Page 6 - Hawaii Island MidWeek - April 20, 2022

6 HAWAI‘I ISLAND MIDWEEK APRIL 20, 2022
Damien Beri’s deep dive into the world of marine conservation led him to form The Coral Conservancy, a nonprofit dedicated to saving as many coral reefs as possible.
(Above) (From left) Frances Tong, Michael Solomon, Conner Humann, Anela Kerber, Damien Beri, Heidi Hirsh, Adam Dolak and Liz Tarquin are part of the team behind nonprofit The Coral Conservancy. (Below) Seventeen-year- old intern Anela Kerber trains to handle, transport and inspect coral for viability. PHOTO COURTESY CONNER HUMANN
The year 2052 sounds like a made-up, futuristic date. After all, it’s only a de- cade off from when The Jetsons took place — and they had flying cars. The reality is, it’s only a mere 30 years from today and, ac- cording to scientific experts, that’s when coral reefs could become nearly extinct.
and she got things done for the reefs,” he says. “Being born and raised in New York City, I consider myself a doer.”
tunity for me to get involved
in coral restoration in Ha-
wai‘i, which I was shocked
by because Hawai‘i has lost
about 50% of its coral reefs. Why wouldn’t there be more avenues for people like myself and all the other community members in Hawai‘i to participate in coral restoration?”
There are more than 400,000 acres of reef in the main Hawaiian Islands, home to thou- sands of species of marine plants and animals. Miles and miles from this aquatic wonderland, Damien Beri, who was born and bred in the Big Apple, would look at it through a screen. He credits the late Ruth Gates, a leader in local reef exploration, for sparking his zeal for the lives that live under the sea.
Beri earned a master’s degree in marine conservation and policy from Stony Brook University and not long after found himself on a 10-hour flight from one side of the country to the other to intern for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Protected Resources Division. Yearning to do more, Beri sought coral restoration organizations to get involved with but came up short.
Becoming the answer to his own question, Beri established The Coral Conservancy, a nonprofit organization that seeks to upscale restoration efforts through community outreach.
“A lot of my initial inspiration came from watching online videos, watching Ruth Gates talking about corals, and how she was a doer
“Throughout that time (with NOAA), I went with my mentor to all of the different coral restoration nurseries and met with many of the leaders in coral restoration here on the is- land,” he recalls. “Even through doing that, I struggled to find a way to put my skills in coral restoration to use. There was no oppor-
“I took it upon myself to bring together a team of world-renowned scientists and experts in coral restoration, policy and nonprofit or- ganizations, and I reached out to several
SEE PAGE 714
HAWAI‘I ISLAND MIDWEEK COVER STORY