CORAL GARDENERS
Through its Perpetual Planet Initiative, Rolex supports Coral Gardeners, a collective of young ocean advocates on a mission to save the reefs
Two nearly symmetrical bays open up on the northern side of Mo’orea, lending the paradise island in French Polynesia an intriguing shape. Depending on how you look at it, the island’s natural contours resemble a heart, an angel, or even an eagle when viewed from above. In any case, it’s positively fitting, with the isle emerging from the bright turquoise lagoon like a majestic cathedral, its rugged peaks and spires reaching skyward.
Alternately, beneath the water, once-vibrant corals are losing color. Titouan Bernicot recalls the pivotal moment that spurred him into action: “We went surfing, and saw that the reef was white—the corals were dying.” That very afternoon, he took the first steps to establish Coral Gardeners, an organization dedicated to saving coral reefs.
Today, Coral Gardeners have reached their initial goal of planting 30,000 corals. Their approach involves the use of resilient “super corals” that have survived bleaching. These super corals undergo nurturing in nurseries before they are transplanted to damaged reefs. Cultivating over 28 different super coral species, Coral Gardeners aim to plant one million corals by 2025.
The initiative started small, spearheaded by Bernicot and his dedicated team in 2017, which included his brother and friends.now, with the support of Rolex, they are developing a new platform called Reefos. This technology connects the reef to smartphones and computers, allowing for more efficient monitoring of their conservation efforts. Among reef conservation companies, they have the largest social media presence telling the story of the reef. Their images and videos have reached over 200 million people in just five years, with around half a million followers on their Instagram. Geared toward the younger generations, Coral Gardeners’ stunning imagery and informative videos look to the future of conservation and hope to spark passions centered on ocean protection.
Coral Gardeners’ team of engineers continually strives to scale up coral reef restoration in an opensource and effective manner, aligning with Rolex’s philosophy of continuous refinement. As Bernicot emphasizes, “We are not all marine biologists, but we have spent thousands of hours under the surface. We see things, we observe things, we learn things.”
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