The BREEF Sir Nicholas Nuttall Coral Reef Sculpture Garden was built as an incredible living art gallery, a habitat for marine organisms, an underwater classroom for students, and to drive marine conservation efforts. Created and deployed in 2014, the Coral Reef Sculpture Garden is now a home to many species of coral, fish and invertebrates such as sponges and sea urchins.
Several sculptures make up our artificial coral reef garden and Ocean Atlas by Jason de Caires Taylor is at the center of them all. Ocean Atlas is a living statue of a Bahamian girl holding the future of our oceans on her shoulders. She calls for the next generation of environmental stewards to take up the torch of marine conservation.
Over the past six years, Ocean Atlas has made a few new coral friends. Her hand is now covered with encrusting brain coral and her back with finger coral.
Star coral, mustard hill coral and fire coral are developing all over her body.
Corals have embraced Ocean Atlas and the other statues in our coral garden. The Virtuoso Man by Willicey Tynes, shown just after deployment in 2014, has been growing fire coral and golf ball coral all over his body. Various fish and marine invertebrates have also made the Virtuoso Man’s staff their home.
The Reef Balls are developing into a living reef, housing octocorals and long spined urchins that help keep algae in check.
The artificial reef sculptures also host sea fans, arrow crabs and other species of corals.
Larger marine animals such as spotted eagle rays, manatees and dolphins have also visited the BREEF sculpture garden.
Near the sculpture garden, you will find one of BREEF’s coral nurseries. There, corals are fragmented and regrown on coral trees using the propagation method. When these corals are large enough they are out-planted on the reef and secured with underwater epoxy.
Photo Credit: Hayley Jo Carr, Reef Rescue Network
Two years later, this reef of outplanted corals is full of life! Just look at all of these fish taking shelter in the ‘BREEF Reef’ now!
Restoring coral reefs is very important for the health of the marine environment and sustaining our livelihoods. A structurally diverse reef can provide a multitude of habitats for species. Healthy reefs also reduce wave energy by 95%, thus protecting our coasts during major storms!
We have outplanted over 200 corals from our nursery and counting. Our coral restoration effort is part of the REEF Rescue Network.
You can help BREEF rebuild our precious coral reefs by adopting a coral today!
Post a comment