Photo: Parque Nacional del Este, the Nature Conservancy
our history
The Coral Reef Regeneration project has its roots in a 1994 partnership between the John G. Shedd Aquarium, the Nature Conservancy, USAID and EcoParque to establish a marine sanctuary off the coast of El Parque Nacional del Este in the Dominican Republic. During these efforts, members of the Technology Alliance (an Chicago-based education-through-technology nonprofit) volunteering alongside Shedd scientists met Dr. Ruben Torres, Ph.D., who was also working with this project. The Technology Alliance, with the support of organizations including IBM and the Kellogg National Leadership program, later collaborated with Dr. Torres in launching the FishNet project. FishNet allowed elementary students in the DR and in Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood create and share Hyperstudio multimedia projects that detailed different aspects of ocean life.
The CR² project began to take shape in the spring of 2012, when Technology Alliance President Beth Beyer reached out to Dr. Torres, currently director of the Dominican Republic chapter of the reef bio-inventory organization Reef Check, about the possibility of a scientific immersion program for Chicago-area students. Since then, the project has progressed and expanded, including behind-the-scenes workshops at the John G. Shedd Aquarium, through which students have had the opportunity to connect with Shedd researchers; involvement with the Shedd's Underwater Robotics Club; regular classes hosted by CR² parent Sibyl Gallus-Price, facilitated by CR² parents and teens; and an online biology class taught through Google Sites by CR² facilitators.
The CR² project began to take shape in the spring of 2012, when Technology Alliance President Beth Beyer reached out to Dr. Torres, currently director of the Dominican Republic chapter of the reef bio-inventory organization Reef Check, about the possibility of a scientific immersion program for Chicago-area students. Since then, the project has progressed and expanded, including behind-the-scenes workshops at the John G. Shedd Aquarium, through which students have had the opportunity to connect with Shedd researchers; involvement with the Shedd's Underwater Robotics Club; regular classes hosted by CR² parent Sibyl Gallus-Price, facilitated by CR² parents and teens; and an online biology class taught through Google Sites by CR² facilitators.
Website credits: Matthew Schumm is our illustrious webmaster, Richard Medina is our indefatigable graphic designer.