Key facts
Only One members have been funding the planting of 62,000 corals across French Polynesia through Coral Gardeners — and are now newly supporting the organization’s international expansion across Polynesia, Melanesia, and beyond by funding the restoration of 10,000 corals in Fiji.
This project is restoring degraded reefs with diversified coral species, boosting marine biodiversity, supporting local communities, and facilitating ready-made digital reef monitoring techniques.
Coral Gardeners Fiji is located on Malolo Island, the organization’s first restoration site outside of French Polynesia.
Our coral planting partner is the brainchild of Titouan Bernicot, an ocean kid who loved his island’s magnificent reef ecosystem and dreamed big!
How the project works
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Coral Gardeners identify and collect coral fragments from nearby healthy reefs, picking up pieces from the seafloor or via a process similar to conventional plant clipping in a terrestrial garden.
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The fragments are relocated and maintained in any of seven underwater nurseries to grow in calm waters.
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To track restoration progress, team members use the Reef App — bringing an iPhone underwater to monitor coral growth and health in real time.
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Once the corals reach maturity, they are carefully transplanted onto degraded reef sites, helping to restore structure, biodiversity, and ecological function.
Project impact
All projects on Only One help save the ocean and the planet, with 100% of our members’ funds going directly to impact. Keep reading to learn how our project, “Branching out through coral reef restoration in Fiji,” is making a positive difference.
Biodiversity and ecosystems
The coral reefs of Malolo Island are part of a Na Tabu, or marine reserve, free of commercial fishing activities and industrial disturbance. By cultivating and transplanting a wide range of species — 54 in total, primarily the fast-growing stony corals Acropora and Pocillopora — this project is learning from Coral Gardeners’ driving strategy to select specific corals for thermal resiliency and biodiversity. These efforts support the recovery of essential marine habitats and improve ecosystem health across the South Pacific.
Wildlife protection
Home to the third-largest continuous barrier reef in the world, Fiji is surrounded by abundant, yet vulnerable reefs that cover over 6,500 square kilometres and sustain an estimated 1,075 species of fish. But the compounding effects of climate change — warming seas, increasing intensity and frequency of extreme weather — and overfishing, runoff, and pollution are causing widespread coral degradation. By growing and planting stress-resistant corals, this project is rebuilding key wildlife habitats and giving marine species like the humphead wrasse and the loggerhead turtle a better chance to survive and thrive. This is especially important given Malolo’s designation as a turtle nesting and breeding ground.
Community development
The Coral Gardeners Fiji team includes a nimble, dedicated crew of local restoration leaders and reef stewards. The project is creating new employment opportunities (part of an international team of more than 70 employees now located across 15 different countries), supporting sustainable tourism, and building community education through youth outreach initiatives from classrooms to the coast.
Tribe leaders approved the reef restoration efforts during a traditional village ceremony, called Sevusevu, exchanging the kava drink as a token of reciprocal appreciation and good wishes; and offering a whale tooth as a blessing for the project to begin.
Project leaders
Ex-Navy SEAL Uri Kurop leads the project, working closely with Leba Digitaki, the on-site restoration manager, and locally trained gardeners Jerome Mafutuna, Kolora Lewadradra, and Tobia Rauga. Together, they oversee coral cultivation, data collection, and reef restoration across Malolo’s waters.
Sustainable Development Goals
By supporting the “Branching out through coral reef restoration in Fiji” project, funds from Only One members contribute to advancing these three United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Project reporting
Coral Gardeners will send Only One a quarterly report on the progress of the coral planting project, detailing the total number of corals planted, their health status, and ongoing maintenance work and growth updates.
More about our coral restoration partner
Coral Gardeners was born in 2017 on the island of Mo'orea in French Polynesia, when a small group of island kids who were witnessing the rapid degradation of the coral reef around them decided to take action. From humble beginnings, Coral Gardeners has grown into an international collective of advocates, scientists, engineers, and creators determined to build a global movement to save the reef. Their team grows and plants “super corals” using the latest techniques, pushing the boundaries of technology in ocean conservation, and they scale their impact globally so everyone can join their mission.
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