Volunteers and coral scientists from the Florida Aquarium and I.CARE (Islamorada Conservation and Restoration Education) came together in the Keys this past week for a purpose: restoring life to one of the world’s most threatened ecosystems.
On Nov. 7, the team outplanted more than 90 brain corals — born and grown at the Florida Aquarium’s Coral Conservation and Research Center in Apollo Beach — onto Davis Reef off Islamorada. These corals are part of Florida’s Coral Reef Restoration and Recovery Initiative through the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. The goal is to develop the infrastructure, technology, skilled workforce and logistics necessary by 2050 to support the long-term recovery of no less than 25% of Florida’s coral reef.
“This work is about hope and action,” said Rachel Morgan, coral propagation manager at the Florida Aquarium. “Every coral we plant gives us the chance to help nature recover and make a lasting impact on the reef.”
Certified divers and local volunteers joined the aquarium and I.CARE staff underwater to secure the young corals to the reef. Among them were retirees, professionals and lifelong ocean lovers.
Barry Simes, a retired executive, fulfilled a childhood dream of working with coral. Dan and Marilyn Steadman, married retirees from Illinois, shared their skills to help restore the reefs they’ve loved for years.
“When we first dove these reefs decades ago, they were bursting with color and life,” said Marilyn, who’s been diving with her husband for more than 50 years. “Coming back and seeing the decline was heartbreaking — but now, helping to plant new corals gives us hope. It’s our way of restoring the reefs that have given us a lifetime of memories.”
Since November 2023, the Florida Aquarium has donated 2,394 corals to I.CARE to support restoration efforts throughout the Keys. A nonprofit dedicated to reef restoration and conservation efforts, I.CARE involves both residents and visitors as citizen scientists to help with debris cleaning and outplanting efforts.
The newest corals were planted beside thriving colonies from previous outplantings, a visible sign of resilience and recovery. The initiative provides funding for evidence-based propagation and outplanting programs to re-establish hardy populations of native corals that were affected by stony coral tissue loss disease and the most devastating global bleaching event in history.
“This partnership with the Florida Aquarium is creating real, measurable impact,” said Mike Goldberg, co-founder of I.CARE. “Despite the challenges coral reefs face around the world, moments like these remind us that restoration is possible when communities and science come together.”
The outplanting came just weeks after the Global Tipping Points Report warned that coral reefs are “passing their tipping point” in an “unprecedented crisis.” With ocean temperatures finally cooling after another warm summer, conditions were ideal for replanting efforts aimed at helping corals survive and adapt.
Coral reefs are essential to life along Florida’s coast. They provide habitat for thousands of marine species, support the state’s multibillion-dollar tourism and fishing industries, and serve as natural barriers that protect shorelines from erosion and storms.
In addition to the corals planted during this trip, the Florida Aquarium transported more than 600 others to the Keys. These corals will be held at the Keys Marine Laboratory until they are outplanted by volunteers on future I.CARE restoration dives.
