Throughout my early childhood, this pearl farm was my home. It was an amazing place to begin my time on Earth. Everywhere you looked, there were patterned fish, covered with spots and stripes, and sharks patrolling nearby reef ledges. Every day, we caught fish from the reef to eat, and I was swimming with the sharks before I knew how to feed myself.
Scientists tell us that coral reefs could be the first ecosystems to disappear from our planet. If we do not take action in the next 10 years to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, stop pollution and overfishing, and find better ways to restore them, all corals could be beyond saving. I could not believe it when I read that we have already lost more than a third of all reefs.
We collect “super corals” — corals that are naturally more resistant to the extreme conditions caused by climate change, like a warmer, more acidic ocean — and put them in a nursery to grow, before transplanting them to damaged zones of the reef. This strengthens the habitat, encouraging other life to return.
For all the young kids out there who want to start something, you just need to be passionate. Find a project that drives you. Take a sheet of white paper, write down a few ideas, and start telling your story to others — the rest will follow.