At the Kimpton Seafire Resort + Spa in Grand Cayman, the Seafire team has joined forces with a local dive company to help replenish the coral in Caribbean waters, launching a program called Seafire Guardians. The mission of Seafire Guardians is to protect, develop and regenerate the Caribbean’s coral reefs. The property sponsored staff members to become coral certified through the PADI Coral Restoration course, after which they founded the Guardians project to ensure continued action. As “rainforests of the sea”, corals are not just a diver’s dream, but also support an astonishing 25 percent of marine life and act as natural breakwaters, defending the island from hurricanes and storms. By taking healthy extracts, the Guardians carefully relocate and cultivate coral underwater, using aquatic nurseries.
The Seafire Guardians efforts aren’t confined under water, but on land as well, with beach cleanups and turtle nesting being a large focus in the property’s overall mission—which is to bring awareness to colleagues, guests and the larger community of the environmental issues that are faced in Cayman.
Guests can join in on the fun by becoming a Guardian themselves. To become a Seafire Guardian, guests simply enquire with the resort team and then they are made aware of any upcoming conservationist efforts happening during their stay. Guests specifically hoping to participate in coral conservation are required to be both PADI Open Water certified and PADI Coral Conservation certified. Kimpton Seafire can arrange for guests to undergo training at the resort with an affiliate third party dive team.
The Kimpton Seafire Resort + Spa is one of many lodging establishments around the world participating in coral restoration efforts. Do a search on “coral” at our site to learn more.
