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DIVE SLATE //

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t was summertime on a liveaboard in Belize; the air and water were warm, the clear blue Caribbean beckoned, and all we wanted to do was dive. And dive we did, doing multiple dives a day with delicious meals and snacks in between, not to mention all of the great conversations and good friendships that develop on liveaboard trips. But there was also something new for me on this particular trip.

On that trip in June 2009, we were doing a feld survey for the Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF) to gather information on the lionfsh invasion. Te fsh census we conducted continues to provide a baseline from which REEF helps determine the impact of lionfsh on the marine environment of Belize and the Caribbean. Tat trip was the best of two worlds: We were diving a great destination while contributing to the science and knowledge that will help preserve the oceans we love. It was a textbook example of voluntourism.

Te website www.voluntourism.org defnes voluntourism as the “conscious, seamlessly integrated combination of voluntary service to a destination and the best, traditional elements of travel — arts, culture, geography, history and recreation — in that destination.” Tis concept of exploration combined with philanthropy strikes a chord in many: Voluntourism has become increasingly

B y S a n d y S o n d r o l

Dive vacations that make a difference

Voluntourism

0182 Alert Diver Thin Ad Qu Pg_V1.indd 1 2011-05-16 10:10:19