The most important event of the year, coral spawning.

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We are awaiting the most important event of the year, coral spawning.

Coral reefs are fragile, and we have seen a decline in reef health around the world in the past years. Coral reefs are sensitive to warmer temperatures, increased wave actions and weather events and these are all consequences of a changing climate.

 

Yet, coral reefs are resilient. Despite the challenges, the reefs around the world experience, the corals on the reef continue to reproduce and naturally recover.

Once a year a remarkable natural phenomenon takes place on the Great Barrier Reef, coral spawning. The biggest reproduction show on Earth.

When the conditions are ideal, corals simultaneously release eggs and sperm bundles into the water.

This amazing video is produced by our friend, Tiani Dun.

Long term monitoring of the reef by the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS), has shown that the majority of the Great Barrier Reef has recorded its highest level of coral coverage in over three decades. This is an indication of the widespread recovery of the biggest organism on Earth. Isn’t that just amazing? Read their annual summary report on coral reef condition 2021-22 report here. 

 

According to Dr Dean Miller, marine biologist and director of the Great Barrier Reef Legacy, a successful spawning event means the reef is in a state of recovery and repair. “In 2021, we had the best coral spawning event since 2016”.  Today, we can only wish for another astonishing and successful spawning event to bring new life and new corals to settle on the Great Barrier Reef.

This yearly event gives me hope. Despite the challenges the GBR is undergoing, there is a sign of new life on the way. Let’s cheer for that!

We can’t wait to witness this spectacular event. And hey, look out on your socials. I’m sure there will be plenty of amazing videos and photos shared by underwater photographers and lucky divers.

 

The most important event of the year, coral spawning.

Photo cred: Pablo Cogollos

The most important event of the year, coral spawning.

Photo cred: Pablo Cogollos

Reduce your Ecological Footprint: Off-Grid Living

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How could we be connected to the reef when we’re on the other side of the world, in Spain?

In March 2020, I witnessed a minor bleaching event on the southern Great Barrier Reef. My coral friends I had been visiting and falling more and more in love with every day for nearly three years, started to show signs of stress. One day they were fine, the next, they were looking a little pale.

What could I do about it, i asked myself as I floated helplessly above the (still) gorgeous reefscape?

Some corals paling during the 2020 bleaching event on the southern Great Barrier Reef

 

The truth is, no matter how many coral surveys I did, or how much data I submitted, when I saw the darling reef before me, partly paling,

“there was absolutely NOTHING I could do in that moment… except cry in my mask.”

This is when I realised how truly CONNECTED everything is. How what we do on land, anywhere in the world, can impact coral reefs. So, what actions can we take to dissipate such extreme human impacts on the climate? I’m rolling with the “extreme” rather than “little” changes option, and have set out to discover, LIVE and share more of these solutions. Having just spent two weeks on an off-grid farm in Spain, below I share my exploration and learnings of some ways I can further reduce my ecological footprint.

Beautiful views from my bedroom on the farm

The Yurt, where I slept on the farm.

Here are 4 key areas I lived and learned about to reduce my footprint.

1. ENERGY

We had solar panels and storage batteries. Totally off-grid, there was no mains power or water supplies to the property. Totally self-sufficient (and free from crazy electricity price hikes!!!). I not only appreciated every bit of charging power, every little light, and a (sometimes) working fridge, but also learned lots about electricity capture and storage: cells, currents, converters, you name it. Life school, very valuable knowledge and skills to have.

Solar Panel Setup

2. WATER

“Did you know that 90% of the cost of plastic bottled water is the cost of the bottle itself? Think about it: bottled water companies don’t make water, they make plastic bottles!!”

Creating plastic bottles requires energy and oil, then they need to be transportes to a store where thirsty people can buy them. Let’s not even start to talk about the tiny percentage of plastic water bottles that actually get recycled! Enough ranting, you get my drift!

My first day on the farm, I helped set up a solar hot water system from an old recycled panel and storage system. We were able to fill up a lovely bucket of hot water to scrub our grubby selves at the end of a long hard day of work. We also set up a new water tank, excavating the ground with digging tools to ensure the tanks would capture rainwater redirected from the roof.

  • No running water on the property meant showering “birdbath” style (with a bucket), a very specific dish washing strategy and close-to-essential teamwork to simply wash your hands!
  • We collected supplies of precious drinking water from a fountain in town (that ran down and was captured directly from the clean mountain streams!).

“Drinking Water”

Collecting Drinking Wate

3. DIET

90% of our food on the farm came from the work of our own hands, or at least locally. We bought a little rice, lentils and pasta – basic staples to compliment all the wonderful fresh produce we grew and harvested ourselves. We had mediterranean veggies galore: eggplants, capsicums, tomatoes, chillies. We feasted on melons and persimmons (a deliciously sweet mediterranean fruit something like a cross between a mangoe, plum and very juicy sweet tomatoe!). Sure, it didnt all look as perfectly squeaky clean, blemish-free and shiny as the “food” you find at the supermarket, but goodness the tomatoes REALLY tasted like tomatoes!!

Olives were harvested to pickle and make our own olive oil, and almonds banged off our trees to munch on and make almond milk. What a dream! Have you ever seen what almonds look like straight off the tree? Do you know the origins of what you eat?

Freshly Harvested Almonds



I had the bizarre reflection of how crazy it was to be SO excited about collecting all of our food with my bare hands. I realised how disconnected I have been to the source of my tucker my whole life. Here, there were no pesticides, no heavy machinery, no processing belts, no factories, no big trucks to transport supplies to the shops, and of course, no plastic packaging!!! Organic and fresh, from farm to table (and on many occasions from farm to mouth!!!).

