ESSIC post-doctoral associate Brian Beck and Sarah O’Connor of the National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) traveled to Guam in late January to improve local involvement with the NOAA Coral Reef Information System (CoRIS). They conducted a data management workshop for local coral reef stakeholders where they provided overviews of CoRIS and NOAA’s Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP) as well as a detailed explanation of how to submit data to NCEI. There were 19 participants from local government agencies, the University of Guam and NOAA. In the afternoon, Beck and O’Connor gave participants a hands-on training on how to use Send2NCEI to archive data. Within one week of their return, six data packages were received from workshop participants.
Beck and O’Connor also visited local restoration sites within the Manell-Geus watershed, which is a NOAA Habitat Blueprint, to get an understanding of the work being done and the logistics needed to conduct restoration activities in this region. They also attended a government ceremony where the lieutenant governor signed a proclamation in support of the Guam Year of the Reef.
