifetime.
REEF is a grass-roots, non-profit organization of recreational divers who regularly conduct fish biodiversity and abundance surveys during their dives. These surveys are conducted as part of REEF's Fish Survey Project, and become part of a database that is publicly accessible at REEF's web site www.reef.org. For more information on REEF's Marine Conservation Program call 305-852-0030 or visit www.reef.org/intern.