Coral Nurseries from Sea Base to Caribbean

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Through Plant a Million Corals, Dr. David Vaughan has developed a way to place small-scale coral nurseries in neighboring Caribbean countries.

Those nurseries – modeled after the one he helped establish at the Boy Scouts of America Florida National High Adventure Sea Base on Summerland Key – can eventually produce 10,000 corals a year through microfragmentation.

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Vaughan, who puts in some hands-on time at Sea Base, sees the legacy the Scout program can create.

“Could you imagine talking to a Scout 25 years from now and saying, “We’re going to take you to the 2020 planting and see what your father planted?’”

More details about the Mote Marine Laboratory’s Elizabeth Moore International Center for Coral Reef Research and Restoration, Scout STEM work with Mission Iconic Reefs at source link

https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/environment/2021/05/03/former-mote-scientist-david-vaughn-develops-smaller-coral-nurseries/7379652002/

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Related: Earth Day, Boy Scouts Helping to Regrow Florida's Vunerable Coral Reefs

...Florida’s coral reefs are under serious threat.

“It is dying to be quite frank and that’s due to a number of factors, changes in water temp, quality, human interaction,” said Sea Base General Manager Mike Johnson.

Johnson thought Scouts could be part of the solution. Using a technique called fragmentation, they cut corals into tiny pieces that regrow 50 times faster than they would in nature. The Scouts then plant them underwater to rebuild the reef. When asked if he thinks there might be a coral restoration merit badge on the horizon, Johnson said, “I hope so.”

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Since launching in 2018, the Sea Base nursery has grown 10,000 corals and is part of a two-decade project to restore millions of square feet of reef. 15-year-old Ryan Emmons says they’re helping the sea and future Scouts.

More at Sources:

https://miami.cbslocal.com/2022/04/19/earth-day-boy-scouts-regrow-florida-coral-reefs/

https://patch.com/florida/miami/earth-day-boy-scouts-helping-regrow-floridas-vunerable-coral-reefs

 

Edited April 19, 2022 by RememberSchiff