The CoralWatch Coral Reef Education Package will be released internationally in Hawaii in July this year.

Interested people can visit CQU Bundaberg for its national launch this weekend (April 16-17) to see what the cutting edge of reef education looks like.

This package takes school and tourism groups to the cutting edge of coral reef ecology research.

Collectively it represents five years of research and development by University of Queensland scientists and Queensland educators. The result is the establishment of new benchmarks in reef education.

The package itself can be broken down into four components:.

1. The CoralWatch coral health chart is a simple and easy to use technology developed by the University of Queensland. It enables non-experts such as tourists and school groups to actively contribute to an international reef research project.

2. The virtual lab and virtual reef is a unique resource that allows users to explore coral bleaching, and explains how to use the chart before reaching their reef destination.

3. The reef fingerprint and reef transect spreadsheets are specifically designed for the coral health chart. They provide ‘instant’ feedback on the data collected in the field with data and graphical analysis. The spreadsheets have education, tourism and research applications.

4. The Coral Reef Workbook has been developed in partnership with Queensland teachers with a full spectrum of hands-on reef-based activities covering all aspects of coral reef ecology.

The CQU Focus on Corals conference is the venue where the complete package will be seen for the first time.

If you'd like to come to the conference but haven't booked, please call CQU Bundaberg 07 4150 7177 now. At only $30 for two days, it's amazing value. Follow these links for information on two of the keynote speakers: Assoc Prof Justin Marshall http://www.vthrc.uq.edu.au/ecovis/ and Dr Lawrence McCook http://www.pewmarine.org/pewFellowsDirectoryTemplate.php?PEWSerialInt=10267 .

For further information on the CoralWatch Coral Reef Education Package, call Craig Reid on 0403 591 341.