Our mission is to develop, research and optimise reef restoration approaches to enhance reef management options and build resilience of local reef sites and reef stakeholders.
The Coral Nurture Program was conceived in 2018 as a collaborative partnership between science and tourism, with the goal to transform both ecological and social resilience to environmental change. Expanding to also work with Traditional Owners, our unique approach uses scientific innovation to advance community practice and so ensures proactive rather than reactive community restoration in the face of increasing environmental change.
The Coral Nurture Program does not claim to “Save the Reef”. The sheer size and complexity of reefs, as well as the cost of interventions, means that saving reefs is only possible with effective global action on climate change, alongside local effective management (e.g. marine protected areas). However, continued increases in seawater temperatures that drive marine heat waves and cause coral bleaching events are likely to keep occurring, even if climate policy is improved quickly. In the meantime, we develop the know-how to buy time at a scale that helps coral at the most valuable (ecological and economic) locations.
At the core of Coral Nurture Program is the local knowledge and capabilities of the tourism industry and Traditional Owners to bring site specific knowledge in combination with operational infrastructure. The Program also uses the scientific capabilities of the Future Reefs Team at the University of Technology Sydney to address fundamental scientific questions required to evaluate restoration processes and further knowledge on the fundamental reef biology and ecology governing restoration strategy and success. The Coral Nurture Program model of shared learnings between practitioners, Traditional Owners and scientists empowers reef stakeholders with the tools they need to respond to changing reef systems.
© 2025
