Retired Special Operations military veterans, one Gold Star family member whose father was killed while serving in the US Armed Forces and a student from a local school recently spent time planting and maintaining coral reefs in the Florida Keys, where only 3% of living coral remains.
The event took place through a partnership between the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation, which conducts scientific research and hosts educational programs aimed at conserving the marine environment; FORCE BLUE, which retrains and redeploys Special Operations veterans to work alongside scientists on marine conservation missions; I.CARE, which is dedicated to restoring the reefs of Islamorada; and the Mote Marine Laboratory.
During the dives, the team transplanted corals and conducted maintenance and monitoring activities on previously transplanted corals.
The two-day training and diving was designed to generate awareness and focus attention on the health of coral reefs.
