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© 2021 National Earth Science Teachers Association. All Rights Reserved.

Volume XXXVII, Issue 1

Abstract

This article describes a NOAA Planet Stewards Education Project where students dive 

deeply into environmental science and stewardship. The Colorado Coralition focuses on 

the science of climate change, coral decline, and reef restoration. Middle and high school 

students from Fort Collins, Colorado worked for an entire year to take part in the learning 

experience of a lifetime: helping the Coral Restoration Foundation in their efforts to stem 

the tide of coral reef decline in the Florida Keys. For the culmination of their 2019 project, 

Coralition students used their scuba diving skills to contribute to ongoing coral restoration research in an in-depth citizen science project at the bottom of the ocean. 

An Introduction to Deeper Learning

Jaya, a 7th grader, hovers above a golden thicket of staghorn coral. Below her, purple sea fans wave 

softly in the current. She checks her regulator before sinking closer to the young corals clinging to 

the live rock substrate. She finds an algae-encrusted tag affixed 

to the coral and records the following data on her dive slate:

Genotype: U 41

Cluster: 185

Using her citizen science training, she counts the number of 

corals in the cluster and observes how many are alive and how 

many have fused with other coral fragments — both important indicators that out-planting efforts are succeeding on 

Carysfort Reef.

Alive: 10

Dead: 0

Fused? Yes

She swims over to Mikaela, her dive partner, who is monitoring 

another cluster nearby. They point enthusiastically to the positive data they have collected. Back on the dive boat, these two 

A Deep Sense of Hope: 

Engaging Students in 

Coral Restoration

Matt Strand, Ph.D., Derek Hagen

Ryan and Larson, two 9th grade 

Polaris students, collect data 

on the health of out-planted

staghorn corals at Carysfort Reef 

as part of the Colorado Coralition 

citizen science project

Photo credit: Matt Strand

Figure 1. Jaya assesses coral fragment survivorship at Carsyfort Reef

Photo credit: Matt Strand
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© 2021 National Earth Science Teachers Association. All Rights Reserved.

middle schoolers are as exhilarated as the rest of the Coralition 

students in spite of this being their final dive before returning 

home to Colorado.

Coral Decline in the Florida Reef Tract

The Florida Reef Tract is the third-largest barrier reef in the world, 

covering over 3,800 square miles (NASA, 2012). This expansive 

ecosystem is home to over 6,000 marine species (Florida Museum 

of Natural History, 2021). It provides vital coastal protection as 

well as a significant economic draw for recreation and tourism 

(NASA, 2012). However, the Florida Reef Tract has faced a precipitous decline in coral cover. Over the last 40 years, this reef system 

has lost approximately 97% of two of its most dominant shallowwater reef-building coral species: staghorn and elkhorn coral 

(Bruckner, 2002). 

Climate change, the biggest threat to coral reefs around the world, 

is a primary driver of this decline. Thermal stress events from increasing temperatures cause coral 

bleaching and mortality. Additionally, global increases in CO2

 compound these stressors, causing 

the ocean to acidify, which results in severe degradation of coral calcification rates (NOAA, 2020). 

But there are regional contributors to the rapid decline of staghorn and elkhorn corals as well. The 

Florida Reef Tract’s proximity to the southern Florida watershed has intensified the loss of native 

coral cover. Agricultural, urban, and suburban runoff results in a toxic blend of fertilizers, sewage, 

and pollution reaching this important ecosystem, resulting in catastrophic eutrophication and 

disease (NASA, 2012). 

