Lemondrop

Last month, I briefly left my job as a model employee at Asylum and Lemondrop (scroll down here -- that's me in the sunglasses) to train as a Reef Check volunteer in the Philippines.

Reef Check is a conservation nonprofit that monitors coral reefs. Some other cool bloggers and I were invited to learn how to assess and report damage to coral reefs.

Awesome, right? The huge diversity and sensitivity of life in a reef makes it a great ecological litmus test, as their overall health is one of the best indicators of negative human impactors like pollution and overfishing. I was thrilled to learn the process because I love dolphins and whales and whatnot, but also terrified because my prior experience with being underwater is limited to stealing from public fountains.

And while most people have to wait for their honeymoon to go to places like Thailand, the Philippines and the Maldives, Reef Check and Malibu Rum are now offering expense-paid internships to tropical reef destinations.

Click here to read more about my trip -- and how you can score one -- after the jump.

In our excursions in the reefs surrounding the island of Puerto Gallera, Dr. Gregor Hodgson (Reef Check's founder) and his staff taught us the basics of identifying species and how to spot damage to the reef. We saw an unbelievable variety of marine life, like purple starfish, startlingly phallic sea snakes and one of those crazy pufferfish that kill people in sushi restaurants all the time

(See: right. I almost died. Really! OK, not really. But I would have if it swam into my mouth and I accidentally chewed vigorously.)

There was also a lot of really terrifying damage -- evidence of bleaching, cyanide poisoning and huge chunks of litter floating around and jammed into the coral. It's pretty awful to see firsthand -- just picture Sebastian the Crab scuttling around with a Handi-Snacks package wrapped around his neck.

Reef Check's Mission, and Partnerin' Up
After a lifetime of studying reefs, Dr. Hodgson (who regaled us with horrifying tales of serving as human bait for the sharks his father studied) has come to believe that living coral is the "canary in the coal mine for climate change."

And since people have steadily been killing off living coral in reefs (about 3 percent more of the reefs will die in the next four years), this is an environmental concern that needs immediate attention.

Since young people love both the environment and rum, Malibu has partnered with Reef Check in the hopes that youthful, environmental types will help get the word out and raise awareness of the sincerely scary effects of reef damage.

How You Can (SCUBA) Suit Up and Train in Thailand for Free
Until August 31, you can apply to do the same thing I did. Ten interns will be selected for 10 days of training on the coast of Thailand, the Maldives or the Philippines.

Airfare, room and board are included, and oh yeah -- you get to help save the planet and stuff while you get SCUBA certified, ogle starfish and, yes, get gloriously tan (see: me, on the boat, at left).

If for some ridiculous reason you can't apply for this, you can still support Reef Check by donating (snore) or making daiquiris (whee!). You can pick up a limited-edition bottle of Malibu (at right), and part of the proceeds will go to helping Reef Check save our fishy friends.

You can apply here, and be sure to check out all the other cool stuff Reef Check does.

Julieanne Smolinski is Lemondrop's resident photo editor, Hobbit enthusiast and product reviewer.