The Brilliant Deep: Rebuilding the World's Coral Reefs by Kate Messner

The Brilliant Deep details Ken Nedimyer's efforts to restore and rebuild the world's ailing coral reefs. Nedimyer was a fish enthusiast who caught and sold tropical fish to aquariums. He spent much time scuba diving on the coral reefs of the Florida Keys.  In the 1970s  Nedimyer remembers extensive reefs in the Florida keys rich with elkhorn coral that grew to the surface of the water and as far as the eye could see. But when the Keys began to undergo development which meant more people, more boats and lots of raw sewage. The effect of this human encroachment was to gradually destroy the beautiful coral reefs of the Keys. Dredging, disease such as White Band Disease which destroyed the elkhorn and staghorn corals that form the structure of the reefs and a warming climate all contributed to the lost of coral reefs.

In the 1990's Nedimyer noticed that staghorn coral had begun to grow on his live rock farm. He could keep this coral which was protected by state law because it grew on his rock. Nedimyer had a remarkable plan. Instead of selling cuttings of the coral to aquariums he decided to start a nursery of staghorn coral with the idea of planting the coral on the dying reef. With the help of his then thirteen-year-old daughter, Nedimyer developed a staghorn "nursery". By 2003 Nedimyer was able to plant six corals on Molasses Reef.

To facilitate the work of helping to restore and rehabilitate coral reefs, Nedimyer formed Coral Reef Restoration Foundation in 2007. The organization's goal is restore diversity to coral reefs. Staghorn and elkhorn corals are grown on tree like structures in the ocean and then planted onto various locations to help the reef rejuvenate. You can learn more about the Coral Reef Restoration Foundation from their detailed website.

In The Brilliant Deep, Messner introduces Ken Nedimyer to her readers by explaining that his interest in the world around him was encouraged by the exciting events happening when he was growing up. He watched the beginnings of the space race that saw Alan Shepard and John Glenn become the first Americans to travel into space. Nedimyer like many young people in the 1960's watched the adventures of  the French ocean explorer, Jacques Cousteau, broadcast on television. Ken's love of the ocean grew and he spent many hours scuba diving in the Florida Keys. It was Ken's observations of the changes in the coral reefs and his discovery of how they might be helped that is the focus of Messner's picture book geared for children in Grades 1 to 5.

Her message is that it only takes one idea to change things and one person to make a difference; in this case that one person was Ken Nedimyer. He could have sold his growing staghorn corals to public and private aquariums but he saw a much bigger possibility for his discovery - to help rehabilitate the reefs he loved so much.

Accompanying Messner's text are the colourful illustrations of award-winning artist, Matthew Forsythe. At the back, Messner includes a section on Coral Reef Vocabulary, and information for readers who might want to explore this topic further.

Messner's picture book is sure to inform and stimulate young readers into thinking more about our oceans and how we can help heal the damage done to them by man and by changes in climate.

Book Details:

The Brilliant Deep: Rebuilding the World's Coral Reefs by Kate Messner
San Francisco: Chronicle Books     2018