"It’s the biggest wildfire, but it’s happening underwater"
A new collaboration between Earthrise and Coral Gardeners, fronted by Avatar actor Bailey Bass, highlights the urgent importance of restoring the world's corals. Oceanographic met up with Coral Gardeners founder Titouan Bernicot, actor Bailey Bass, and Earthrise founder Alice Aedy, to chat about the importance of technology in advancing conservation efforts and more.
The launched collaborative high-impact social and digital campaign aims to drive mobilisation to protect the world’s coral reefs, responding to the current coral bleaching event, which could see more than 60% of the world’s corals whiten, as record ocean heat takes a devastating toll.
Fronted by Avatar: The Way of Water and Interview with the Vampire star and oceans advocate Bailey Bass, the campaign will highlight the inspirational work of Coral Gardeners – a Mo’orea-based organisation who work to save the world’s coral reefs through active restoration efforts. Dedicated to revolutionising ocean conservation, Coral Gardeners have planted more than 100,000 new corals since 2017, helping to restore vital ocean habitats and protect the future of our planet.
We chatted to Alice Aedy, CEO of Earthrise, Titouan Bernicot, founder of Coral Gardeners and actor Bailey Bass to find out more.
Oceanographic Magazine (OM): What does the Earthrise x Coral Gardeners campaign entail? What’s it about?
Alice Aedy (AA): “At this very moment we’re witnessing a historic coral bleaching event across the globe, as more than 60% of the world’s corals are being triggered to bleach and break apart due to heat stress. While whitened corals may appear visually striking, they are actually severely ill, threatening the ecosystems that depend on them. Although humanity is to blame for this unfolding disaster, the good news is that we’re also leading the fight to breathe life back into the corals and avert this catastrophe. With half of our ocean metaphorically on fire, there has never been a more urgent time to support the work of incredible organisations like Coral Gardeners, who plant resilient corals that revive reef ecosystems. We’re delighted to be collaborating with Bailey Bass to bring their amazing story to life and help support their incredible work during World Oceans Month and beyond.”
Titouan Bernicot (TB): “Our campaign with Earthrise Studio and Bailey Bass is about joining forces to bring attention to corals as they are experiencing the worst bleaching event on record. By combining the power of multimedia storytelling and tapping into different expertises and audiences, we aim to raise maximum awareness about coral reefs that are often “out of sight, out of mind”. In the past year, more than 60% of the world’s coral reefs have experienced so much heat to trigger bleaching. It’s the biggest wildfire, but it’s happening underwater.”
OM: Bailey, Why did you want to get involved with the campaign? Why is it close to your heart?
Bailey Bass (BB): “I knew that the campaign with Earthrise x Coral Gardeners was going to be amazing. I’ve loved Alice Aedys work for over a year and jumped at the chance to be a part of such an important campaign for our oceans.”
OM: Have you experienced coral bleaching in and around your coral nurseries in Mo’orea?
TB: “Actually, seeing bleached corals for the very first time on my local home surf break was when I decided to take action to save what I love most – the reef, and it led me to start the small-scale project that became Coral Gardeners. That being said, this year was one of the worst events we have ever seen, and we know that it’s also happening all around the world. Fortunately, bleached corals can recover, but only if the temperatures drop and conditions return to normal in time.
During these unprecedented times, Coral Gardeners’ team is monitoring the corals to better understand their responses and resiliency, because some corals are surviving these extreme conditions; they are not giving up, and we won’t either. Our restoration method focuses on identifying the more resistant corals to selectively propagate these varieties to make the reefs more resilient and help them adapt to their changing environment and the impacts of climate change. At the same time, we need to raise awareness and bring the world’s attention below the surface, where the biggest underwater wildfire is happening. That’s why we are grateful to be teaming up with the incredible team of Earthrise and Bailey Bass to reach the masses and create a global movement to preserve coral reefs.”
OM: Bailey, you went to Coral Gardeners’ nurseries as part of the campaign. How was that for you?
BB: “My time in Mo’orea has solidified my belief that our oceans are so beautiful. From swimming and diving in crashing waves slamming against coral, to floating with black tip sharks in stillness, I was filled with joy being able to return to the ocean and use my Avatar training.”
OM: As an actor, what’s your responsibility to address conservation issues?
BB: “By being a part of Avatar, I was exposed and educated about the ocean like never before. I’ve always had a love for animals but to learn that protecting their ecosystems is synonymous to protecting them, my eyes were opened. I now have a platform, a platform I’ve dreamed of for years. The least I can do is use it for positive change and impact.”
OM: What technologies do you currently use to advance your coral restoration projects?
TB: “With our CG Labs we have developed a full suite of tools to assist our restoration process, including underwater cameras that track images and sounds from our coral sites in real-time, as well as our underwater iOS app purposely built to monitor corals. We also have a photogrammetry toolkit where the photos captured by the gardeners with our app underwater automatically generate 3D models of the corals on a server where our team can measure coral growth, health, bleaching, cover, and so on. These tools are allowing us to collect data so much faster and with a level of precision that would be impossible for humans to obtain alone.”
OM: An omnipresent topic – how are you using AI to help coral restoration efforts?
TB: “All the data collected is centralised in our database, and we are using it to train AI models to better understand and protect coral reefs. For instance, our cameras are running AI models to track the fish populations, biodiversity, and abundance that are repopulating our sites as well as providing real-time alerts for predators. Our team has been working on a model to detect bleaching on corals using all the latest data collected during the recent ocean heatwave to better monitor their response. There is still so much to learn about corals, and it gives me hope and motivation to continue to unlock their secrets and improve their resiliency for the future.”
OM: What can we all do on a personal level to stop or mitigate coral bleaching?
TB: “The leading cause of the current bleaching crisis is climate change, which causes ocean temperatures to rise and that stresses the corals. We need global and urgent action to address climate change, meanwhile, we work in the field to make coral reefs more resilient. Our climate-adaption method consists of identifying the most heat-resistant corals to further propagate them in our nurseries to help the reefs adapt to the changing environment and cope with what the future holds.”
OM: In Avatar: The Way of Water you played Tsireya. How did this role bring you closer to ocean conservation issues?
BB: “Tsireya has a deep appreciation for the ocean because she grew up diving, swimming, fishing and exploring her whole life. The greatest thing I learned from playing Tsireya was how culture is so related to ocean conservation. When protecting the ocean, it’s not just about the animals and ecosystems. It’s also about the people that would lose their culture without the ocean.”
OM: Why is Coral Gardeners’ work so important?
BB: “There’s no time like now. Coral Gardeners have this awesome ability to bring people together for one mission – to save our corals. Our coral reefs are the most biodiverse ecosystem on the planet. It’s not a matter of if or when but more of a NEED and NOW.”
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