Community Outreach | Bimini Shark Lab

SCHOOL OPEN DAYS

Our first official open day was held in 2012. Local school children have been coming to learn at the lab for years, though, as one of Dr. Samuel Gruber’s passions was educating the next generation of future scientists. Open days allow local students in Bimini to come to the lab and experience it for a day. We have hosted a wide range of age groups, from younger students at the primary school all the way to the senior class at the local high school. It involves a presentation on our history and research, some fun games and demonstrations about sharks, seeing baby lemon sharks, and sharing a meal together.

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LOCAL SCHOOL TALKS

During open days, we bring the students to us. For local school talks, we bring the Shark Lab to them! We strive to make the talks as engaging and immersive as possible, as many local Biminite students (even having grown up in Bimini) have never seen a shark or visited the mangroves. Some students in North Bimini have never even been to South Bimini. Because of this, we want to share with them what is right out in their backyard and why things like the local fauna and flora are important to their home.

COMMUNITY BARBECUES

Community barbecues are a great setting to connect with locals living in Bimini. It is a way for us to give back to the community after years of continual support from locals towards our lab, station crew, and visitors. Our first one was held in 2019, and we look forward to hosting much more in the future.

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VET CLINICS

The Shark Lab participates in multiple vet clinics a year. We partner with Dr. Valentino Grant from Caves Village Veterinary Hospital from Nassau, Bahamas, to help trap feral cats on the island to spay and neuter them. It helps the local community by keeping the wild cat population under control. Many locals also do not have a vet option to take their pets to. By Dr. Grant coming to Bimini, pet owners do not have to travel all the way to Nassau and are able to make appointments for their pets to see Dr. Grant while he is in Bimini. Below is a short video about the vet clinics.

In addition to vet clinics, the Shark Lab helps foster stray puppies and assists in finding forever homes for them to help reduce the stray dog population on the island. The dogs we have had in the past and currently are all rescues, which also helps the stray dog population and allows us to adopt locally instead of searching elsewhere.

BEACH CLEAN UPS

We strive to keep Bimini’s beaches, mangroves, waters, and lands clean. Unfortunately, due to increased tourism, some litter tends to accumulate. Because of this, we regularly conduct efforts with our station crew and volunteers to clean up various areas around Bimini to keep the waters and lands as clean and pristine as possible.