The Coral Restoration Foundation 

In Key Largo, Florida, the Coral Restoration Foundation (CRF), a nonprofit focused on reef conservation and recovery, is leading the charge to reverse this precipitous decline. CRF works to support 

the natural recovery processes of reefs around the world through the large-scale cultivation, outplanting, and monitoring of genetically diverse, reef-building corals. In Florida, this is accomplished 

by growing finger-sized elkhorn and staghorn corals in offshore nurseries. Corals are grown and 

harvested for out-planting in the wild on carefully selected out-planting sites. Once on-site, these 

coral fragments are glued to the live rock substrate using a marine 

epoxy. Each out-planted coral is tagged with genetic, species, and 

location information for monitoring purposes. This allows CRF 

to identify genotypes that are resilient to the many global and 

regional threats to coral reefs. Since 2012, CRF has out-planted 

more than 120,000 critically endangered staghorn and elkhorn 

corals back onto the Florida Reef Tract. Many of these corals have 

now grown into thriving colonies with the ability to spawn, encouraging the reef’s natural process of propagation. 

Carysfort Reef is the northernmost of eight CRF out-planting sites 

in the Florida Keys. Much like the iconic lighthouse that sits atop 

this reef, Carysfort is a beacon of hope for coral restoration. At 

the close of 2020, CRF has out-planted over 35,000 new corals on 

Carysfort Reef. Active monitoring and data collection demonstrate 

an impressive 93% survivorship of staghorn and elkhorn corals at 

Figure 2. Jaya and Mikaela compare their coral monitoring data at 

Carysfort Reef

Photo credit: Matt Strand

Figure 3. A healthy cluster of elkhorn coral observed on Carysfort Reef

Photo credit: Matt Strand
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© 2021 National Earth Science Teachers Association. All Rights Reserved.

Volume XXXVII, Issue 1

this site, as well as evidence of increased coral cover (Coral Restoration Foundation, 2019). CRF’s 

success with reef restoration has drawn attention from all over the world, including a teacher and 

his students from Fort Collins who call themselves the Colorado Coralition.

The Colorado Coralition

The Colorado Coralition (https://spark.adobe.com/page/GreDo3zPQVV70/) is a year-long environmental science project at Polaris Expeditionary Learning School (https://pol.psdschools.org/) 

in Fort Collins, Colorado. Polaris, a K-12 public school in Poudre School District, fosters learning 

through student-centered, standards-based projects that rely on experts, fieldwork, and real-world 

application. While Polaris teachers use this experiential project model in the day-to-day curriculum, 

they also develop week-long enrichment projects, called Intensives, that take place three times a 

year (in September, February, and in May). Intensive Weeks allow teachers a way to share passions 

beyond their content area with multi-age groups of students. Polaris students in 6th - 12th grade 

select their top “Intensive” choices from a menu of options. These experiences typically incorporate 

the arts, career exploration, adventure, technology, and/or service learning. Whether one teaches 

math, social studies, foreign language, or music, Polaris teachers are given wide latitude to create 

powerful learning experiences for kids. It is this invitation to innovate that led Dr. Matt Strand, the 

7th and 8th grade English teacher at Polaris, to develop the Colorado Coralition. In 2013, Matt was 

awarded a grant from Fund For Teachers (https://www.fundforteachers.org/), which supported his 

efforts to earn his scuba certification and travel to Florida to volunteer with CRF. He participated 

in multiple dives, seeing firsthand the degradation on the Florida Reef Tract. It was a moving experience, one that gave him a blueprint for designing a similar life-changing opportunity for Polaris 

students. To make his dream of diving with students a reality, Dr. Strand designed the Coralition so 

the same cadre of students could participate in all three of his Intensive Weeks throughout the year. 

Scuba Certification

The middle and high school students selected to join the Coralition, which has a maximum acceptance of twenty students, start with rigorous study for their Open Water Certification. Divemasters 

from Colorado Scuba Diving Academy train students in dive theory and practical skills such as 

buoyancy control. During September Intensive Week, students spend a great deal of time studying 

in the classroom and practicing in the pool; the week culminates in a trip to Homestead Crater in 

Utah, a geothermal crater with a depth of 65 feet, for their final diving exams. As regular classes 

resume at Polaris, these newly certified divers attend weekly after-school meetings focused on 

research and fundraising. This is where the power of the NOAA Planet Stewards Education Project 

really takes hold. 

