Nusa Penida Coral Restoration Snorkel Tour
Nusa Penida Coral Restoration Snorkel Tour
Nusa Penida is globally famous for the iconic Kelingking Beach, but its true hidden gem lies underwater: it boasts some of the richest coral reef biodiversity among all of Bali’s islands. Sadly, this beautiful ecosystem was devastated in the 1990s and 2000s by irresponsible tourism boat operators. Using anchors and improper mooring, they reduced the once-thriving reefs to unstable rubble fields. The constantly moving substrate made it impossible for anything to grow, causing the fish populations to disappear.
A previous coral restoration attempt by one boating operator failed due to a lack of knowledge and expertise. Fortunately, over the past few years, Ocean Gardener has partnered with the local fishing community to successfully restore over one kilometer of the reef. The fish have returned, and the local community now takes immense pride in their work. Eco-tourism has become a significant and sustainable source of their economy, giving them a strong incentive to protect the area. The success is so great that you can even see the size of the restoration site on Google Maps using Satellite view!
We invite you to visit Ocean Gardener's beautiful restoration site and marvel at the fields of vibrant Acropora coral teeming with tropical fish. This site is shallow; you can access the restoration area and coral nurseries by swimming out from the shore. Come learn about coral conservation and plant your own coral to help expand this vital, thriving ecosystem.
Highlights
Learn about reefs and their restoration
The NGO will start with a brief presentation to give you some background on what a coral is, their importance to marine life, and the threats that they face today like climate change and unsustainable tourism development. It will help you better understand the corals when you see them in person during the snorkel part of the experience.
Snorkel the restoration area
We will collect your snorkel and fins and head out to the coral restoration site. The NGO staff will point out specific areas and the ages of the corals that were planted. You can see the recently planted fragments where the ropes and stakes are still visible, to areas where the corals have been planted 6-7 years ago where it is now thick and lush and brimming with fish life.
Harvest coral cuttings
You will work with the NGO staff member to collect coral cuttings from donor colonies in the nursery. You will return to land where you will then learn to fragment the coral and make even more cuttings! You will learn to twist them onto ropes in a low-cost, low environment impact method of stake and rope coral restoration.
Plant a coral
Together with your guide, you will go back to the sea and help tie the coral ropes to existing coral stakes to expand the coral restoration area. The NGO will continue monitoring your plantings and subsequently, when the colony is large enough, they will outplant them to the deeper waters to restore the surrounding reefs.
Your Impact
Armed with basic knowledge about corals and the threats that they face, you can now better help spread awareness of the threats and the importance of the reefs to marine life. Your direct action planting corals here will help regenerate the reefs and provide more habitat for marine life. The proceeds from this visit helps Ocean Gardener fund the coral restoration work around indonesia and their outreach programs to local communities.
Prerequisites
- Able to swim
- Confident in the water
Includes
- Led by the NGO's local marine biologist
- Snorkelling equipment (Snorkel, Mask, Fins). You are welcome to use your own equipment.
Excludes
- Transportation to/from the location.
- Accomodations
If you need help arranging accommodations and transportation, please contact us after booking and we’ll be happy to help you arrange it.
What to bring
- Long sleeve t-shirt or a rashguard for sun protection.
- If you must use sunscreen, please make sure it is reef-safe. (don't hurt the corals)
Meeting point
Nuansa Pulau
Plant your own coral in Ped, Nusa Penida. Proceeds fund NGO's coral restoration and outreach work.
Full refund with self-cancellation up to 7 days before start time
Reviews
Rating distribution
What a beautiful restoration site with fields of purple and blue coral and lots of tropical fish. I loved that I was able to help plant some corals too.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is regenerative travel?
Regenerative travel is a form of travel that actively improves local ecosystems and communities through restoration projects. Travel and give back to the planet at the same time.
Where can I find regenerative experiences?
Canopi curates experiences in Indonesia, Mexico, and Spain, including coral reef restoration, forest conservation and reforestation, and wildlife protection.
How do these trips make an impact?
Each booking funds local NGO efforts to rebuild coral reefs, replant forests, and restore biodiversity. In this case, you will be helping Ocean Gardener.
You will be helping
Ocean Gardener
Ocean Gardener is a Bali-based coral reef restoration non-profit. Established in 2016, they are a diverse team of biologists, divers and coral enthusiasts that drive to make change by restoring Indonesia’s degraded reef areas. Vincent, the founder, has over 25 years of coral farming experience and they have achieved great success rates with their coral restoration sites. They actively partner with local communities, hotels, resorts and dive shops to setup and deploy coral nurseries using our protocols. From these nurseries, we harvest donor coral to restore the surrounding reefs. Collectively with their partners, they have planted over 1 million corals. They offer visits to their coral nurseries in 3 different locations in Bali, as well as short and long format courses to learn about coral restoration. The proceeds from the visits and courses goes back into the community coral planting programs and coral research into their reproduction to see how the knowledge can be used to help save the reefs that are threatened by global warming.
Plant your own coral in Ped, Nusa Penida. Proceeds fund NGO's coral restoration and outreach work.
Full refund with self-cancellation up to 7 days before start time