Save the Nananu-i-ra Coral Reef!

 
Bula Vinaka 

Welcome to our CORAL RESTORATION PROJECT!

 
Please help ex-students, volunteers, and a marine ecologist to restore a damaged coral reef in Fiji that is important for the livelihood of our local community. We invite you to assist us with desperately needed donations to support a coral restoration project on Nananu-i-ra Island. 

 
Corals are the foundation species of tropical reefs, the most diverse marine ecosystems on the planet. Coral communities on the reefs around Nananu-i-Ra island have been heavily damaged by the physical impacts of category 5 tropical cyclone Winston in 2016 along with bleaching events associated with the recent El Nino event. This damage and loss of corals has had negative impacts to the fisheries and marine life on the reef as well as made the area less attractive and suitable for tourists and educational programs, thus affecting the livelihood opportunities of the local community.  However, conditions on the reef area are conducive for undertaking coral restoration activities to help expedite the recovery process of the reef and maintain ecosystem productivity and resilience.


We aim to restore and preserve the natural beauty and diversity of an important and high use reef area on Nananu-i-ra Island by establishing a coral nursery and undertaking coral gardening using heat-tolerant strains of numerous species as part of our larger coral restoration strategy. Local volunteers will be trained in the necessary skill to undertake the coral restoration and other management activities by an experienced marine ecologist, and the nursery will be used for many years to come to propagate new corals for use in this effort.  


A History


For more than 25 years, the students and teachers from Pacific Harbour Multi-Cultural School in Fiji visited Nananu-i-ra Island for Environmental Science and Marine Biology studies and camps. It was the highlight of the year for most, and has left many with fond memories as well as knowledge and appreciation of the wonderful corals and marine life that we so treasure. 

All that changed after recent devastating cyclones roared through the Fiji Islands and caused terrible damage and destruction to the fragile reefs and magnificent corals. No longer can students look forward to Study Camps, while visitors from overseas and around Fiji who used to come every year to snorkel and swim among the colourful coral and reef fish have had to look elsewhere. Local fishermen and families have suffered from loss of food and income.

Through this project, we aim to expedite the recovery of the reef recover so that this incredibly beautiful and important reef system will once again be alive, vibrant, and useful as well as teach the next generation to love, care for, and look after our wonderful marine world.


Where We Are Now

We have engaged a marine ecologist with 15 years of experience undertaking coral reef restoration and management to assist us. A full reconnaissance trip has been undertaken to ensure the project is viable (you can read the report in its entirety Here) and develop a site-appropriate coral restoration strategy. The strategy includes a combination of coral gardening and predator control efforts, and a plan of what corals will be needed, what reef areas are appropriate for heat-tolerant coral fragments that can be sourced from, where nurseries can be placed, and how the process will be done. Additionally, we have also arranged with the local resorts on the island to have their staff trained during the project so they can maintain the restoration effort and incorporate it with their resort activities. This will serve as an educational experience for tourists as well as students visiting the island. To help publicize our efforts and create a broader awareness of the need for marine conservation efforts such as this, we have plans to get the story covered on multiple local media outlets. 

Please Help Us!

Please help us to achieve our dream to regenerate the reef at Nananu-i-Ra Island, Fiji. Any donation is much appreciated and will bring us closer to our targeted funding goal. The funds raised will help pay for the construction and deployment of coral nurseries where we can generate 400+ corals a year, materials for the propagation and transplantation of corals, and the necessary training for volunteers and resort staff to continue with and maintain the project for many years to come. 

In Fiji, donations can also be made directly into the project account maintained by Janet Arone
at Bank of South Pacific (BSP) - Acc No. 9611568; SWIFT: BOSPFJFJ; BSB No.  069.

Vinaka vaka levu & thank you very much for all your support and encouragement!



Project Update (August 4th)
 
Coral Nursery Installation and Planting:

 We are pleased to report that over the July 5th to 7th weekend we successfully propagated 400 baby corals in two newly-installed coral nurseries!

 The Reef Explorer team (Victor, Junior, and Walai) prepared and brought materials to Nananu-i-ra to construct and install two coral nursery tables in front of MacDonald's Beach Cottages, and propagate 400 new coral colonies.

The team lost no time collecting fragments from a variety of carefully-selected donor colonies found at suitable reef sites identified during their scoping mission.


A great group of volunteers assisted with attaching the coral fragments to the prepared cement “pancakes”. We really appreciated the help from guests staying at Maxine’s and are so proud to have 400 baby coral growing in the nursery now!

 
Our plan is to return in late October to transplant the new coral colonies back to the reef and to restock the nursery with another 400 new corals to grow for transplanting in 2020.

 Special thanks go to Maxine for all her help, contributions and assistance.

 Fundraising:

 Vinaka and thank you to Kye Nanovu for using his baking skills to make $82.30 in one day selling delicious cakes at his school in Suva! Kye is a qualified young diver, passionate about contributing to our Coral Restoration Project! Well done Kye!

 Our GoFundMe account remains active. We are very grateful to those who have already contributed - thank you and vinaka vaka levu! However, we urgently need to raise $2,000+ to support the activities we have already conducted and have planned for later this year.

Plans are underway for a Fundraising Event in Fiji. Watch this space for updates!