Diving Into Healing: American Veterans Find Relief from War Trauma by Saving Coral

the Editor says: Did you know that on the other side of the world, a nonprofit called the Combat Wounded Veteran Challenge organizes annual coral reef restoration programs? Beyond reviving coral, these missions aim to heal the physical and emotional wounds that war leaves on soldiers. Follow along as the Editor takes a closer look at this deeply meaningful endeavor! <Full article reprinted from the Taiwan Environmental Information Center; translated by Zu-Ling Hsu2024.01.22>

In July 2023, American veteran Billy Costello arrived with his companions at a small island off the southern tip of Florida. He strapped on his prosthetic right leg, suited up in diving gear and fins, and leaped from the boat deck into the sea. He had a new mission — to save coral dying from rising ocean temperatures and ocean acidification.

Costello is a former diver with the Army's 3rd Special Forces Group who lost his right leg in an operation in Afghanistan in 2011. This coral rescue mission brought together six laboratory staff and 30 veterans — some with traumatic brain injuries, some amputees like Costello, and some suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The group dove to a depth of 4 meters, took up steel brushes to scrape algae off the reef, then carefully affixed coral fragments in place. In just over an hour, they successfully transplanted 1,040 coral seedlings.

The program they took part in is the Combat Wounded Veteran Challenge (CWVC).

Dual Healing: Ocean and Mind

Since 2011, the nonprofit Combat Wounded Veteran Challenge has partnered annually with Mote Marine Laboratory on coral reef restoration programs. The mission is twofold: to breathe life back into bleached coral, and to help heal the physical and psychological wounds that war inflicts on soldiers.

Costello told AFP that the program helped him regain his confidence and showed him what he was still capable of after losing his right leg. Beyond contributing to coral reef restoration, what moved him most was overcoming challenges and completing the mission alongside others who shared similar experiences — "it does a lot for healing the mind," he said.

"Challenge, camaraderie, and knowing you're making a difference" — those are the highlights we see in this year's participants, said Andrew Lourake, CWVC's Vice President of Operations.

CWVC also organizes outdoor activities such as mountaineering and sailing to help injured veterans rebuild their confidence. These are not one-off events; CWVC observes the daily challenges participants face, using those insights to develop better treatments for PTSD and traumatic brain injury (TBI), as well as to improve prosthetic limbs. The prosthetics used by participants in 2023 were refined based on lessons learned in the previous year.

Innovative Technology Helps Coral Grow

Florida, situated at the southeastern tip of the United States, is home to one of the world's three major coral reef zones, nurturing nearly 100 species of coral and providing habitat for more than 400 species of fish. As elsewhere around the globe, these reefs face enormous threats. According to a 2022 study by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the University of Miami, climate change-driven coral disease and bleaching, combined with damage from ship groundings, have eroded nearly 70% of Florida's coral reefs.

Mote Marine Laboratory is a leader in coral restoration. President and CEO Michael Crosby explained that the coral seedlings planted by the wounded veterans are specially selected and cultivated varieties with greater resistance to ocean warming, ocean acidification, and disease.

Mote Marine Laboratory uses microfragmentation techniques to grow coral seedlings within small areas. As the tiny fragments enlarge and fuse together, colonies can grow up to 40 times faster than coral typically would. Crosby is confident that these hand-selected corals can survive in harsh ocean conditions: "Within two to three years, we will create the equivalent of 50 years' worth of coral growth — and then they'll be able to spawn on their own."

"Vulneror non Vincor" — this Latin phrase is CWVC's motto, meaning "I am wounded, not conquered." Crosby believes these words apply not only to the determined veterans, but also to the coral reefs of Florida.

References:

• Euronews (July 26, 2023), 'A blessing': Wounded soldiers help US scientists to save coral reefs

• AFP (July 23, 2023), Wounded US veterans accept new mission: healing coral reefs

• NOAA (December 7, 2022), New study finds that seventy percent of Florida's coral reefs are eroding

• MOTE (July 14, 2023), On a mission: Mote and wounded veterans rebuild Key West coral reef

• CWVC official website

• Science News (October 30, 2023), Fake fog, 're-skinning' and 'sea-weeding' could help coral reefs survive

• Marine Savers, Microfragment Techniques in Coral Propagation

• Earth Labs, Using Data to Identify Hot Spots and Predict Bleaching Events

Further reading:

• AI Listens to Sick Coral, Robots, and Liquid Nitrogen: Creative Conservation Approaches

• Slow Down and Take a One-of-a-Kind Penghu Coral Restoration Eco-Tour

• Penghu — Coral Reef Conservation and Restoration Lecture

• Beautify the Seas of Penghu with Coral: You Too Can Be a "Coral Florist" — Marine Conservation Coral Restoration Experience

Republished with permission from the Taiwan Environmental Information Center; original title: Diving Into Healing: American Veterans Find Relief from War Trauma by Saving Coral