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Caribbean Currents Newsletter

Coral Conservation Festival: Connecting the Community to Coral

This TNC Festival brought coral conservation to life in the Virgin Islands.

August 31, 2026

Families paint a mural on a concrete wall at the Virgin Islands Coral Conservation Festival in St. Croix.
Making a Marine Mural Visitors paint a community mural designed by TNC’s Macallan Durkin-Smith. © Marjo Aho/TNC

In April, more than 200 community members flocked to TNC’s historic Estate Little Princess for the inaugural Coral Conservation Festival, which kicked off the Virgin Islands’ annual Coral Reef Week celebration. Coordinated by the Coral Innovation Hub’s Science Engagement Team, the event featured hands-on activities designed by 15 community partners to connect residents—children and adults—with the wonders of coral reef ecosystems.

A family stands at a booth at the coral festival and makes art.
Coral and Community Families gather at the East End Marine Park table to create marine-themed postcards with rubber stamps. © Marjo Aho/TNC
Three men stand at a tank that houses coral, one looks on in awe, one holds up a coral, and one enthusiastically explains what they are seeing.
Spectacular Science Lieutenant Governor Tregenza Roach looks on with awe as TNC aquaculturists Kemit Sweeney and Javier Soler demonstrate a fully fused Orbicella colony. © Marjo Aho/TNC
Coral and Community Families gather at the East End Marine Park table to create marine-themed postcards with rubber stamps. © Marjo Aho/TNC
Spectacular Science Lieutenant Governor Tregenza Roach looks on with awe as TNC aquaculturists Kemit Sweeney and Javier Soler demonstrate a fully fused Orbicella colony. © Marjo Aho/TNC

Visitors explored the reef through play, discovery, and art. At the Roots for Reefs station, hosted by Thriving Islands Inc. and Ceiba Strategies, families played Are You My Mother? matching juvenile mangrove fish to their adult coral reef counterparts while learning about the connection between mangroves and reefs. At the University of the Virgin Islands booth, participants experienced an immersive virtual dive using virtual reality technology. Guests created ocean-themed postcards with the East End Marine Park as well as coral-inspired artwork with the Caribbean Museum Center for the Arts.

Throughout the day, TNC’s aquaculture team welcomed more than 80 visitors, including Lieutenant Governor Tregenza Roach and TNC Caribbean Division Director Rob Brumbaugh, who toured the Coral Innovation Hub. Guests viewed 24 raceways housing 27 species of Caribbean corals and learned how techniques such as microfragmentation and assisted sexual reproduction are helping restore reefs across the Virgin Islands.

A woman stands smiling at a booth at the Inaugural Coral Conservation Festival in the Virgin Islands.
Smiling faces were everywhere at the Coral Conservation Festival.

The festival is one of many initiatives aimed at making coral reef science more accessible, and inspiring the next generation of Virgin Islands marine scientists. Other efforts include free weekly nursery tours, STEAM field trips, and internships for University of the Virgin Islands students, all part of TNC’s mission to build local capacity for coral conservation and stewardship throughout the territory.

Support for this event was provided in part by our partners at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Restoration Center.

Corals in the waters of the Virgin Islands.
Staghorn Corals Healthy new staghorn corals outplanted by The Nature Conservancy in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands © John Melendez