James Croswell, Mark Franklin, the Alexandra Leopards who help us and Rotaractors Saving the Sri Lankan Coral Reefs

Last Week
As you will have seen in President Jean's column Dr Hugo Tempelman was unable to attend because, against all odds, the Ndolovu Youth Choir and Dancers had reached the Final of America's Got Talent so he obviously had  support them.... and today's the day, the 17th September.

I was secretly quite pleased as I was away last Friday and I really wanted to hear Dr Tempelman's talk.

Instead James Croswell stepped into the breach and talked about his flying experiences.  Having heard a couple of his stories I am sure it was entertaining talk.







Our upcoming fund raiser is very important because with the Rotary
Foundation we know that any money donated to them and their projects, no matter how small, actually gets to where it is intended and is not eaten up in administration costs.  The same applies to any monies raised by individual clubs as projects are funded through a separate account and the club is not allowed to use money raised for anything else.  The funds for running the club, international and district dues are paid by members themselves from a separate club account.

This Week

Longstanding Rotarian Mark Franklin will be telling us about himself.  What is so interesting about these talks by long-term members of our club is that they have become more about the person rather than their profession so we really do get to know each other a lot better.

Here's Jeannette Horner with the Leopards from Alexandra Township who always help with our August Spar Collection at Norwood Spar.  The best salesperson was the smallest one there! Just a reminder to help with the September Collection later in the month....after payday.

The beautiful coral reefs along Sri Lanka’s coastlines have long attracted tourists. But the coral reefs, once filled with brilliantly colored fish and other species, have been dying. 

Image credit: Rotaract club of University of Moratuwa

Coral bleaching due to warmer ocean temperatures, along with excessive fishing, sand mining, and polluted waters, has heavily damaged these living systems.

The Rotaract Club of University of Moratuwa recently completed a three-year project to replenish the corals. Project Zooxanthellae — named for the type of algae that lives on the surface of corals and nourishes them — involved Sri Lankan Navy divers placing 10 steel-framed structures underwater several hundred yards from shore. The divers then attached about 60 finger-size branches of live coral to each of the six-sided, 5-foot-high frames, which look like industrial jungle gyms. The coral polyps secrete the protective exoskeletal material that forms a reef. In four to five years, new reefs will have formed around the frames. The frames will eventually rust away, leaving a healthy reef.

“We wanted to do something to save the coral and help tourism,” says Rotaractor Paveen Perera. “This project will help people in those coastal areas who earn a living through the tourism industry.”

The project came about in 2016 after Sahan Jayawardana, the club’s environment director at the time, heard a lecture on coral reefs by Nalin Rathnayake, an oceanography expert from the Department of Earth Resources Engineering at the University of Moratuwa. A similar reef seeding project had been done successfully in the Maldives.

The location of the future reef was determined by the National Aquatic Resources Research & Development Agency, which conducted a survey looking for optimal growing conditions. The structures were designed and made by Siam City Cement (Lanka) Ltd., in collaboration with Rathnayake.

The coral pieces came from a nearby site, and it took about a year to get permission to harvest them, explains club member Natasha Kularatne, who helped oversee the project. Over the course of a week, the structures were placed in the waters off Jungle Beach, Rumassala, a major tourist area, and the corals were attached.

So far, the project has been successful, and this year the club was recognized with a Rotaract Outstanding Project Award for the South Asia region. “The Navy went on a dive and took photos, and it shows growth,” says Perera. “They are doing well.”