Wounded in combat, these US Army veterans are finding healing in restoring Florida's threatened coral reefs.
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00:54 - Every one of those fragments that we out planted today,
01:07 they're native species and native genotypes
01:12 here to the Florida Keys.
01:13 But our scientists have over the years identified
01:16 which of those thousands of genotypes of every given species
01:21 are actually more resilient to increasing water temperature,
01:26 to ocean acidification and to coral disease.
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01:41 Basically these coral will grow 40 to 50 times as fast
01:48 as a normal coral will grow.
01:50 And in two years through this microfragmentation
01:53 and re-skinning process, which is what we conducted today,
01:58 the actual out planting for re-skinning,
02:01 in two years, three years,
02:02 we will have created a 50 year old coral.
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02:09 Doing events like this, it's great for the heart and soul,
02:30 especially when you're around a group of veterans
02:35 that have gone through very similar situations
02:38 and have beat the odds or recovered in such a positive way.
02:43 It is such a blessing.
02:44 It's such a great part of what this whole week in Key West is
02:48 'cause we get a chance to go in and give back.
02:51 You know, we're helping these guys to restore the reefs.
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