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Florida group rebuilds vital coral reefs

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    CNN Hero: Ken Nedimyer

CNN Hero: Ken Nedimyer 01:47

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"It was just the most magical place I'd ever been to," said Nedimyer, 56. "The coral reefs were so pretty. So many fish and so many neat things to see."



Today, they're on the endangered species list.

"The coral reefs of the Florida Keys are the most threatened and the heaviest-used coral reefs in the world," said Billy Causey, southeast regional director of the National Marine Sanctuaries, an entity of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

    Reefs are often referred to as the rainforests of the sea. They attract more marine life than anywhere else in the ocean because of the natural shelter they provide. But they're declining worldwide, not just in Florida, and some scientists fear that they could all be gone by 2050.

    Ken Nedimyer became worried watching coral reefs decline over the years. Now he&#39;s doing something about it.

    "Coral reefs provide protection for our coastal areas, habitat for fish and recreational opportunities for millions and millions of people," Nedimyer said. "It's very important to protect that whole ecosystem."


    "If coral reefs died completely, entire economies would be disrupted," Nedimyer said.


    "It became a consuming passion (for me) to try to find ways to protect and restore coral reefs," he said.

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      A look at an underwater coral nursery

    A look at an underwater coral nursery 02:09


    "Ken's coral nursery is the largest in the wider Caribbean," Causey said. "It's probably 10 times larger than any others that I know of."


    Nedimyer's methods for growing corals have evolved over the years, but they're all simple, easily duplicated and can be taught to anyone who can dive, he said.


    "We've been able to recreate one of the biggest thickets in the Florida Keys of staghorn coral, and that's something we can duplicate throughout the Keys and throughout the Caribbean," Nedimyer said.


    Through education and awareness, Nedimyer has built a community committed to bringing coral reefs back to the Keys. His organization often collaborates with other groups, including the NOAA and the Nature Conservancy, a nonprofit conservation group. Nedimyer also spends a lot of time showing high school students his methods and working with them at his nurseries.

    "This isn't just about me," Nedimyer emphasized. "It's about engaging a lot of people and training people, and I think it has a lot of hope."


    "Most people think coral takes forever to grow, but some of these corals grow really fast," he said. "They grow fast enough that we could make a big difference in a lifetime or less."


    "Before, I felt helpless watching corals die," Nedimyer said. "Now I think there's a way for everybody to get involved. There's hope."
