Introduction

By 2050, coral reefs as they exist today may completely disappear (Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, 2014). As one of the most important and biologically diverse ecosystems, the extinction of coral reefs would cause major social-ecological challenges. Home to over a quarter of all marine life, coral reefs provide an essential habitat for over 1 million aquatic species1. Additionally, coral reefs hold immense ecological, economic, and cultural value, providing multiple benefits for human communities living in coastal regions2. Not only do coral reefs protect coastlines from erosion, waves, and storms, but they also provide essential opportunities for income, food, and new medicine3,4. Estimates point to over half a billion people depending upon healthy coral reefs to sustain their livelihoods5.

Coral reef ecosystems are highly interconnected and depend upon the health of multiple habitats and species5,6,7. Hence, a holistic approach to coral reef restoration is needed rather than a focus on single habitat recovery8. Indeed, to effectively restore and protect coastal regions from multiple human pressures, recommendations are that management actions must be focused on three major interlinked habitats: coral reefs, mangroves, and seagrasses.

In coastal regions like Thailand, coral reef ecosystems are especially integral to supporting the country’s blue economy and cultural value9. However, increased climate and anthropogenic pressures, such as rapid coastal development, destructive fishery practices, and multiple bleaching events, have led to alarming coral mortality rates10. In Thailand, the work of grassroots organizations like ‘Yad Fon’ (meaning ‘raindrop’), founded in 1985 to support mangrove restoration, has continually showcased the power of local communities to revitalize productive wetland ecosystems11. The latter organization contributes to climate-resilient communities, empowering environmental stewardship, building ecological literacy, and promoting action to support coastal habitats. Scaling efforts of local communities are key to the recovery of ecosystem health, especially in the face of the climate crisis. This background, hence, raises the question: How might youth-led restoration initiatives effectively encourage stewardship and sustain public care for corals and the wider tropical coastal seascape?

Here, we offer insights into how Thailand’s largest youth-led marine conservation initiative—‘Care for Coral’—intends to bridge land and seascape recovery by empowering young environmental stewards. While Care for Coral focuses predominantly on coral reef restoration, its immersive restoration and educational experiences have inspired youth to become active stewards across various habitats and species12. It has further promoted lifelong ocean literacy, together with skills and knowledge transfer, by providing meaningful opportunities for local communities to engage in direct restoration experiences. Such an approach has facilitated direct coral reef rehabilitation while building sound foundations for youth to carry their newfound ecological literacy to protect natural resources in the long term. It can, therefore, serve as a guiding example for other youth to spearhead multi-habitat environmental conservation and restoration efforts around the globe (Fig. 1).

Fig. 1
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A multidimensional approach to enhancing environmental stewardship for coral reef restoration.

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Care for the coral environmental stewardship approach

Care for Coral is a non-governmental organization (NGO) founded in 2020 by two Thai teenagers (Supplementary Fig. 1), and its mission is to protect Thailand’s marine environment through the conservation and restoration of coral reefs at the national level. To receive approval from the Thai Government, in June 2020, one of the co-founders met with Thailand’s Minister of Natural Resources and Environment (H.E. Varawut Silpa-Archa). Subsequently, she secured permission from Thailand’s Department of Marine and Coastal Resources to develop a variety of restoration projects on several islands in Thailand12. Care for Coral’s efforts are supported by working directly with government agencies, scientists, environmental NGOs, schools, and diving operators (Supplementary Table 1). Over time, the organization has spread and reached international audiences by disseminating its work at national and international forums. For example, co-founder Pyn Kruesopon was invited to the United Nations (UN) multiple times as the Asia Pacific Youth Ocean Champion (Fig. 2) and is contributing to the third UN Ocean Conference in June 2025.

Fig. 2: Examples of activities undertaken within the context of Care for Coral’s multidimensional approach.
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A Participation in conferences: co-founder Pyn Kruesopon as an invited speaker at the United Nations as the Asian Pacific Ocean Youth Champion in 2022. B Co-founders of Care for Coral were invited as educational panelists at the opening of the largest sustainability store in Thailand—‘Ecotopia’—where a business deal to sell the NGO’s eco-friendly merchandise at the largest commercial stores in Thailand was secured. C Out planting preparation: children working collaboratively to mix concrete in Koh Tao to be used as a base in coral nurseries. D Clean-up initiatives: annual paddle and dive for debris events on the Chao Phraya River and the Andaman Sea, attempting to break a clean-up Guinness world record with the Thai government.

