Our big why

Globally, coral reefs are home to 25% of our marine biodiversity, and they are struggling. As oceanic temperatures rise the hard coral species, who build our reefs, are experiencing regular bleaching and die-off events caused by the stress of hot waters. By 2030 NOAA predicts there will be nowhere on Earth that coral species can exist without experiencing stress, meaning we may lose species critical to marine stability on the only planet in our solar system capable of supporting it.

We are noticing coral migrating down the coast of WA, away from warmer equatorial waters, seeking more stable temperatures. Coral reefs take thousands of years to establish, relying on the calcium carbonate deposits of past corals to build reefs that protect marine life from current, and shallow waters that keep a regular temperature. With a large portion of the South West Coast being composed of sea-grass beds, and a few pristine limestone reefs, we need to create sites for coral to latch to, spawn, and propagate as it ventures down here to make itself a new home.

Coral Reefs play a huge role in WA’s coastal tourism industry, fishing industry, and protecting coastal communities from storms and erosion. If we don’t act fast at a community level, we run the risk of losing our hard coral reefs, and seeing marine ecosystems collapse.

Our brilliant idea

Take used glass bottles.

Recast the glass into pieces of artificial reef.

Place the artificial reef into warm shallow waters where coral is drifting to, so they have something to latch to.

Teach communities how to repeat the process.

We are experimenting with novel ways to build artificial reefs that can be constructed rapidly in regional communities using materials that don’t impact the ocean. Plastic and concrete, traditional reef-building materials, can leach chemicals into the ocean, changing the pH of the surrounding area, and can shed microplastics into the oceans.

We are recycling glass, as it is stable and inert, and abundantly available in the South West region thanks to the high volume of wineries and breweries in the area. We have created a series of test tiles made from recycled glass cast into moulds that have a textured surface, making it possible for marine life to latch on and grow. The tiles are strung together in a series of grids and can be suspended off existing marine infrastructure or attached to floats to minimize the damage they do to the sea floor.

The awesome thing about glass is that it can be slumped in moulds, meaning we can create tiles that are designed with community in mind and make attractive shallow water sculptures for generations to explore while marine life establishes. In this way, any piece we create is done with community, for the community.

Our goal by 2027 is to recycle half a tonne of glass into marine tiles to be placed on sites along the South West Coast to test how marine life responds. Our stretch mission is to create low-cost, community-friendly artificial reef sculptures that can be easily manufactured and deployed in regional coastal areas in Australia and the Asia Pacific. These would act as attractive tourist attractions while they establish and serve as the starting point of new coral reefs on our coastlines for the next generation of coral.

You can help!

We are currently seeking $100,000 in seed funding to expand our project from a one-person operation in a garage to a five-person operation that can work with the community to create and deploy our first at-scale working prototype by the summer of 2026.

We will be launching our crowdfunding campaign in June 2025, seeking 1,000 donations of $100 from across WA. The funds raised will go directly towards:

  • Upgrading our kiln from a small dental kiln capable of producing one 9cm tile every 24 hours to a glass kiln capable of producing 15 tiles every 24 hours.

  • Employing five regional WA artists to work with the community to raise awareness of coral reefs and design tiles suitable for their marine community.

  • Casting 150 tiles designed by young people from across coastal regional WA in recycled glass.

  • Producing our first at-scale prototype to be deployed in a marine environment to ensure marine life can safely make themselves at home.

  • Producing recycled glass products that can be sold to fund the project into the future.

If you would like to be one of our backers, please get in contact with us.