In May 2016 we took a giant leap, we gave up our house, and moved to Thailand. To start a new project is not easy. Things may go differently than expected, things might go wrong. Other things take much longer than you anticipated. On the other hand, you get help from unexpected sources and the most wonderful people!

Thanks to many donations, sponsors, and volunteers we built an artificial reef on Koh Tao! Here is an overview of what we accomplished together.

The CoralGarden is built in Hin Wong Bay south, the GPS location is: 10°06’04″N – 99°50’59″E

The artificial reef structures of the CoralGarden are deployed on an empty patch of sand in Hin Wong Bay. There was not much marine life in this area, though there are healthy coral reefs nearby.

It total we created ten flowers, one pair of hands, and one tree. We gave each of the flowers a name based on the top portion of the flower. Between the flowers and the natural reef, we deployed bottle nurseries, to create a path for fish to migrate to the new habitat. The flowers and tree are designed for marine life and as structures to accommodate the transplantation of corals. The hands are made for divers, to practice their buoyancy control. Here the map of the CoralGarden:

We have learned a lot during the building of the CoralGarden. In 2015 we deployed a test flower in Hin Fai, which was connected to the Biorock structure of NHRCP, to test new ideas about how to use new materials. This flower is doing great, but the conditions in Hin Wong Bay are completely different. So a couple of flowers were having a difficult time. We had to alter our design to deal with the rough weather conditions and different bacteria in the soil.
Do you want to see the CoralGarden we realised together with you?

See here the CoralGarden

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Would you like to see us in person? Then come along, attend the Duikvaker on the 2nd and 3rd of February in Houten, Holland. Hear Willem’s first-hand experiences of placing an artificial reef underwater, and meet marine ecologist Ingrid.

There is, of course, the possibility for children to participate in the workshop “Design a New House For Fishing.” In this way they can not only learn about, but contribute to the protection and restoration of coral reefs. The workshop Coral Gardening is organized by Inge Aarden. We also have special games and activities that teach the kids about the cooperative ecosystem that is a coral reef, how all the animals work together. In addition, we also have the Coral Experience, with…..

We would be delighted to talk with you, to discuss coral conservation, and to see what the chances of recovery are and how you can contribute. We will also give a lecture about the exiting new developments in the rehabilitation of coral reefs.

Visit Duikvaker for a captivating trip underwater! Or register at www.coralgardening.org for more information about coral reefs, and our restoration methods.

Do you want to be part of a new reef yourself? It is possible to sponsor your own reef, or to take part in our next statues on Bangka Island.

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It would be nice to make a statue during the weeks that we are here. The scrap metal consists of a galvanized gas pipes, rebar, and a small iron oxygen tank. A simple question that posed an interesting challenge for us; what could we make? The tank was the key, it gave the inspiration to create a diver. After an extensive brainstorming session, the first design was sketched on paper.

In order to get the dimensions of the diver right, we used Veran as a model. However, due to all the current discussion in society around gender identification, we decided to make the dive gender neutral.

We set out in good spirits to build our diver, however, soon we found that it was not so simple as we had hoped. The gas pipes were very difficult to bend into a desired shape, and welding two different metals together in an art unto itself. After practicing and consulting digitally with our welding specialists in the Netherlands, we mastered this aspect of welding, even with the wrong electrodes!

On Coral Day the diver was revealed to the public. An unexpected bit of testing and quality control took place, usually it is the children who climb all over our artificial reefs, but this time it was an Indonesian woman who knew a good bench when she saw one.

The children loved being the “dive buddy” of the diver; wearing their self-painted traditional diving goggles, they lay on the table next to the diver, dreaming of adventures in the underwater world. And so a name for our diver became quickly apparent: “Buddy.”

After Coral Day Buddy is baptized in the sea. With neither theory, nor diving lessons, it went into the water and found a nice spot on the reef in front of the Mimpi Indah Resort. Buddy has a basket in its hands, to show that they are always tending to the coral, coral gardening. Buddy swims from the Domus Hippocampi, placed on Coral Day 2018, to the pyramids the had been sunk the year prior.

