Visitors can purchase a Coral Bouquet via the Coral Gardeners website for USD 25 per coral plant
Tourism Fiji, the South Pacific archipelago’s national tourism agency, is celebrating the season of love this February with a twist to this age-old tradition with sustainability-based activities.
In a press statement, Tourism Fiji says that this year, the leading honeymoon destination Fiji, will be offering couples a sustainable alternative in the form of a Coral Bouquet planting for Valentine’s Day.
The board says that via this initiative, visitors can purchase a Coral Bouquet via the Coral Gardeners website for USD 25 per coral plant, add a bespoke message addressed to their Valentine and receive a downloadable card including a picture of the fledgling coral bouquet to send on February 14. Much like a relationship, coral takes love, nurturing, and time to flourish, therefore recipients will receive updates from the Coral Gardeners on how the coral baby is growing.
Coral Gardeners is a grassroots organisation established by young surfers
The board says that 100 pc of the proceeds from this alternative Valentine’s Coral Bouquet gift will go to support the work of leading coral restoration NGO Coral Gardeners Fiji, who will plant and nurture a coral cluster in the name of love. Home to the third-largest barrier reef in the world, the Great Sea Reef or Cakaulevu, Fiji is surrounded by beautiful but also fragile corals at threat from warming oceans.
The statement adds that the Coral Gardeners is a grassroots organisation established by young surfers, free divers and fishermen of French Polynesia. Since its creation in 2017 it has planted more than 100,000 corals in French Polynesia and now aims to plant a million corals around the world by 2025.
The statement adds that through restoration and awareness campaigns across the destination, Coral Gardeners Fiji is assisting in the regeneration and protection of coral reefs through its recently announced international hub in Fiji, which is housed at Six Senses Fiji and has a partnership with Tourism Fiji.
The board says that the Coral Gardeners recently partnered with Warner Brothers on the release of Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom movie, with American actor Jason Momoa as their chief ambassador, helping to highlight coral bleaching and the damage caused by climate change.
It adds that with Valentine’s Day nearing, it is time to spread the love for sustainability and recognise the importance of responsible travel practices that contribute positively to the environment, local communities and economies.
