In October 2020, Only One members are supporting the work of Coral Gardeners, an organization advancing restoration and recovery of damaged and threatened reefs on the island of Mo'orea in French Polynesia through new coral nurseries.
Our collective journey with Coral Gardeners goes back to April 2019, when one of the co-founders of Only One, Cristina Mittermeier, discovered the project through social media and decided to pay a visit to Mo'orea to document and photograph the team at work.
We’ve never looked back and are thrilled to be part of the Coral Gardeners’ mission to save the reef.
The story behind the project
Coral Gardeners is a team of surfers, free-divers, and storytellers who are passionate about the ocean and coral reefs. Through their innovative Adopt a Coral program, Coral Gardeners are rebuilding and strengthening coral reefs by transplanting “super corals” (heat-resilient corals) to damaged zones. This encourages marine life to return and maintains the many benefits of corals to coastal communities of the Pacific.
Education is also central to the mission of Coral Gardeners. Their hope is for people all over the world to understand the necessity of coral reefs and take whatever action they can to help them recover. The Coral Gardeners team uses social media to reach millions of people.
Project impact
The contributions of Only One members will provide funds to build 8 coral nursery tables, which will host nearly 15,000 fragments of coral in total.
8 coral nursery tables will be built using Only One contributions
After one year, the team will transplant 5,000 corals to a degraded site
Together, these will host nearly 15,000 coral fragments
The social and cultural fabric of maritime tropical communities such as Mo'orea relies on coral reefs, which are vital for fisheries, tourism, and protection from storms and erosion. In 94 percent of reefs, temperature increases have already caused one or more episodes of severe coral bleaching since the 1990s. Coral gardening programs are one of several vital interventions aiming to sustain reefs in the face of the climate crisis.
