Meet Karma for Cara microgrant recipient Bryn (15) from North Carolina. Working with a newly established NC chapter of the SCUBAnauts, International, Bryn & team’s goal was to create and maintain a coral nursery at Radio Island Rock Jetty. The area is frequented by beach goers, recreational fishermen, and local SCUBA divers for fun, training, and food. A stony coral called Occulina Arbuscula grows along the rock jetty, and in May of 2018, a large amount of oyster shell was dumped onto the rock jetty which destroyed about a sixth of the environment that had existed there. With the assistance of the K4C microgrant, the team created a nursery of the Occulina arbuscula, maintained it, and outplanted it to re-establish the habitat that existed before the dump.

1. What inspired you to start this project? Coral restoration in the Florida Keys.

2. Other than you, how many student volunteers participated in your service project? 20

3. Other than you, how many adult volunteers participated in your service project? 8

4. How many hours did you spend on your project? 20

5. How many hours did other volunteers spend on your project? 10

6. How many individuals were affected by your project? 100 

7. During the time period between when you applied for a K4C microgrant & when you completed the project, what surprised you? How often we needed to clean the coral trees/tables and also how much detail/planning went into the project.

8. Overall what did you learn from this experience? That corals grow very slowly and also that larger corals had a better chance of survival.

9. How will your project continue having an impact in the future? We hope to continue to outplant corals on a larger scale at Radio Island Rock Jetty.

10. How was the K4C microgrant helpful in the completion of your project? It provided us with the funds for the materials we used and the cost of rental gear, boats, etc.

Read Bryn’s blog post about the project here.