Coralpalooza™, an annual World Oceans Day celebration organized by Coral Restoration Foundation™ (CRF™), achieved a remarkable milestone this year. More than 15,000 new corals were returned to their wild habitats in a single day, thanks to the coordinated efforts of various organizations across 13 countries. These efforts were recognized as part of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, highlighting the global significance of coral reef restoration.
Originating as a local initiative to restore coral reefs in the Florida Keys in 2014, Coralpalooza™ has since grown into an international call to action. This year's event united over 20 organizations from 13 countries and mobilized more than 960 staff and volunteers. Together, they returned over 15,200 corals to our planet’s shallow water coral reefs. "The achievements of this year's Coralpalooza™ are truly incredible. However, it's important to remember that this represents just a fraction of the tireless work these organizations undertake every day. Coralpalooza™ demonstrates the power of community engagement – it gives us hope and proves that when we work together, we can accomplish anything,” said Dr. R. Scott Winters, CRF™ CEO. Highlights from this year's Coralpalooza™ include:
Coral Nurture Program in Australia, supported by the Great Barrier Reef Foundation, mobilized 56 divers to return 6726 corals to 13 sites on the Great Barrier Reef.
Fundación CIM Caribe in Colombia, continued to contribute to the “A Million Corals for Colombia” initiative by outplanting over 950 corals!
Kuleana Coral Restoration in Hawaii outplanted 480 fragments with 280 participants at the Disney Aulani Resort. They also held a fragmentation event for the general public and an educational event at Waiamea Bay.
Misool Foundation in Indonesia deployed 100 “spider web” reef frames populated with 2000 coral fragments to stabilize the reef area and to jump start the restoration process.
Mote Marine Laboratories in Florida returned over 500 corals to the local reefs.
Planhotel & MaRHE Center in Maldives installed one mid-water rope nursery structure and populated it with 350 fragments, cleaned and repaired some other nursery structures, took baseline coral cover data for six reef transects, prepared 22 educational “coral cookies” with resort staff, carried out two desert island clean ups, gave two presentations, one coral workshop, served one ocean cocktail, had a screening of one educational documentary and live streamed the UN Oceans Day online event!
Raising Coral Costa Rica conducted a beach clean-up.
Reef Renewal USA outplanted 2133 coral pieces with the help of three boats and a team of 15 people. The outplants were distributed across Mustique, Tavernier, and Looe Key.
Sheba Hope Grows Collective hosted a virtual outreach event with 50 participants.
University of Miami in Florida outplanted 200 corals.
In the Florida Keys, home of Coralpalooza™, the Coral Restoration Foundation™ Coral Crew took more than 200 passionate recreational scuba divers out on 10 boats, planting over 1815 Acroporid fragments across six reef sites in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, four of which are sites included in the Mission: Iconic Reef plan. CRF™ also hosted two land-based Coralpalooza™ Festivals - in Islamorada and Key West - where families had a chance to join the fun with educational games, creative activities, kayaking and a beach clean up.
Coralpalooza™ coordinator and CRF™ Dive Training Administrator, Roxane Boonstra, reflected on the event, saying, “Coralpalooza™ is a testament to our dedicated community, and to the passion and commitment of people around the world. We are grateful to everyone who participated and supported us. The restoration of these reefs is a huge undertaking and Coralpalooza™ proves that we are not alone in this endeavor.” Press Contact:
Alice Grainger, CRF™ Communications Director