Living Reefs Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation and the first of its kind in Bermuda, is dedicated to active coral restoration and sustainable conservation of the Atlantic’s northernmost reef ecosystem.
The Foundation works with government, and locally based, like-minded non-governmental organisations, with the aim of actively mitigating reef damage caused by human impact. The Foundation’s work includes research, coral planting and developing a long-term tourism/conservation partnership for sustainable coral conservation.
Since 2020, QBE Foundation’s funding has supported the Foundation’s signature project ‘The Coral Garden Initiative’, which involves the seeding, rearing, cleaning and maintenance of young corals to increase coral cover in damaged areas of reef and a diversity of coral species. This project serves to raise awareness, engage visitors and residents, and provides a scientific and educational tool in coral conservation. The initiative has resulted in improved production of young corals and improved protocols in coral cultivation.
With the QBE Foundation’s funding, Living Reefs Foundation were able to build one new coral garden including installation as well as production, monitoring and, maintenance of young corals through their lifetime to build future healthy reefs. QBE’s support also covered expenses incurred in equipment, research and field work.
In 2024, QBE’s funding supported the scaling up of the 2023 pilot study using cultivated corals for a nature-based approach to protect Bermuda’s coastline against storm events. This multi-year project will result in a cost-effective hybrid (coral/artificial substrate) breakwater model applicable island wide. It requires R&D in coral growth acceleration, and production, and data on coastal vulnerability. Living Reefs Foundation continue to plant coral colonies on the pilot site and expand its dataset by extracting additional metrics from the digital 3D marine maps, such as habitat complexity.