As usual, we plant various coral on Buddy in the subsequent dives. We notice that several fish have already taken up residence in Buddy’s base. Every time we meet Buddy, we check to see if the fish are still there, and if more are moving in, the population increases in just a matter of days. Such an fascinating sight!

I wish I could peer into the future. How will Buddy look in 5 years, in 10? Next year in mid-May, we will return to Bangka to start repairing the damaged reef by building a new reef and transplant coral on it.

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The festival is organized by Suara Pulau in order to increase awareness of the importance of coral reefs. Every year a new section of artificial reef is placed. This year the reef is the “The Domus Hippocampi,” it is designed by Teguh Ostenrik, a famous Indonesian artist. It is built by Yaysan Terumbu Rupa (YTR) with the help of donations from many sponsors. When we arrived on Banka Island, The Domus stands prominently on land, ready and waiting. A few days prior to Coral Day a team from YTR arrives to do the final preparations to deploy The Domus on Coral Day itself.

The YTR team consists of volunteers, who may or may not have experience with the installation of artificial reefs. This makes it very important to create a solid and effective plan to sink The Domus before we proceed. Because we also have broad experience and input, the meetings are conducted in three languages: Indonesian, English, and Sign Language. It is funny and interesting to see how all of the knowledge of the various volunteers is integrated and used. Ultimately a belay method is chosen to lower the reef onto the ocean floor. Belaying is the same technique climbers use to go up and down on a rope.

The Domus consists of 3 parts, and is 23 meters long. It will be anchored using 12 blocks made of concrete and stone. The blocks were specially made using ideas and methods we devised in order to make them a more attractive and hospitable habitat to new coral recruits. The blocks are placed on their locations before Coral Day, so that we get gain experience using the belay method. This is not as easy as it looks! The blocks are small, but rather heavy. The first blocks go down uncontrolled, luckily we are able to learn from our mistakes, and with some revised techniques the following blocks go down smoothly.

There are about 200 guests on Coral Day. The various sponsors are present, and so is the head of the district of North Minahasa, Vonny Panambunan. There are speeches and a ceremony where The Domus Hippocampi is blessed. This consists of a traditional dance and throwing coloured powders and water into the air. This is great fun, and all the children are splashed with colour and they look painted afterward.

When all the ceremonies are over, it is time to place the first of the 3 Domus sections into the water. First it is made to float with the aid of air-filled jerry cans, then it is towed to the location over the seabed with the unified strength of a team of divers. Finally it is slowly lowered into position. We have learned much from the lowering of the anchor blocks, and the first Domus section goes down in a graceful and controlled manner. We coordinate underwater operations and place the structure on exactly on the spot we chose. When the section is in place, it is time to add the coral to the artificial reef. Veran gave the volunteers a crash course in attaching corals to the structure, and assists Teguh in placing the first piece of coral. The other two sections of The Domus Hippocampi are placed on the next day.

It has been a beautiful day! We want to thank everyone who has contributed to making this day possible! Especially Ulva Takke, from Suara Pulau, for organizing the event. Mimpi Indah Resort for the accomondation and the great food. Also the entire team of the Yayasan Terumbu Rupa foundation (YTR) for the construction of the artificial reef and their great teamwork during the installation of the reef. All of the sponsors and of course Teguh Ostenrik for the design of The Domus Hippocampi. Thank you all so very much!

An impression of Coral Day made by Virginia Veronica Gerungan

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Visitors were asked to come up with a name for the red breasted wrasse that lives in the CoralGardening. With a large majority, they have chosen: Suppy.

Fully cared for, hydrated and motivated, we return to our every day activities at CoralGardening, we carry on, aided by this donation.

LUSH, thank you for your cooperation! Do you want to be inspired by coral and CoralGardening at work or at school? Please contact us to explore the possibilities, we will be
happy to provide you with much more information than was included in this newsletter!

