Filmmaker Turns His Lens On One Of The Last Healthy Reefs, Because 'We Have To Take Care Of It'

Living Isle from Alex Goetz on Vimeo.

Nat Geo WILD's second annual "Wild To Inspire" short film competition is underway.

The Huffington Post is featuring each of the four finalists selected, and the winner will be announced in March. All of the films showcase stunning images of the wild world around us in line with this year's theme: Destination Wild.

Ohio-based filmmaker Alex Goetz spent time with the Garifuna people who live on a chain of islands called the Cayos Cohinos in Honduras. The area is recognized as one of the key places of the Mesoamerican Reef region and is now protected as a marine sanctuary where commercial fishing is banned.

The Garifuna people have been allowed to carry on with their traditional fishing methods and are seen as stewards of a reef that they hope will remain healthy for a long time to come.

"We have to take care of it, keep it clean, all the places, so we can all stay for a long time," a resident of the Cayos Cohinos says in the film. "What makes us happy in life is to be surrounded by nature and water."

Take a look above -- you can check out the other films, including Filipe DeAndrade's short, "Adapt," here.