Curriculum and Student-Led Presentations

The Colorado Coralition was accepted as a NOAA Planet Stewards funded project during the 2018-

2019 school year. Participation in this federally funded program created an opportunity to bolster 

this third iteration of the Coralition with diverse scientific frameworks and resources. Throughout 

much of the school year, Dr. Strand and his students met weekly for after-school workshops that 

focused on an integrated approach to scientific inquiry and literacy. Many of these workshops 

centered on coral biology, global and regional stressors to coral reefs, rates of decline, and 

evaluating coral restoration solutions. Educators interested in Next Generation Science Standards 

(NGSS, 2017) and Cross Cutting learning opportunities that relate to coral decline and restoration 

practices can look to the following Disciplinary Core Ideas:

n	 Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics in Ecosystems (MS-LS2-5, HS-LS2-7)

n	 Earth and Human Activity (MS-ESS3-2, MS-ESS3-3, HS-ESS3-1, HS-ESS3-4, HS-ESS3-5)
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© 2021 National Earth Science Teachers Association. All Rights Reserved.

Coral studies provide unique opportunities to integrate an NGSS-based curriculum with Ocean Literacy 

Essential Principles and Fundamental Concepts 

(National Marine Educators Association, 2020). These 

include Principles 3, 5, 6 and 7. Combining NGSS with 

the Ocean Literacy Framework provides a robust curricular springboard that inspires students to take decisive 

action.

The Planet Stewards program also bolstered the scientific depth of the Coralition by providing increased 

access to NOAA resources, data, and experts. Dr. Strand 

organized live video conferences with experts such as 

Dr. Mark Eakin, coordinator of NOAA’s Coral Reef 

Watch, as well an in-person visit by Zack Rago, who was 

featured in the Emmy-awarded 2017 Netflix documentary Chasing Coral. After these interviews, students chose 

from subtopics related to coral science and restoration 

engineering and prepared presentations that took place 

during the February Intensive Week. As part of the OtterCares Closed2Open (https://ottercares.

org/closed2open) campaign, volunteer employees from Fort Collins-based OtterBox visited Dr. 

Strand’s classroom to give tips and feedback to students as they rehearsed their presentations. This 

experience helped Coralition students lead an immersive event in the 360° OtterBox Digital Dome 

Theater at the Fort Collins Museum of Discovery. In front of a large audience that included Dr. 

Joanie Kleypas of the National Center for Atmospheric Research and US Congressman Joe Neguse, 

Coralition students provided in-depth details on topics such as the biology of coral, the ecology of 

coral reefs, the impact of climate change, regional stressors in the Florida Reef Tract, restoration 

techniques, and ways to reduce the collective carbon footprint on Colorado’s Front Range. Clearly, 

the backing of the NOAA Planet Stewards program had a definitive impact on students’ depth of 

knowledge, confidence, and commitment to environmental stewardship. 

Trip Preparation

While researching and preparing presentations for their topics, students also focused on fundraising to support their trip to Florida. Some students started crowdfunding campaigns, while 

others started small businesses. Group fundraising events such as T-shirt sales and ocean-themed 

school dances gave students yet another opportunity to work as a team. These students also 

had additional opportunities to hone their scuba diving skills throughout the year (video of the 

Christmas tree dive challenge – http://bit.ly/coralitiontraining). These yearlong efforts, combined 

with the Planet Stewards program, helped make dreams of diving in Florida a reality. 

Planet Stewards Project and Results

Upon arriving in Key Largo, Coralition students deepened their scientific knowledge at the CRF 

Exploration Center, a hub for promoting engagement in coral science and restoration. The CRF 

website (https://www.coralrestoration.org/) also provides a vast array of information about coral 

restoration methodology, free standards-based classroom activities, national STEM competitions 

and challenges, and the OK Coral app-based citizen science program. Coralition students spent 

half-days engaged in customized lessons and hands-on training with marine biologists before 

heading out for the CRF dive program.

