is there anything we can do to reduce or prevent split ends?

There's a whole article on that. Go to the articles section, and then to the hair care part, I think. It's got a lot of info in it, but it basically comes down to "avoid friction on your hair."

As salamander said, check out the article on split ends. Also, there's a thread on using catnip for split ends that some of us are experimenting with.

Keep your hair up, buns, twists, anything to keep the ends safe from everyday life.