At Coral Connect our purpose is to revolutionize how people connect with coral reef restoration initiatives so that we empower individuals, communities, businesses, and governments worldwide to take an active role in preserving our marine ecosystems. Just imagine seeing the direct impact of your contribution on coral ecosystems.

Coral Connect is a Dapp that helps coral restoration sites worldwide to share research data, receive direct funding, and showcase proof of work through transparent standardized metrics. Our Dapp allows individuals, businesses, and governments to participate directly in global coral restoration through the purchase of a dynamic digital assets directly linked to a living coral specimen being grown at one of our many partner locations. Each digital asset mirrors the growth of a living coral with real-time metadata collected relative to its current growth and location. Users can view, track, and personalize this experience by choosing the type of coral they would like to steward along with the appearance of the disk it is grown on and it’s out planting location. The Dapp itself is built on Arbitrum, allowing for mass adoption through extremely low transaction cost at speed for native and non-native Web 3 users. This technology will expedite the regeneration of coral reefs globally to preserve them for all future generations.

Our platform will allow for coral regeneration operations all over the world to share research data on species, growth rates, total amount of reef regeneration, environmental changes and so much more. All of this while also serving to translate digital assets into direct real-world impacts actually growing coral with every partner location and individual user added (currently 20 locations in Mexico, Dominican Republic, Indonesia, Panama, and most recently Palau). This will also provide public access to the larger knowledge base of coral restoration data for standardized reportable impact metrics to be shared. This solves the problem of transparency by adding publicly visible accountability to each site.

What sets us apart?

We're not just another conservation project; we're creating a global community connected by technology, empowering individuals to actively participate in reef restoration. With Coral Connect, you're not just donating, you're engaging, learning, and making a tangible difference in the ocean's future. Additionally, every coral is grown on a personalized ceramic disc, commemorated with your chosen image or text. Our advanced 3D scanning technology assesses reef health, setting a new benchmark in environmental stewardship. Each piece of coral is geolocated upon its rehoming back into the reef allowing a living legacy of impact.

Track record:

Our team has already seen success, with a sold-out NFT collection, holder events and several rounds of tangible deliverables to holders. We have acquired partnerships across the Southeast Asian Coral Triangle all the way to the Dominican Republic, Mesoamerica, Panama, and the Carribean. Our successful government partnerships assure this Dapp will set new standards for environmental stewardship and drive direct impact through sustainable action and engagement. We are currently growing coral in Queensland Australia on Magnetic Island using an AI coral farming robot. All stewards of these corals can view and feed them daily via their cell phone or laptop. Unlike traditional methods, our approach is scalable, data-driven, and designed for global impact.

Project Socials/reporting:

https://www.linkedin.com/company/notessential/posts/?feedView=all

https://x.com/Coral__Connect

https://gap.karmahq.xyz/project/coral-connect-1/grants/0x81258581c51eb7e76331b3fc9c66414f21ab27c1d3ef014294ccd4c3627204e6/milestones-and-updates

https://gap.karmahq.xyz/project/coral-connect-1/impact

Proof of work: https://x.com/NotEssential_io/status/1548860504734842880 https://x.com/NotEssential_io/status/1558653596056846336 https://x.com/CycloTurtles/status/1642500012864311296 https://x.com/4evaFamouss/status/1668023420012081154 https://x.com/CycloTurtles/status/1602470972619165696 https://x.com/NotEssential_io/status/1705422396252123500 https://x.com/CycloTurtles/status/1762429203939831982 https://x.com/hardmoustache/status/1766331107199565842 https://x.com/corvusbrewco/status/1770073767596978208

The Deep Dive:

Coral Connect is the first “connect” arm under the NotEssential umbrella. It provides transparent and engaging access to reef restoration by linking dynamic digital assets to a living legacy of impact. Allowing users real time data updates of coral growth, transplant locations and overall individualized data for their personalized coral. This fosters a unique and direct connection to each, and every coral raised by donors. Each digital asset is to include metadata surrounding coral surface area, coral health, and density. When rehomed in the reef each piece is geolocated and tracked with future reef scans. This model also provides the capability to translate data into two different types of globally marketed credits, enabling the connectivity required to expedite the current efforts as well as the hard data providing proof of work. Coral Connect provides transparency from donor to impact in an unprecedented way.

