Chip Chick
Two college roommates at the University of Georgia were inspired by trips to the Florida Keys to work toward coral reef conservation.
The friends would dive and examine the deterioration among the reefs and eventually decided that they could be a part of saving the incredible reef system.
After graduation, the friends formed the concept of the reef ball; organic material that could become home to sea life and help stabilize coral growth.
According to the Eternal Reefs website, the first major challenge came in designing the reef ball.
The founders shared, “The design needed to be capable of absorbing and dissipating energy in the marine environment without moving … to withstand not just the normal tidal and current flows, but also major storms and the dynamic energy impacts that accompany them.”
The natural materials also needed to be appealing to microorganisms looking for new homes as other coral reef habitats died out.
Soon the creators established a patent on a mold and composition for the reef balls. Since 1992, the Reef Ball Development Group and Reef Ball Foundation have completed over 5,000 projects and placed more than 750,000 reef balls.
However, the Reef Ball Foundation wasn’t finished innovating yet. One founder’s father-in-law expressed an interest in his remains joining the coral reef system after he died.
The co-founder honored his wishes, mixing his ashes into the concrete Reef Ball material and creating the first Eternal Reef.
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