The crochet coral reef is displayed in the UCF Center for Integrated Coastal Research Office on Oct. 6. “I wanted something very three-dimensional to simulate a real coral reef,” Dr. Ivan Haigh, UCF Center for Integrated Coastal Research director, said.
Orion Boone
Representing the almost 350 miles of coral reef spanning the Florida coast, the Center for Integrated Coastal Research gathered crochet donations for a crochet coral reef.
Dr. Ivan Haigh, director of the UCF Center for Integrated Coastal Research, said he was inspired by other institutions’ crochet coral reef projects, including his former institution, the University of Southampton, and decided to bring the effort to UCF. He posted on several crochet-focused Facebook groups and his own.
A green sea slug sits at the top of the crochet coral reef at the UCF Center for Integrated Coastal Research Office on Oct. 6.
Orion Boone
“Some people on the Facebook thread want it to be kind of very organized with me suggesting certain species or colors,” Haigh said. “And actually, I shied away from that. I want it to be very, very organic. I want it to kind of grow.”
The project gathered around 40 to 50 people, ages 8 to 80, and took about six months to put together, according to Haigh. The project was completed in May 2026.
The participants included Cara Womacks, a UCF master’s student at the Coastal and Estuarine Ecology Lab. She contributed a crocheted jellyfish to the reef.
A crochet sea star is pinned on the crochet coral reef at the UCF Center for Integrated Coastal Research office on Oct. 6.
Orion Boone
“I love the concept of combining art and science,” Womacks said. “I think it’s something that has so much potential that we don’t do enough, so I love this idea that we can solicit artwork from the community and use that to educate people about the ocean and conservation and just use it in a really appealing way to reach people.”
Womacks became interested in knitting and crocheting after observing her friend’s work.
“There’s a big conversation to be had about plastic pollution because a lot of yarn is acrylic, so it sheds plastic fibers,” Womacks said.
A pair of crochet seahorses hang from the crochet coral reef at the UCF Center for Integrated Coastal Research Office on Oct. 6.
Orion Boone
Haigh said coral reefs act as natural flood barriers and provide protection for reef-dwelling creatures, but they’re threatened by pollution, boats, coastal development and global warming.
“Our coast is one of our greatest treasures, but it’s under a lot of challenges, and I think nowhere is that emphasized more than with corals,” Haigh said.
According to a report conducted by Global Tipping Points, a collaborative scientific initiative between more than 160 researchers and scientists, “warm-water coral reefs experienced the worst bleaching event on record over 2023-2025.”
The coral can turn entirely white when there are changes to temperature, light or nutrients, a process that releases the symbiotic algae living in coral’s tissues, according to NOAA. It said corals can survive bleaching, but are more susceptible to disease or death.
A stylized crochet cup coral on the crochet coral reef at the UCF Center for Integrated Coastal Research Office on Oct 6.
Orion Boone
“One of my biggest concerns is that my daughter could live in a world where there’s no corals,” Haigh said.
People can help protect coral reefs through a two-pronged approach, according to Haigh, by contacting local representatives and reducing their carbon footprints. Haigh plans on creating a smaller, more transportable crochet coral reef with leftover pieces from the current coral reef for scientific outreach events.
“I’m hoping it will just increase awareness of the huge importance of our coral reefs, but also the challenges that they’re facing and the fact that we need to act now to protect those coral reefs more broadly as well,” Haigh said.