Figure 4. Quinn, a 7th grader, cleans algae from a coral tree in the Coral Restoration 

Foundation offshore nursery

Photo credit: Matt Strand
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© 2021 National Earth Science Teachers Association. All Rights Reserved.

Volume XXXVII, Issue 1

Coralition students descend 

in small teams, led by marine 

biologists and accompanied 

by dive masters, to tackle 

a variety of tasks on the 

ocean floor, such as coral 

nursery maintenance and 

coral monitoring.The most 

powerful learning takes 

place through these dives. 

Underwater Gardening 

In the coral nursery, CRF’s 

innovative “coral trees” — 

large PVC structures with monofilament for hanging coral fragments 

— allow coral farming to take place. However, much like weeds take to 

a garden, algae can take over a coral tree. To keep young corals healthy, 

the trees and monofilament must be regularly cleaned. Coralition 

students learned how to scrub these underwater structures free from 

algae and other biofoul. They also learned how to tag fragments with 

identifying information and “harvest” them from the trees for outplanting. Students did several dives in the nursery, working hard to 

clean eight coral trees to ensure hundreds of corals would grow healthy 

and strong.

Citizen Science Data Collection

Coralition students also used their citizen science training to collect 

data on outplants at Carsyfort Reef. Working in pairs, students spread 

out across the reef and studied coral clusters carefully for signs of 

disease, mortality, and fusing (coral fragments growing together 

to form more structural complexity). Students carefully collected 

Figure 5. Jaya and a recently out-planted elkhorn cluster on Carysfort Ree

Photo credit: Matt Strand

Genotype Cluster # Alive #Dead

Fused/

Not Fused

U75 112 10 0 NF

U75 114 11 0 NF

U63 145 10 0 NF

M20 44 9 0 NF

U44 165 11 0 NF

K2 428 11 0 NF

B10 97 10 0 NF

B8 90 10 0 F

U41 185 10 0 F

J41 183 7 0 NF

MS 38 11 0 NF

MS 385 10 0 F

Ull 185 10 0 NF

NA NA 1 0 NF

NA NA 0 1 F

B8 91 9 0 F

J41 184 9 0 F

UNK UNK 3 2 F

NA NA 0 4 F

NA NA 11 0 F

NA NA 13 0 F

Kl C671 11 0 F

NA NA 7 5 F

NA NA 4 9 F

C91 B8 3 0 F

NA NA 6 0 F

NA NA 2 0 NF

NA NA 3 0 NF

NA NA 4 0 NF

NA NA 1 0 F

NA NA 5 2 F

NA NA 8 2 NF

NA NA 2 0 NF

NA NA 2 0 NF

B10 96 8 0 F

U35 129 11 1 NF

Ul00 107 10 0 NF

U30 50 11 0 NF

U106 42 9 0 NF

B8 112 10 0 NF

U44 164 10 0 NF

U44 165 9 0 NF

UlS 132 11 0 NF

KW16 35 10 0 NF

KW16 36 11 1 NF

U17 12 9 0 NF

U41 206 9 0 NF

NA NA 3 5 NF

Ul00 107 10 0 NF

U39 50 10 0 NF

U106 42 9 0 NF

Results

Total Recorded Coral Fragments: 435

403 Corals Alive 

32 Corals Dead

92.64% Survivorship

Total Number of Clusters: 51

33 Clusters with No Fusion Observed 

18 Clusters with Fusion Observed

64.7% Observed Fusion

Table1. Colorado Coralition Monitoring Data: Carysfort Reef (May 31st, 2019)
Page 42 The Earth Scientist

© 2021 National Earth Science Teachers Association. All Rights Reserved.

identifying information from each coral tag to produce reliable data. During their citizen science 

project, Coralition students assessed the health of 435 individual coral fragments, observing 92.64% 

survivorship on Carysfort Reef. These student dive teams also observed that 33 of 51 (62.7%) of 

observed coral clusters demonstrated fusion. 

