Page 7 - Hawaii Island MidWeek - April 20, 2022

APRIL 20, 2022 HAWAI‘I ISLAND MIDWEEK 7
Saving An Ocean Ecosystem One Coral Reef At A Time
FROM PAGE 6
politicians on the island to craft a permit ... which would allow the people of Hawai‘i to get hands-on with coral restoration and make a difference. Not just an activity to do, but something that will make a real difference on our island for its community members,” he says.
who are willing and able to plunge headfirst into the underwater world of all things coral.
permitted site, Makai Research Pier in Waimānalo, where they are legally allowed to take care of one species of coral, porites evermanni.
a very small island, and the reefs are right up against the shore, so there’s consistent impact for not only natural sources breaking apart reefs but people, boats and fishing, too.
“We’re going to name it the MidWeek coral,” says Beri. “The beautiful thing about that coral is that one of our trained volunteers who went through our program found it. That shows that our train- ing program is actually working. We put our request in to the state, but we still haven’t heard back and it’s been months. This coral is one of the last remaining ones in the area, it’s dying, it was damaged by people and we’re trying to do something to save it.
As president, Beri works alongside board members Heidi Hirsh, Liz Tarquin and Coppy Hulzman, as well as countless advisers that include Fiji-based coral restoration pioneer Austin Bowden-Kerby; Phil Dustan, who was a part of the award-winning documentary Chasing Coral; Ken Nedimyer, founder of Coral Restoration Foundation; and Ellen Pikitch, executive director of the Institute of Ocean Conservation at Beri’s alma mater, Stony Brook University.
“We want to be fully commu- nity-based, like we want the com- munity to lead our organization,” says Beri. “For structural purpos- es, we have people on paper, but it’s really the volunteers that make our organization what it is.”
“We are the first organization ever to work with this species,” Beri says. “We chose this coral because it’s an incredibly resil- ient, heat tolerant, genetically su- perior, super coral, and the efforts and what we do with this coral won’t be for nothing because it’s been shown to survive warming, higher, more acidic conditions in the ocean.
“There are so many broken cor- als in our reefs and so many divers and marine community members who are a part of this community willing to help, and, logistically, our plan was to have a permit that would allow us to develop emer- gency response methods whereas we find, locate and identify bro- ken, damaged and dying corals, and save them right then and there. We don’t bring them to a nursery, we don’t take them to other loca- tions, we find the corals that need the help and we save them, and we train the community members of Hawai‘i to do that.”
Together, the team orchestrates field training and educational lec- tures for community members
The Coral Conservancy’s over- arching goal is to garner a permit large enough to cover a broad area of coral reefs that need saving, which, frankly, is most of them. Its permit now is restricted to one region and one type of coral, and Beri, while grateful, says it’s not enough.
Until that’s possible, The Coral Conservancy will continue to do what it can to help preserve one of the most vital ecosystems on the planet. And, sure enough, the proof is already in the pudding. Volunteer Frances Tong, who found out about the organization after reading about it right here in MidWeek O‘ahu’s “Proof Positive” feature (published April 7, 2021), discovered a giant pocillopora eydouxi (or antler cor- al) — one of the last of its kind in the area — at Ala Moana Beach Park that was nearly destroyed by a boat.
For Beri, 2052 is well within his lifetime (he’s 28) and even more so in generations after his. This, cou- pled with his pure intrigue and re- spect for the sea and its creatures, makes this task his life’s work.
Those interested can sign up for the nonprofit’s training exercises (follow @the.coral.conservancy for updates), which are held at Kaimana Beach in Waikīkī for a simulated coral restoration exer- cise and at Hawai‘i Kai Retirement Community, where they learn the ABCs and 123s of the operation. Volunteers will learn how to clean and prepare corals for transition; the materials and supplies used for coral restoration; what a bro- ken coral looks like and where it should be planted to save it; other important marine species that are necessary to uphold the balance and ecosystem of the reef; and safety skills in the water.
“The permitting process was extremely rigorous, and it took a very long time,” he continues. “The reality is that corals die fast- er than it takes for someone to ap- ply for a permit to save it. It took us a year to get our permit, and corals don’t have that long.”
“We know that we cannot do this alone, and that’s the whole purpose of our organization” he says. “No one organization or per- son or thing or method is going to save coral reefs. It’s going to take all of us. It is all of our responsi- bility to do something.”
(Above) The Coral Conservancy president Damien Beri shows intern Anela Kerber, a Punahou School student, how to transport coral and safely ensure it’s protected during training. PHOTO COURTESY CONNER HUMANN (Inset) A trained volunteer discovered a piece of coral at Ala Moana Beach Park that needs the nonprofit’s help. PHOTO COURTESY DAMIEN BERI
As a way to get younger generations involved with conservation activities, The Coral Conservancy holds community events, including a recent beach cleanup at Makapu‘u Beach Park with Community 808 and Banán Hawai‘i. PHOTO COURTESY BANÁN HAWAI‘I
Once they’re ready for the real deal, Beri and his team will take volunteers to the nonprofit’s only
“It’s our young generation that is inheriting the reefs,” he says. “We are inheriting a destroyed ecosystem. It is our — it is my — responsibility at this age to start doing something. If I’m not doing something, I’m doing myself and the planet a disservice.”
“Our baseline for acquiring this permit was that we would be responding to the broken and damaged corals that are strewn around our island,” he explains. “We have a very high density on
For more information on The Coral Conservancy, visit thecoralconservancy.org.