Process:

All prospective sites are first subject to a thorough 3d scanning of local reefs and the existing marine biome surrounding target sites. These models include the reefs themselves and every type of detectable species in the scanned area. This provides initial standards, verifiable data, and measurements for rating and verification necessary to obtain a “beginning biodiversity score”. The direct impact on marine life, coral growth, and biome health can be measured extremely accurately in this way. Engagement and adoption is driven through tailored user experience providing each donor with a digital coral for ownership that matches the living coral inside each nurseries’ tanks. Each individual coral in the tank is grown on a personally customizable ceramic disc, commemorating each donor's connection to their specific coral with their choice of a photo, logo, or engraved text. As the coral in the tank grows, the data and relevant changes are reflected through the digital asset within our decentralized application. This provides personal connection and interaction with the living coral being cared for until such time it is out planted from the land-based tank. All corals must remain in our tanks for six months before out planting may occur. By personalizing the entire experience and allowing users to choose coral type; this approach offers direct engagement for everyone willing to participate, and a living legacy of impact that is tracked, transferable, and immortalized by blockchain. As an added bonus, many of the current issues facing both field nurseries and land nurseries are eliminated through this method. The entire system is built for scalability and cost effectiveness throughout. This means that coral diversity, stability, and viable coral ratios for out planting are directly improved in an efficient and measurable process as we scale together.

Why: The current landscape of charitable giving often grapples with issues of transparency and engagement. This lack of clear tangible outcomes, coupled with reduced awareness and accessibility, often distances donors from the causes they support. With our method we can address issues of engagement and transparency, while gaining the data related to impact, accreditation, and tokenization necessary to further global adoption of this new gold standard.

Coral Connect provides a solution through transparent and engaging access to reef restoration by leveraging the power of real-time data, 3D modelling, and blockchain technology. Our platform is not just a tool but a movement, inviting everyone from enthusiasts to experts to connect globally to rejuvenate and preserve our precious coral ecosystems.

How: Real-Time Data Updates: Coral Connect provides users with immediate updates on coral growth and transplant locations, offering a unique window into the progress of their contributions. Digital Asset Linkage: Every coral supported is represented by a digital asset, a 3D model linked directly to live data about the coral's genus, growth type, carbon sequestered and many more. Thus making the impact of each donation tangible and personal. Personalized Coral Growth: Through our platform, donors can memorialize their contribution with ceramic discs that serve as the foundation for coral growth, each disc commemorating the donor's connection to their specific coral with options for photos, logos, or engraved text. Advanced 3D Scanning: We employ state-of-the-art 3D scanning to thoroughly assess reef health and the marine biome, establishing a baseline for restoration and enabling precise monitoring and verification of biodiversity improvements. Benefits Empowering Participation: Coral Connect empowers individuals and communities to take an active role in coral conservation, making a tangible difference in the health of our reefs. Setting New Standards: By integrating technology with conservation, we're establishing a new gold standard for charitable stewardship and impact-driven engagement in ocean conservation. Scalable Operations: Our approach to coral nursery operations is designed for scalability and efficiency, enabling a broader impact across the globe. Enhancing Biodiversity: Through continuous monitoring and verifiable data, Coral Connect significantly enhances biodiversity and carbon sequestration efforts, contributing to the health of marine ecosystems.

Next Steps:

Connect all partner sites to Dapp Coral Connect Dapp Launch MRV (3D Reef scan to create baseline scores) Build coral farming facilities in chosen locations Marine biologist will prepare the facility and educate local workers. Coral fragmentation and growth (6-month cycle) Implement the Coral Connect platform within the facility. Launch (International social media campaign, Palauan Governmental backing/ media exposure) Out planting newly grown corals into the reef Measure impact/scale.