Nov 13 Restoring Reefs in Puerto Rico with Community, Science, Policy, and Passion

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In short, my act of peace is to conserve, restore, and educate about an ecosystem that gives so much, and receives very little: Coral Reefs.

Earlier this year, while surfing, I started to think about why places like Hawaii and St. Thomas have established laws preventing the sale of chemical sunscreens to protect their coral reefs; and why Puerto Rico hasn't. In that moment, I didn't know it, but this thought would be the spark that ignited this project and the next years of my life. The more I researched, the more I learned about corals, the more I fell in love with the underwater world, and the more ambitious my project became. What started off as a mission to change legislature and ban a product that destroys a precious natural resource and negatively impacts human health; is now a mission to grow and plant over 10,000 corals a year, educate and expose young Puerto Ricans to the wonders of marine sciences, and develop new conservation technologies and techniques.

Not everyone knows that corals are not a rock or a plant, but a living animal, an animal that needs our help. In the last 30 years, the world has lost over 50% of all of its coral reefs, and by 2050, it is predicted we will be left with only 10% of current coral reefs. To understand what this truly means, you have to understand why they are so important. While only covering 1% of the ocean floor, coral reefs provide for over 75% of all marine life, whether it be a home, food, or shelter for reproduction. Reefs also provide a natural barrier between storms and coastal cities, removing 90% of wave energy and preventing beach and coastal erosion. They generate an estimated $36 billion in revenue worldwide, and as if that wasn’t enough; they provide the medical research industry with compounds being used to create treatments for cancer, Alzheimer’s, and other diseases. Without them, we would have no fish in our waters, no sand on our beaches, and the world would have that much less color in it.

Corals face 4 major threats:

· Climate change- with ocean temperatures rising and becoming more acidic, and inhospitable each year

· Pollution- with 10 million tons of trash entering the ocean every year, and 14,000 tons of sunscreen each year

· Illness- In the last decade, corals have died off from illness and disease at unprecedented rates, wiping out an entire species from a reef in months

· Human Error- anchors, jet skis, and snorkelers accidentally damage 10s of thousands of corals every year

We can’t possibly see improvement if we only focus on one means of restoration, and so my efforts are split to address each of its threats with our own initiative:

· Coral Nurseries- Farming structure built and placed in the ocean, allowing us to grow coral 500% faster than in nature. Via nurseries we are able to oversee and maintain their health and growth to adulthood before planting them on the reef

· Education- Creating opportunity and resources that are free and open to the public allows us to create a more educated population that understands and cares more for its natural resources. From social media posts to free online courses, to offering underwater learning courses to disadvantaged Puerto Rican youth populations, we hope to offer an accessible mean of leaning about the ocean and its importance.

· Technology- through innovation and fine tuning of restoration methods, development of new conservation technologies, three-dimensional mapping of reefs, and the tracing of disease and bleaching resistant genotypes, I strive to contribute to the advancement of Conservation Efforts.

· Policy change- rezoning of marine sanctuaries, public petitioning, banning the sale of chemical sunscreens, and advocacy for marine craft safety enforcement: these are opportunities for our government to join our mission, and we will encourage them to join us along our entire conservation adventure

This is my Service Learning Project. An opportunity to give back to island and a world that has given me so much. It is a project that I hope to lead and grow as long as it lets me. It is a project that teaches me new things every day, and that allows me to pass it on to all who are curious. It is a project that lets me feel part of the solution, part of better, cleaner, more colorful world.

While I have only been in Puerto Rico for three years, I have quickly come to know it as my home. In those three years, I have fallen in love with its mountains, its oceans, beaches, and its peoples. It has welcomed me, and I have made myself at home. I hope that this is the direction of the world. A place that welcomes strangers; giving them a home, so that they in turn feel responsible for it. That is how I hope to contribute to Peace. To let my project grow around the world, and encourage others to find their home, and give back to it,