As climate change progresses and the ocean temperature rises, more and more coral reefs are dying due to coral bleaching. However, there is hope for future generations of coral by human intervention specifically in the form of on-land and underwater nurseries.
By volunteering through the organization \"Reef Renewal\" I was able to volunteer to help frag, plant, and clean coral trees within a nursery located in the Florida Keys. Fragging is the process of propagating/cutting coral which stimulates growth and faster development of coral. Planting coral consists of physically diving in the nurseries and putting the boards of fragged coral on the nursery trees. Cleaning the trees is one of the most important parts of the volunteer work because it prevents algae and bivalve overgrowth which can smother, shade, and/or abrade the coral.