Greetings from the Netherlands,
Esmee

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Concrete is often the material of choice when it comes to creating structures beneath the sea. For example, concrete blocks are frequently used as anchors to attach buoys and boating lines, so that boats may moor up, or as obstacles to prevent illegal fishing. Windmills and quay walls are also made of concrete. It is a well-known fact that after a number of years, concrete in the tropics become teaming with life, algae, coral, and fish find a home here. This process can take a number of years, and for us it is a challenge to find ways to speed up this process. Usually the surface of the concrete is relatively smooth, and so it therefore offers little shelter for smaller organisms.

If a coral larva seeks to find a home after fertilization, they prefer a safe place where fish cannot immediately reach them, to ensure they are not eaten. This makes a flat concrete surface unsuitable for these small coral larvae. Small crabs and shrimp also prefer to have a hole to hide in, and so the question arises: “How can we make the surface of the concrete suitable for marine life to find a cozy spot to call home?”

Twelve Concrete blocks have been made for the new structure of Suara Pulau and are placed in the water on CoralDay. We decided to make different textures on the surface of the blocks in order to test which features make the most difference. We chose four different surfaces, and made three iterations of each in order to compare the effectiveness of the different variations.

The surface of the first 3 blocks is just concrete, in which we carved grooves in order to create a rough surface.

In the next set of 3 blocks we placed dead coral skeletons, and shells. This is a beautiful natural material to which the new corals can easily attach themselves.

The third trio of blocks have been ingrained with a layer of icing sugar. We have heard rumors that the application of icing sugar onto wet concrete changes the composition of the top layer, so that coral might more easily grow upon it. Unfortunately we cannot find any scientific evidence to back this up, and so this is just a test to see if this method is effective and has any merit.

In the last three concrete blocks we have places fruit residues, skins and pits in the wet concrete. When the concrete has hardened we remove these objects, so that various intricate holes remain molded into the concrete. These holes are ideal for all sorts of small organisms, including crustaceans, coral larvae, and fish.

This is not scientifically sound research, but it is a first step. Should we discover that that these methods are effective, we will further investigate how concrete surfaces can be designed and built in such a manner as to be more hospitable to marine life, while remaining efficient and cost-effective in their production.

Do you have knowledge, experience, or ideas on how we can make the the surface of concrete more suited to foster healthy and happy marine life? Let us Know!

The real method to gain knowledge is the experiment. ”
William Blake – English poet and painter 1757-1827

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In order to increase our knowledge, we have invited Nicole Helglason of ReefDivers.io to give a presentation to us and also to the Volunteers of Suara Pulau (the NGO that placed the Pyramids here on Bangka Island). Nicole is a specialist in the field of coral identification, she assists various coral rehabilitation projects around the world, and she has developed a teaching method to impart this knowledge gracefully unto others.

In the morning Nicole starts with her presentation “See The Reef with New Eyes” which is about how one can recognize the different species of coral. Coral is divided into different classes, called genus, and each genus can contain dozens or even a hundred different species. Each individual coral can have different forms and colors, which can make identification especially difficult. For example: one coral species can grow in a branching form (such as the branches of a tree), a tabular form (as a table), or encrusting (over an object), depending on conditions such as depth, temperature, and sunlight exposure. The presentation is a brief summary covering the basics of recognizing and identifying coral, the official course takes a number of days to complete. After the presentation we went diving on the pyramids and the surrounding area. Nicole is pleasantly surprised by the amount of healthy coral around the reef damaged by dynamite fishing.

In the afternoon we dive at the rehabilitation and education project of Murex, another resort on the island. They specifically seek out coral species that are threatened, and when they find one they will split fragments off of the mother coral and place them onto a table in their nursery, once the corals are large enough they are placed back on the natural reef.

Today I learned something new: mimic anemones are not coral, they are an anemone that can appear to be coral, in fact they are nearly indistinguishable from coral. During the night, however, it becomes apparent that the anemone is not coral, it looks rather different. Now here is a question: are you going for a night dive, or are you going to look at the stars instead?

Nicole, thanks for the instructive day!

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GBCC is the Global Biodiversity Conservation Conference organised by the University of Life Sciences in Prague. It was held for the 5th time, previous conferences were besides in Prague also at collaborating universities in Mexico (2016) and Indonesia (2014).