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Care for Coral prioritizes a social-ecological approach to marine restoration, providing opportunities for local communities to directly engage with immersive, hands-on coral restoration and educational experiences13, engaging people of all ages and backgrounds in the whole process of coastal restoration. Care for Coral has worked with over 800 volunteers, planting close to 400 corals at 13 sites across Thailand, including in Phuket, Koh Tao, and Sattahip (Fig. 3). Care for Coral activities range from building artificial structures on land to attaching and cleaning polyps at their restoration sites, to engaging in coral transplantation and translocation, to the reattachment of coral fragments, the provision of artificial substrates for natural recruitment, and broader cleanup initiatives (Figs. 2 and 3). Through such activities, the public is inspired to become lifelong environmental stewards by building a place-based connection through effective learning and direct restoration experiences to prompt ecological literacy. Volunteers engage their sense of responsibility and value for nature. This sense of excitement and autonomy helps to develop an eagerness to remain environmentally engaged14. For instance, when volunteers were asked about what they gained most from Care for Coral’s first restoration trip in 2020, many mentioned that this “memorable and once-in-a-life-time experience” allowed them to gain “more knowledge about the difficult process of coral restoration”, as well as “new friends” (Supplementary Table 2). The ability to enhance their diving skills and see more marine life gave them first-hand ocean experiences (Supplementary Table 2). This showcases how bringing people together to engage in direct restoration efforts places power in local communities to create tangible environmental changes.

Fig. 3: Immersive restoration approaches supported by Care for Coral.
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A Volunteers are attaching fragments of corals of opportunity that they located on the seafloor onto an artificial metal structure they had constructed in Koh Tao. B Co-founder Pleng Kruesopon uses epoxy and resin to attach coral fragments onto concrete blocks in Koh Racha Yai, Thailand. C Molding of epoxy and resin by mixing the compounds in an underwater air bubble in Koh Racha Yai. D Volunteers brushing overgrowth (e.g., algae) to enhance coral nursery health in Sattahip, Thailand.

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During Care for Coral’s immersive restoration approaches, the NGO primarily works with species of staghorn corals that are relatively common in Thailand’s waters (such as Acropora muricata and A. sirikitia) or corals of opportunity found on the seafloor. As areas that exhibit high densities of staghorn corals have been shown to foster greater ecological resilience15, preserving such coral species can be vital to increasing marine ecosystems' resilience to climate change and other anthropogenic stressors. Care for Coral also includes several other activities, from participation in international conferences to educational activities with children (e.g., out-planting preparation), clean-up initiatives with the Thai government, and sustainable commercial endeavors.

Lessons learned for other youth-led restoration initiatives

The Care for Coral example may serve to inspire other youth to spearhead unique restoration efforts. It highlights the ability of young people to gather collective action towards addressing the climate and biodiversity crises. If multi-habitat restoration efforts like those of Care for Coral are scaled to multiple schools, corporations, and government agencies, not only in Thailand but worldwide, potential impacts on environmental health would be tremendous. Care for Coral proves that with a clear mission, passion, and vision, the power to forge constructive change is in young people’s hands. Youth around the globe should start or further scale up environmental initiatives. The Care for Coral example also emphasizes the power of community building. By offering opportunities for the public to engage in environmental conservation efforts directly, it builds a broad network of lifelong care to create constructive change.

Looking towards the future, several areas of improvement emerge from the Care for Coral experience. As a small NGO, there is a need to scale up efforts across the broader seascape to restore adjacent critical and interconnected habitats further. This highlights the importance of engaging and empowering the younger generation in key next steps related to scaling seascape restoration. Also, as the organization grows, it is essential to develop effective ways to fundraise and secure financial support so that the projects to be developed can maintain their quality and increase accessibility. One of the NGO’s primary objectives is to ensure the longevity of its impact in various sectors. To this purpose, in the future, it will focus on implementing Care for Coral trips into school curricula, applying for more research grants to reach out to less economically developed areas, and contributing to research (e.g., coral stress tanks).

Government action alone will not be enough to quell or reverse the damaging consequences of climate change. Hence, it is up to the public to ensure that natural marine resources can be reaped by life below and above water for generations to come. Even though the need for environmental engagement to facilitate actionable change is widely theorized, pathways to achieving environmental literacy can be challenging for various reasons. Different environmental engagement practices will be received differently depending on cultural, political, or economic factors. In general, environmental engagement practices that are less favored include traditional lecture and presentation styles, along with activities that take place exclusively indoors (Stern et al., 2013). This is why initiatives such as Care for Coral emphasize developing hands-on environmental engagement through restoration activities.

By outlining the methodology of its multidimensional and direct approaches to reef conservation through environmental engagement (Figs. 1 and 4), Care for Coral intends to inspire others to adopt and apply similar frameworks in their respective regions and communities toward a more sustainable ecoscape. We hope this paper showcases that grassroots organizations led by youth can be successful at implementing change at local, regional, national, and international levels. Additionally, we hope that Care for Coral highlights the power of human collaboration and connection to protect our planet2,16,17.

Fig. 4: Care for Coral’s design process to support youth-led restoration.
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Clockwise, these include 1) restoration trips, 2) conferences, 3) cleanup initiatives, 4) merchandise, 5) multiorganizational collaborations, 6) media and press, 7) education, and 8) dive certification trips. These diverse initiatives allow Care for Coral to holistically spread their mission to reach global and local audiences of all backgrounds.

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