Dive into the captivating world of corals with our Coral Gardener Course! This two-day course is your ticket to understanding the diverse and vibrant underwater ecosystems.
You’ll learn to identify different coral species, understand their growth forms, and even discover the secrets of coral reproduction. Plus, you’ll get hands-on experience in coral restoration techniques at an actual coral farm. This course is a fantastic way to deepen your knowledge and contribute to marine conservation.
WHAT WILL YOU LEARN?
- Coral Identification: You’ll become a coral detective, learning to identify different types of corals by their growth forms. It’s like a game of “I Spy,” but underwater!
- Hard vs Soft Corals: You’ll learn the secret handshake of the coral world – counting tentacles! This will help you tell the difference between hard and soft corals. Who knew corals had so many fingers, right?
- Meet the Polyps: Get up close and personal with the tiny creatures that make up corals – the polyps. Some are as tiny as a dot, while others are as big as a dinner plate. It’s a real “David and Goliath” story!
- Coral Reproduction: Ever wonder how corals make baby corals? You’ll learn all about the birds and the bees… or should we say, the polyps and the corals?
- Coral Restoration: Finally, you’ll learn how to grow your own corals. It’s like gardening, but way cooler because it’s underwater! You’ll visit a real-life coral farm and learn all the tips and tricks for growing and restoring corals.
DAY 1 THEORY + TWO DIVES
GROWTH FORMS
The easiest way to start recognizing corals is by looking at their growth forms! Learn to spot plating corals, branching, meandering brain, massive, and solitary corals.
HARD AND SOFT
Did you know you can tell hard and soft corals apart by counting the number of tentacles? Check that out and identify those two big groups during your dive
SMALL POLYP CORALS
Corals are made of tiny animals calls polyps, but not all polyps are created equal. Some are hardly visible to the human eye and are only a few millimeters wide.
LARGE POLYP CORALS
Some corals have large polyps over a few millimeters. The biggest coral polyp can got to be over 30 cm in diameter! Large polyp corals have soft fleshy tissue and grow slow.
DAY 2 THEORY + TWO DIVES
REPRODUCTION OF THE CORALS
Did you know the corals can have both sexual and asexual reproduction?
RESTORATION
Visit one of the Ocean Gardener coral farm and learn different techniques for coral restoration. Each of our partner locations implements various technique with a wide variety of coral species.
