Employee Testimonial: Our Field Assistants on Curacao
Published at: February 9th, 2025 by Lena StarcevicNina Le Trocquer and Jeroen Schneider share about their time at our SECORE office on Curacao. They also offer personal insights into their passion for protecting ocean ecosystems and the challenges they face in their impactful work.
Jeroen Schneider:
"Being raised by a psychologist, as a child I became very aware on the importance of understanding others' perspectives. I remember my dad once asking me, “How would you know if someone feels the same way?” I thought I could impress him with a clever answer, but he simply said, “You can just ask them.” When I asked what happens if they can’t answer, he replied, “Then it’s my job to help them.” This idea—to be a voice for those who can’t speak for themselves has stayed with me.
Corals, like so many other forms of life, are stakeholders on this planet, just as we humans are. While we’ve learned to bend nature to our will, we sometimes forget that we share this world with other beings—beings who can’t easily tell us what they need. My goal has been to be a voice for these often-overlooked creatures. Understanding them, I believe, is a key part of reaching that goal, and science is our most powerful tool for achieving it.
For the past few years, I’ve been fortunate to work with SECORE, pushing research forward to bring us closer to truly understanding corals. This year has been particularly challenging for corals in the Caribbean, but I still believe there’s a way to coexist with them ... if we’re willing to listen.
Now that this project has come to an end, it’s time to say goodbye to the incredible team I’ve had the privilege of working with. I’m grateful for every moment—the laughs, the tough days, and what we’ve achieved. I have said goodbye many times before, so I’m sure they haven’t gotten rid of me for good.
For now I will take everything I’ve learned and continue looking for opportunities to work as the voice in nature that is often unheard.
A very satisfied research assistant, Jeroen Schneider"
Interview with Nina Le Trocquer
"Growing up on an island in the Northern Caribbean, coral reefs have always been part of me. I carried my love and admiration for them through my university endeavors around the Mediterranean, down to Brazils shore and all the way to the Arctic. I enrolled in my marine biology studies with the end goal of coming back to the tropics." -which she did, luckily for us!
Can you share an aspect of the work you found unexpectedly challenging— or especially rewarding?
"This year (2024) coral spawning work was especially challenging as for 2 years in a row, the reefs in the Southern Caribbean have had to sustain heavy bleaching and the damage SCTLD left in its path. All combined, these events have made our goals more challenging to attain this season - but also pushed us to adapt and think differently about field work. On the other hand, it made it extra rewarding seeing all the happy and healthy juvenile corals from this year and older that we have been monitoring in our nurseries and on the reef. So, we will continue to adapt and make the changes to give these corals every chance we can. We will keep fighting."
Is there a particular coral or area of the reef that has special significance to you?
"The 4 years old Colpophyllia natans outplanted during my last season with SECORE on Curacao. Seeing them on the reef in front of the research station was very heart warming and a felt like a big breath of hope."
Is there anything you would like to tell someone who has never seen a coral reef and experienced the underwater world as intensely as you have?
"I strongly believe that we all have a stone (or coral in that case ahah) to bring to our restoration and conservation efforts to the reefs of Curacao and worldwide. From putting a ballot in a ballot box to being in the water during a night dive to collect coral gametes, it matters. I am forever grateful and so proud to be part of the SECORE team and of the work that is being accomplished here over the years! #coralbabiesarethecutest"
by Paul Selvaggio
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