There were 225 participants, mainly Czech students and university staff, as well as several Czech Conservation Organizations. The international participants where mainly from Mexico and 11 of the 24 speakers were from abroad. One speaker from Slovakia was likely to be the oldest and most opinionated participant, he was not shy and challenged speakers after each presentation, in Slovak… luckily, he did not have any questions for me

The presentation of CoralGardening was remarkable in the sense that it was one of the few about marine conservation. A lot of topics were about forest conservation and terrestrial wildlife. The themes of this year’s GBCC were really interesting: day 1 was about human transformation of ecosystems and its effect on biodiversity (in temperate and tropical regions); day 2 was about wildlife crime; and modern technologies in biodiversity conservation (remote sensing, drones, telemetry, night vision camera’s). Although the 3D printing of an artificial coral reef would have well fitted the latter theme, CoralGardening was invited to give a presentation in the afternoon at the 1st day, as part of the theme human transformation of tropical ecosystems. The invitation came from a network contact of Veran, and I was asked to go in her place.

For me an honour and very nice to do, as I have some experience in speaking and attending conferences with my background in applied science and tropical marine ecology. Besides representing the work of CoralGardening I included a summary of scientific knowledge on coral restoration techniques based on lessons learnt of other projects worldwide. My aim was to get in touch and share knowledge with other participants of GBCC, by addressing our own research projects and the research questions and needs we have. As mentioned there were few marine conservationists, one speaker was working with turtles in Cape Verde. I did establish contacts with Czech people who apply genetics in their work, which is definitely a hot topic and more and more applied in conservation projects to give insight in the DNA of an individual, which provides information about population structure or species evolution. In coral restoration it is promoted as a means to establish a resilient artificial reef which has genetic variability. This makes a coral reef more resilient to threats than a monoculture, as one genotype will be more resistant to for example disease than another. The DNA of the photosynthetic algae (zooxanthellae) living in the tissue of coral polyps is also important, as it determines their resilience to the major global threat: coral bleaching. Although it is not at all easy nor cheap to establish genetic research, it is worthwhile to investigate and consider incorporating genetic sampling in the mobile lab project of CoralGardening.

For me it was inspiring to attend this conference and to dive into scientific papers. If you are interested to learn more, please have a look at the program and presentations at the GBCC website.

Ingrid van Beek

Photo’s GBCC

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This year in July I went back to finish the project.
Constructing the giant steel hands wasn’t always easy. Working with very limited resources, in temperatures well above 30 degrees and mother nature who made welding impossible with heavy rain.

Photo’s Carla August

But when we, with the help of many people, finally had the hands in place on the bottom and during my safety stop with Frank back to the surface, I looking down to see those giant hands standing in the CoralGarden, the reward couldn’t be any greater!

Photo Lee Jellyman

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Veran and Frank are engaged in gardening with coral under water.
Thanks to their efforts, a new piece of artificial coral reef is being constructed. On World Ocean Day there was information at their booth about the work they do in Thailand. Since the youth has the future, there were clay workshops. The children were invited to think about (practical) solutions, so that the coral can continue to exist. The children could make an underwater house for the fish and other animals. There were beautiful creation. A real ceramicist bakes everything in a huge oven and the artworks end up at the home of the young makers.

The sports hall was full of stalls, including vegan food and I finally bought a toothbrush made of bamboo (sustainable).
It was a lot of fun outside of the sports hall. There were a number of food trucks and stalls with delicious vegan food and there were friendly ladies with delicious fresh smoothies (drinking cups and straws made of corn). And not to be overlooked at all, there was a tank where you could dive in.

In the hall of the sports complex were mermaids with which you could take a picture of. Various lectures were given in different rooms, raising awareness about the importance of the sea and especially the underwater life for us, as humanity. In a separate section you could experience what impact pollution, especially plastic, has on marine life. There was also a space focused on coral, with an aquarium with live corals. It was a visual experiance.

A visual impression:

It was a beautiful day; with friendly encounters, lots of information and interaction.

Marieke

A visual impression:

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