Ocean Doctor president, Dr. David E. Guggenheim,presents, A Living Time Machine: Cuba’s Spectacular Ocean Ecosystems and the Hope they Offer the World.”
Named by Christopher Columbus to honor Queen Isabella of Spain, the Gardens of the Queen (Jardines de la Reina) are one of the healthiest coral reef ecosystems remaining in the Caribbean. In a world where coral reefs are dying, the corals in the Gardens of the Queen are flourishing, and like a living time machine, the Gardens likely resemble the healthy coral reefs Columbus saw, avoiding the rapid decline so common throughout the Caribbean and the rest of the world.
What makes this ecosystem so healthy? What are the implications for coral reefs elsewhere? What is the role of diving in this special ecosystem? And how is this ecosystem bringing Americans and Cubans closer together? What is so compelling about this Cuban ecosystem that 60 Minutes sent Anderson Cooper and a camera crew to work with Dr. Guggenheim and Cuban scientists?
Now at last, American divers can legally visit Cuba’s Gardens of the Queen as part of a special, licensed educational people-to-people program led by Ocean Doctor and hosted by Avalon Cuban Diving Centers in the heart of Gardens of the Queen. You can find details at OceanDoctor.org/Gardens.
Dr. Guggenheim’s talk will be at the Poseidon Pavilion