4. WASTE

We of course composted all of our food waste, but that’s not all! We pooped into a dry composting toilet, and even our own poop was used as a valuable fertiliser (feel free to cringe if you like, but then take a moment to think about how much water and energy is wasted flushing and processing human waste!).

Dry Composting Toilet, built with 100% recycled materials

Dry Composting Toilet and Water Capture & Storage System

All kinds of building materials, old cupboards, windows, planks, pipes and pallettes that people had thrown out as “waste” soon became our treasure.

Sure, you might be thinking “WOW, that IS pretty extreme, I definitely couldn’t imagine myself living that way”. Even if you don’t choose to make any changes, I hope this sparks some reflection or ideas for some of the little (if not extreme) changes you can make in your every day life to feel more connected to your self, nature, food, water and everything we are so lucky to have readily available at our fingertips. 

 

“As I travel around, I am astounded by how many people think the reef is dead, and I am on a mission to share the truth about the health of the reef (as witnessed with my own eyes!) as well as awareness of how crucial it is that we take many little (or extreme, if you so wish!) actions to change the fate of the natural world (coral reefs included)!

Coral reefs provides important ecosystem services

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Nature and our ecosystems are amazing, we can all agree on that, right? However, have you heard about an ecosystem service before? It is explained as the benefits that humans can obtain from the natural environment just by existing.

Therefore, the Great Barrier Reef is a perfect example of an ecosystem that provides us with overflowing benefits with all the ecosystem services it provides us. Firstly, let’s break it down and explain what ecosystem services actually are.

 

 

Ecosystem services can be divided in three categories:

Poster cred: Wildlife Conservation Society

The social. First of all, we can literally spend weeks, months, or even years, exploring the over 900 islands. Our favourites are activities like SCUBA diving, sailing, island-hopping, snorkelling, the list can go long. I think we can all agree to the fact that the reef contributes to human well-being. Many of us find places along the reef where we feel a sense of home, where we can reconnect with ourselves and nature.

 

The economic. The Great Barrier Reef is valued at $56 billion!!! Crazy numbers!  These numbers are summarised by tourism, recreation, commercial fishing and scientific research. Over 90% are related to tourism and recreational activities. Many people’s livelihood along the Queensland coast is dependent on the reef. Want to read more? Click here: https://www.barrierreef.org/the-reef/the-value

 

The environmental. As the largest living organism in the world, the reef is such an important ecosystem for the health of the ocean and the planet. The reef provides habitat for organisms and marine species we rely on for food and medicine production. The reef assists in fixing greenhouse gases like carbon and nitrogen. And the reef provides an entire system with its marine inhabitants to help with nutrient recycling. How amazing?

 

 

Photo cred: Natalie Lobartolo

 

Have you ever thought about how the Great Barrier Reef provides us protection?

You may not think about it when you’re standing on shore looking out to the coral sea and you can’t see the reef with your own eyes. But on a larger scale, the reef actually has a quite important role in terms of coastal protection.

The structure of the Great Barrier Reef acts as a buffer between the open ocean and the coastline.  What that means in terms of protection of the coastline is that the reef is the first to take on larger storms, cyclones and waves. As a result of the buffer, the energy flow is dissipating before it reaches the shore. That is a game changer for preventing loss of lives, property damage and coastal erosion.

Coastal areas are for all of these amazing benefits highly inhabited. We love to live near the ocean for the lifestyle it has to offer. In Australia, this is evident with more than 85% of the population living within 50 kilometres of the coast.

 

But without the reef, would the coastline be the same?

Coral reefs evidently provide important ecosystem services.

In conclusion, if the functioning of the reef is decreasing, so are all the benefits we draw from it. Coral reefs provides important ecosystem services after all. Are we dependent on the social, economic, and environmental benefits the GBR provides us?

Looking after our beautiful reef is now more important than ever!

The reef needs us, and we also need the reef!

 

 

THE BLEACHING NOBODY HEARD ABOUT…

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In the early months of 2020, there was a lot going on in the world. Things were changing. Catastrophe was looming. Headlines were saturated with news of just one thing. COVID set the scene for a new status-quo, and life as we know it was being transformed. 

Whilst the whirlwind of unexpected change was sweeping across the planet, a quiet yet disturbing shift was happening below the surface too. As the world went into lockdown, reefs were being knocked about by warming sea surface temperatures. Just as the paling face of an ill patient loses its colour, corals were slowly but surely paling too. 

The reef was unwell; its fate uncertain.

Even if we – as humans – are able to fight a disease, illness takes time to recover from. If there is not enough time between recovery and the moment you’re faced with another challenge, your resilience and ability to fight that disease might be affected. These parallels are as much true for our own health as that of the reef. 

Luckily – at least this time – impacts of the warming were not prolonged, reefs were able to recover, and mortality was minimal.

So the question here is, was COVID enough of an excuse for most people to hear absolutely nothing about the reef and the challenges it was facing?

“Is human health the most important thing we need to care about?”

Of course if we are not in a good way ourselves, we can’t care for anything else. However, if we employ a sustainable mindset, would looking after and connecting to nature be – in and of itself – congruent with looking after our own health?

What impact could caring more for our planet have on our ability to live healthy, prosperous and fulfilling lives?

Keep posted to hear about two of Natalie’s favourite corals in the Lady Musgrave Lagoon: Lumpy and Bumpy, and the fascinating story of overcoming challenges… Coming shortly!