Coral reef replanting success for Sumatra island hit by tsunami

[Frankie]

Pak Dodent and the concrete moulds (top) and the coral reefs that he has grown (bottom)
By Ian Wood
Provided by seafansar. Thanks

A one-man coral replanting project has proved remarkably successful in helping a coral reef devastated by the tsunami in 2004 to recover.
The idea is the brainchild of Pak Dodent, a resident of the island of Pulau Wey off the north coast of Sumatra.
The narrow channel between his small village of Ibioh and a nearby island was particularly badly hit by the tsunami.
"It was like a washing machine out there and all of the coral was broken," he told me.
"Afterwards I thought to myself what can I do to make the coral grow again and I started to experiment."
The best system he has found is to make concrete moulds using a bucket and then embed a plastic bottle or tube so that it sticks out of the top of the concrete.
For the complete story: Coral reef replanting success for Sumatra island hit by tsunami - Telegraph

[Mya]

Hearing that kind of stuff makes me very happy. I recently watched something about a kind of cemetery under water that was made to be a reef and a resting place for the dead. The cemetery is made to regrow reef critters and the likes, while also being the final resting place for true reef lovers.

Here is the write up about it... and the webby if you want to look at it..

Neptune Memorial Reef: www.nmreef.com

An underwater cemetery near Miami draws scuba divers

The Associated Press

MIAMI — About 45 feet beneath the ocean's surface lies a cemetery with gates, pathways, plaques and even benches.

The Neptune Memorial Reef, which opened last fall, is a t final resting spot for those who loved the sea. Its builders hope that one day the reef will cover 16 acres and have room for 125,000 remains.

The Neptune Memorial Reef is located in open waters 3 ¼ miles off the coast of Key Biscayne, which means any certified diver can visit. The artificial reef's first phase allows for about 850 remains.

The ashes are mixed with cement designed for underwater use and fitted into a mold, which a diver then places and secures into the reef. A copper and bronze plaque is installed with the person's name, date of birth and death. There is also a line for a message.

In March, the remains of 93-year-old diver Bert Kilbride — who called himself "The Last Pirate of the Caribbean" — were placed atop a column of the reef's main gate, because of his contributions to the sea. Before his death, Kilbride was named the oldest living scuba diver in this year's Guinness Book of World Records.

"I think he would feel very honored," his son Gary Kilbride said. "This is somebody who has been connected to the sea his whole life."

Stephen Blair, chief of the restoration and enhancement section of Miami-Dade County's department of Environmental Resources Management, which has oversight of the reef, said it will become a tourist attraction.

"I think the combination of the structure, the dive-site aspect as well as the how it's being used, makes it a unique site," Blair said.

Keith Mille, an environmental specialist with Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, said another method of burying ashes inside reef balls creates a habitat for fish and corals to attach. But he was impressed with the engineering concepts for this reef and the environment that it creates for divers.