Hello, my name is Tabbi and I have to raise £2800 to fund an expedition to Cuba! My aim is to raise £200 per month. The expedition will take place in the summer of 2018 and will last for 2 weeks.

On the trip, I will be working alongside scientists from the University of Havana, conducting research and collecting data from the wealth of ecosystems and wildlife Cuba has to offer. In order to collect the data, I will have to take a diving course involving a combination of theory lessons, confined water dives and open water dives (to gain an official scuba diving qualification).

Research on the coastal habitats will include:
- monitoring reef fish community diversity and biomass
- carrying out assessments of reef benthic health
- carrying out population assessments of manatees
- identifications of the manatees' preferred feeding areas
- surveying populations of sharks and large predatory fish.

Due to Cuba's recent growth in the tourist industry, it is essential that the natural state of Cuba is preserved and that it isn't exploited for economic wealth. Therefore, it is important that conservation efforts are made to promote the growth of the tourist industry in a sustainable and ecologically minded way. The data collected from the research will be utilised by the Centre for Marine Research in their ecology and conservation projects.