Coral Restoration Foundation (CRF) plans to celebrate World Oceans Day on Monday, June 8 by hosting its first ever Plantapalooza. World Oceans Day provides a motivating platform for this event where CRF staff, interns, volunteers, and board members will work to plant 1,000 staghorn corals on reefs in the upper Florida Keys.

World Oceans Day is celebrated internationally each year and CRF’s Plantapalooza aims to bring awareness to World Oceans Day in the greater Florida Keys community. The goal is to plant a record-breaking number of corals in one day. The theme for this year’s World Oceans Day is “healthy ocean, healthy planet,” a theme that can be carried forward even after the event and an ideal that CRF promotes daily.

CRF is a lean and effective coral planting machine. Eight staff members lead the charge in getting corals back onto the reefs throughout the Florida Keys. Volunteers, dive shops, and international travelers aid in restoration efforts by participating in dive programs where participants get an immersive coral nursery and outplanting experience. Over 1,000 divers participate in the CRF recreational dive programs every year. In 2014, restoration efforts by CRF resulted in over 15,000 corals outplanted on Upper and Middle Florida Keys reefs. These successful outplantings were made possible by the development of effective and simple coral growth and outplanting methods, two important elements of the CRF mission.

CRF hopes events like Plantapalooza will bring even greater awareness to the importance of restoration, preservation, and conservation of corals and the world’s oceans. This event is made possible with the support of our community sponsors and partners:

CRF looks forward to this event on June 8. Please contact CRF directly ([email protected]) for inquiries about the event and community participation.

The Coral Restoration Foundation (CRF) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit conservation organization headquartered in Key Largo, Florida, created to develop offshore coral nurseries and restoration strategies for critically endangered coral reefs at local, national and international levels. To learn more about the restoration efforts of CRFF, visit www.coralrestoration.org.