Ripples of change: the fantastic work of Oceans Alive
Updated 2nd November 2023 following the visit of His Highness King Charles III to Vipingo Ridge Beach Club and the fantastic Kuruwitu marine reserve.
Welcome to our guest blog, where we dive into the captivating world of ocean conservation and the incredible work being done by Oceans Alive, a trusted partner of Vipingo Ridge.
Ocean’s Alive is a Trust created to protect and enhance Kenya’s oceans by strengthening coastal communities through conservation, education and entrepreneurship. Located in the picturesque Kuruwitu, on the very same beachfront as Vipingo Ridge Beach Club, their inspirational efforts have led to the greatest resurgence of coral on the East African coastline, reviving marine life previously believed to be extinct.
Join us on a journey to discover the profound impact of their work, the stories of ocean regeneration, and the vital importance of preserving these precious underwater ecosystems.
More Than Meets The Eye
Looking out to sea is usually peaceful. We may watch the waves, think of the rise and fall of life or the continuum of life or enjoy the moment. However, much more is happening beneath the surface than first meets the eye.
At Oceans Alive, we tirelessly support underwater life and intricate biodiversity. Nature is busy within the Community Conservation Area, or ‘tengefu’ in Kiswahili.
Schools of colourful fish abound in ever more numbers and diversity. Seagrasses and seaweed thrive and attract sea life, including turtles who choose Kuruwitu as a haven to graze and reproduce. Whales and dolphins are often seen beyond the reef, attracted by abundant food and a degree of protection.
The Return of Coral
One of the foundations of this vibrant activity is coral.
Coral is essential to the health of our oceans and simply put, no coral no fish.
Although affected by rising sea temperatures and human impact, thoughtless steps are breaking off decades of coral growth, and coral is returning at Kuruwitu.
Some of this is natural – a benefit of no fishers in the protected area – but increasingly, the coral cover is being helped by our coral gardening to give Nature a helping hand in restoring balance and boosting coral cover.
If you snorkel in the tengefu today, you will almost certainly see one of our artificial coral reef structures. Close to shore are the nursery tables where coral fragments are nurtured until they are big enough to be planted out to a permanent home.
This could be to one of our block artificial reef sites, not lovely to look at first, but soon covered entirely by coral. We have two reef stars sites, interlinked steel structures pioneered by the Mars Group (as in Mars bars) and in partnership with The Ocean Trust, Lamu, where the technique was first installed in Kenya. Our reef stars sites, Ros’ Reef, are the second in Kenya and vital to our journey on how best to restore coral at scale. There are other methods of coral restoration out in the tengefu, too – nail structures, bottle structures and others. All methods refine the most impactful ways of growing coral to restore what has been lost and help our reefs thrive.
Coral boosts fisheries, which in turn improves fishing, which has a significant impact on the livelihoods of coastal communities. Coral is an integral part of a virtuous circle where everyone benefits.
Visitors Are Welcome
Oceans Alive has a full-time coral team installing, maintaining and monitoring our artificial coral restoration. We are improving our coral workshop at the Vipingo Ridge Beach Club to make it enjoyable for visitors who will soon see our coral reef diorama, see how artificial reef structures are made, learn some of the science behind coral and meet our busy team.
Through our Adopt a Coral scheme you can buy or gift one of our artificial reef structures to support coral restoration – and a great unique Christmas gift. We have corporate and family sponsored commemorative structures and even two memorial reefs which all help fund and support our coral action.
Coral restoration is one of the many action-based activities led by Oceans Alive. We work together in partnership with our coastal community, the Kuruwitu CBO and the Beach Management Units (BMU).
Our successes at Kuruwitu have inspired a conservation movement with ripples along the Kenyan coast and beyond. We have attracted the attention and support of international partners, national and local governments and coastal communities who want to see the ocean recover, too. When you next look out to sea, think of the ripples of change beneath the waves.
A Royal Visit. An update from our Kuruwitu partner Oceans Alive
Vipingo Ridge Beach was the centre of unbelievable scenes on 2 nd November 2023 as we were honoured to welcome King Charles III to Kuruwitu. Vipingo Ridge hosted the visit and worked as an impeccable team to add a very special layer of polish to the day.
The King toured the Oceans Alive office and walked through the demonstration garden, heard about the impact of our education program and then launched a coral restoration structure branded with his Royal cypher.
This is the coral head structure that his Majesty contributed to, that was then taken out to the Ocean and positioned.
His Majesty expressed his passion for conservation and was genuinely interested in our community-led approach to marine conservation. He saw how our small 30-hectare ‘Tengefu’ has grown in scale and impact. Recently a new tengefu was launched at Bureni and others are popping up along our coast. Our proof of concept at Kuruwitu inspires others to take the leap and plunge into solution-led marine conservation.
The Team at Oceans Alive
We’ll share more on this exciting Visit soon.
If you would like to learn more and support Oceans Alive, please visit their website
