We’re Still Crazy… for Coral

Stream2Sea Kicks Off Second-Annual Crazy for Coral Campaign

Stream2Sea is again partnering with Reef Renewal USA to plant 10,000 coral babies (ok, technically they are called fragments) on the Florida Keys reefs for the second year.

My team thought I was crazy last year when I announced we were going to help plant TEN THOUSAND corals, but our Crazy for Coral campaign was a resounding success for everyone involved – especially the reefs. As part of our mission, we always contribute a portion of our revenue to reef and freshwater restoration. For this initiative, not only did we raise enough money to plant 10,000 corals helping to restore one of the most iconic reefs in the northern hemisphere, but more people are aware of the desperate plight of coral reefs in Florida and around the world.

Autumn Blum, founder and formulator at Stream2Sea

Reef Renewal USA has three Coral Nurseries in the Florida Keys

Reef Renewal USA, which has three coral nurseries in the Florida Keys, has developed innovative technologies to successfully outplant living corals to replace those that have been lost. Fragments of coral are first grown on vertical rope nurseries (aka VERNs) near the reefs where they will be outplanted. Suspended in the water column, away from predators and with plenty of sunlight, a 6-inch fragment of coral can grow to two or three feet in diameter so it can be placed near the reef without additional adhesives or weights.

The biggest threats facing coral reefs around the world are warming oceans, pollution and over-fishing – things most of us can’t impact but we as individuals CAN make a difference when we support organizations like Reef Renewal, along with efforts like avoiding the use of ingredients that are toxic to corals and marine life.

Common ingredients in sunscreens, including oxybenzone, octocrylene and parabens, have been proven toxic to coral larva at incredibly small concentrations, such as oxybenzone which kills coral larva at concentrations as low as 62 parts per trillion, or one drop in six Olympic-sized swimming pools. Oxybenzone, and other ingredients like avobenzone, break down into even more toxic ingredients when exposed to chlorine and sunlight – exactly the condition of most swimming pools.

And most of those ingredients are not filtered out in wastewater treatment plants so they end up in surface waters that eventually run into the ocean. “The waste that occurs when someone washes those petrochemical sunscreens off in Minneapolis can wash down the Mississippi River, into the Loop Current in the Gulf of Mexico and end up on the coral reefs off the Florida Keys,” Blum said. “It’s up to all of us to limit the use of chemicals that cause such extreme damage.”

Crazy for Coral Campaign 2023

The Crazy for Coral campaign kicks off May 1 and runs through June 30, World Ocean Day. You can support the campaign by:

• Adopting a coral for as little as $50, which will be matched dollar for dollar by Stream2Sea*
• Visit participating retailers and help them go Crazy for Coral with us
• Rounding up your payment at checkout, also matched by Stream2Sea
• Use the code “CrazyforCoral” to get $5 off the purchase of Every Day Sunscreen and Stream2Sea will donate $5 to Reef Renewal*
• Donate your Stream2Sea rewards to Reef Renewal.
  

We all depend on coral reefs, no matter how far away we are. Coral reefs are the rainforests of the ocean – they cover less than 1% of the ocean floor but they’re home to nearly 25% of marine species. And ocean plants produce up to 85% of the oxygen in the air we breathe so protecting our waters is critical to all life on earth.

*We have committed up to $10,000 to plant coral on the reefs with Reef Renewal USA, and are counting on your support to make and exceed our goal!

Resources:

50% decline: https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/coral_medicine.html

Medicine cabinets: https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/coral_medicine.html