our Story
It all started in the Summer of 2017 when we went on a service trip to the Florida Keys with a program called the Road Less Traveled. On our trip, we were able to become scuba certified and coral restoration divers. In total, our group did 14 dives and restored over 100 pieces of coral in nurseries with the Coral Restoration Foundation. The Coral Restoration Foundation is an organization that fundraises and does underwater and land service to restore coral in our oceans. We would start our service help by cleaning the nurseries which were filled with "trees" that were made up of PVC pipes and had one piece of coral hanging from a string. We then took the big corals from the "trees" and planted them using apoxy.
Our project is called "Project Little Blue World". While we were learning to dive, a Coral Restoration Foundation dive instructor named Paddi came along on the boat every day. She was probably the most bubbly, enthusiastic woman we had ever been around. She had just as much excitement for saving the corals as we had, even though we were just beginning and she had already been on over 10,000 dives. She is a perfect representation of everything the Coral Restoration Foundation stands for. These people see change, hope, and purpose in every coral they grow, and their passion is contagious. They truly love our planet and are doing their part in making a difference, which is really all they wanted for us: to want to make a difference. At the end of the camp, Paddi gave each of us a little blue marble, which she told us symbolized the planet. It was to remind us how important it was to protect our oceans, because although we cannot see the destruction in the ocean like we can on land, it’s there and just as prominent.
Through our website, we hope that we can inspire YOU to help save our oceans! Our earth is made up of 71% water; however, many don't realize how important it is to our society. Just as we take care of our land on earth, we have to remember to take care of our life under the sea. Think of each coral plant as a house; millions of fish and ocean animals live in reefs and use them as shelter from predators, shelter from strong currents/storms, and as a food source. As coral rapidly decreases, sea animals struggle to survive and our beautiful oceans are being destroyed. We need to act fast. Through our website, we hope that you become more educated about ocean and reef life while also finding ways that you can make a difference right away. Little actions go a long way!
Save the coral, save the world!
-Haley (16) and Kate (16)