In October we were back in the water in Bali, this time to plant live coral onto the CoralPods. It was the moment we'd been building towards, and we learnt a lot doing it.
The corals
We used Acropora fragments. It's a branching coral that grows quickly and builds much of the three-dimensional structure on Indo-Pacific reefs, so it suits a structure designed to bring habitat back fast.
What we learnt about attachment
The big takeaway is to plan the attachment point when you build the pod, not when you're in the water. Here's what worked:
- Cast smaller holes into the pod during construction, sized for coral fragments, alongside the larger habitat holes.
- Seat each fragment in one of those holes so it's held in place from the start.
- Fix it with cement to give it a solid, stable base.
The pre-made holes did most of the work. Fragments sat securely before any cement went in, which made planting quicker and less fiddly, especially while snorkelling. That's now part of the CoralPod build.
The dream team
None of this happens without the crew. The team in Bali built these pods themselves, and on planting day they made it look easy. It's what CoCreate is about: local people designing, building and caring for their own reef.
Early residents
Before we'd even left the site, wrasse were picking over the pods and snowflake eels had moved into the holes. Seeing life arrive this fast tells us the structure is already working as habitat, before the coral has grown.
What's next
Over the coming months we'll track how the Acropora survives and grows. We'll also log which fish and invertebrates use the pods. We'll report the setbacks along with the wins, because that's how restoration gets better.
The CoralPod is developed in collaboration with Artecology.