These student-generated data were compiled by CRF and reported to the NOAA Florida Keys 

National Marine Sanctuary, the NOAA Restoration Center, and the Florida Fish and Wildlife 

Conservation Commission. Additionally, the data is available to researchers who utilize CRF 

facilities, corals, or data to promote coral reef research. Coral monitoring plays a critical role in 

determining the resilience of specific genotypes and the success of coral propagation. Therefore, 

Coralition students participated in one of the most essential tasks in bringing endangered reefs 

back from the brink.

Conclusion

To date, over 50 middle and high school students have participated in the Colorado Coralition. 

Several have gone on to major in marine biology at the postsecondary level. It is this type of experience 

that impacts participants in lasting ways. As Noah, a 7th grader in the Coralition shared on the last 

night of the trip, “The Coralition is something I will never forget, and I will carry the lessons and skills 

I learned throughout my entire life.” Why are real-world problems such powerful learning experiences? 

Perhaps it is simple as this: there is no answer in the back of the book. Somewhere along the fault 

lines of the unknown lies the opportunity for meaningful learning for students and their teachers, 

a place where concern for the state of the natural world inspires a desire for knowledge, innovation, 

and shared purpose. When students and teachers have the courage to face humanity’s most pressing 

dilemmas, a deep sense of hope fuses with the brilliant light of possibility. 

References

Bruckner, A.W. (2002). Proceedings of the Caribbean Acropora 

Workshop: Potential Application of the U.S. Endangered Species Act 

as a Conservation Strategy (NOAA Technical Memorandum 

NMFS-OPR-24). NOAA.

Coral Restoration Foundation (2019). Annual Report: 2019.

https://3a33729f-d81c-4cd6-9541-8bf1b5bd6ec5.filesusr.com/

ugd/60a969_fd15db98d13a4d1887634588c31f9120.pdf

Florida Museum of Natural History (2018,). Conservation of the 

Florida Keys. Retrieved February 1st, 2021 from https://www.

floridamuseum.ufl.edu/southflorida/regions/keys/conservation/

NASA (2012). Detecting detrimental change in coral reefs. Retrieved 

January 30th, 2021 from https://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/

features/coral-damage.html

National Marine Educators Association (2020). Ocean Literacy 

Guide. Retrieved April 15th, 2021 from https://static1.squarespace.

com/static/5b4cecfde2ccd188cfed8026/t/5eb99cc530a3d76767dc

7aea/1589222614314/OceanLiteracyGuide_V3_2020.pdf

NGSS Lead States (2017). DCI Arrangements of the Next Generation 

Science Standards. Retrieved April 15th from https://www.

nextgenscience.org/sites/default/files/AllDCI.pdf

NOAA (2020). How does climate change affect coral reefs? Retrieved 

January 30th, 2021 from https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/

coralreef-climate.html

About the Authors

Dr. Matt Strand teaches 7th and 8th grade English and serves as 

the middle school team leader at Polaris Expeditionary Learning 

School in Fort Collins, Colorado. He has also served as a national

coach for EL Education’s Better World Project. He earned his M.Ed. 

2001 in Educational Research and Collaboration from Texas Christian 

University with an emphasis on experiential models of school reform.

He went on to earn his Ph.D. in 2013 in Education and Huma

Resource Studies from Colorado State University with a focus on 

authentic professional learning. He has used experiential, projec

based, and student-centered assessment models to engage learners

for over twenty years. He can be reached at mstrand@psdschools.o

Derek Hagen is the Education Program Manager of the Coral 

Restoration FoundationTM, leading the internship and volunteer force

With over 1200 hours of public speaking engagements and over 100 

educational activities published, his goal is to inspire others and train 

others to improve the health of the world’s reefs, using CRFTM work as 

an example. Previously, he worked as a professor at Oak Ridge Military

Academy teaching courses such as Zoology and Oceanography. He

can be reached at derek@coralrestoration.or