Help Marine Life Flourish With Biri Initiative’s New Reefbud Buddy Campaign

Biri Initiative, a non-profit organization dedicated to restoring the fragile coral reefs around Biri Island in the Philippines, have launched the Reefbud Buddy campaign.

Reefbuds are a technology developed in Batangas, the Philippines, by the late Austrian-German environmental geoscientist Dr. Harald Kremnitz and partner Benjamin Tayag Jr. Reefbuds are superficially similar to an established artificial reef technology made of concrete called a “reefball”. But on closer inspection, they are quite different. Reefbuds combine environment-friendly inorganic materials (including beach sand, cement and volcanic pebbles), and organic materials from a variety of possible sources.

A reefbud is like a sponge, absorbing sea water together with the marine life suspended in it, such as spores, plankton and algae. Even in strong currents, marine life can latch onto or take root in the reefbud as the currents drive them into its porous cavities. The blend of materials in a reefbud reacts with sea water and triggers a calcification process much like the natural calcification processes that take create coral reefs, crab sheels, turtle shells, etc.

Because reefbuds are massive structures (weighing from 400 to 650 kg) that become even heavier as they absorb sea water and marine life, they don’t move, even in strong currents or during storms. Moreover, their hydrodynamic form allows currents to flow around them instead of pushing on them. This stability allows reefbuds to become permanent homes and spawning grounds for marine life.

Biri Initiative desperately need your help to build more reefbuds. In return for a donation, all Reefbud Buddies receive a certificate of recognition from Biri Initiative which includes the GPS coordinates of the reefbud your donation has funded. All Reefbud Buddies are also entered into Biri Initiative’s Christmas 2014 raffle, where first prize is a week’s free accommodation with diving at either Biri Resort & Dive Center or at Big Apple Dive Resort at Sabang Beach.

To find out more about the campaign and how you can become a Reefbud Buddy, call +63 915 509 0604, email info@biri-initiative.org, or visit www.biri-initiative.org.