Our approach
Local community members and Ocean Gardener team members stringing coral fragments onto lines by hand before they are taken out to the nursery.
Coral reefs face many threats, from rising ocean temperatures and pollution to destructive fishing and unsustainable coastal development, but behind almost every one of them is a human factor. If people are the problem, people must also be the solution. That is why education and advocacy sit at the heart of Ocean Gardener’s work in Indonesia.
We work alongside local coastal communities to build a shared understanding of what a coral reef is, why corals matter, and how healthy reefs support marine life, fisheries and the livelihoods of the families who depend on them. Through hands-on training, scholarships and community programs, we develop local leaders and a new generation of coral advocates who can protect and restore their reefs long into the future.
636
People trained
64
Scholarships awarded
100
Visitors educated
17
Countries represented
Why education is so important
Planting corals is the easy part. Whether projects survive and thrive depends on the communities around them.
Many coastal families depend on the reef to survive, so blast fishing, overfishing and unintentional damage often come from need rather than neglect.
That is why lasting restoration has to be led by the community. When a healthy reef provides income through restoration work, dive guiding and eco-tourism, protecting it becomes the better living, and a path out of poverty.
Average salary in Indonesia
US$190
Rp3.4 million is the average Indonesian worker’s monthly income. For many coastal families, the reef is their safety net.
30–40%
of coral restoration projects fail, often because the pressures that damaged the reef never go away.
2x more
the fish on reefs managed with local communities, compared with unmanaged reefs.
Sources: Boström-Einarsson et al. 2020; Cinner et al. 2012, PNAS; BPS average worker wage, May 2026.
Local impact
We’ve awarded 64 scholarships to Indonesian nationals across the archipelago. We hope that our graduates go on to become advocates within their community and make waves of change for the good of the coral ecosystems. This has been made possible by the generous donations of the McPZ Foundation, and TFCCA’s support for our local training programs.
Scholarship origins across Indonesia
Scholarships awarded by year
Graduate stories
Our scholarship graduates return home to Ambon, Raja Ampat, Anambas, Nusa Penida, Medan and beyond, carrying the skills to restore and protect their own reefs.
Nusa Penida
Festi is a marine biologist. She worked for the Nusa Penida fishermen’s community in their ecotourism program. Now she’s part of our team!
Nusa Penida
Nyoman is part of the Ped fishermen’s community in Nusa Penida. Together with his neighbors, they have replanted the reefs and the marine life is slowly returning.
Bira, Sulawesi
Aldi works for Gaia One in their coral restoration team. He is a voice for his village on Liu Kang island, which suffered from blast fishing. The corals are recovering.
Bali
Fajar works at UPJD KKP (Bali Province), a government agency for marine conservation areas. With deeper knowledge, he can guide decision-making.
International impact
We want to thank our international course takers for believing in our curriculum and coming to learn from us. We have trained 22 people from around the world who will hopefully take their newfound knowledge to the various corners of the world to benefit their own coral restoration projects and become advocates for coral reef conservation and restoration around the world.
International participant origins
