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The crochet coral reef is displayed in the\u00a0UCF 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.<\/p>\n
Orion Boone<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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\u00a0on several crochet-focused Facebook groups and his own<\/a>.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Orion Boone<\/p>\n \u201cSome people on the Facebook thread want it to be kind of very organized with me suggesting certain species or colors,\u201d Haigh said. \u201cAnd actually, I shied away from that. I want it to be very, very organic. I want it to kind of grow.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n A crochet sea star is pinned on the crochet coral reef at the\u00a0UCF Center for Integrated Coastal Research office on Oct. 6.<\/p>\n Orion Boone<\/p>\n \u201cI love the concept of combining art and science,\u201d Womacks said. \u201cI 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.\u201d<\/p>\n Womacks became interested in knitting and crocheting after observing her friend\u2019s work.<\/p>\n \u201cThere’s a big conversation to be had about plastic pollution because a lot of yarn is acrylic, so it sheds plastic fibers,\u201d Womacks said.<\/p>\n A pair of crochet seahorses hang from the crochet coral reef at the\u00a0UCF Center for Integrated Coastal Research Office on Oct. 6.\u00a0<\/p>\n Orion Boone<\/p>\n Haigh said coral reefs act as natural flood barriers and provide protection for reef-dwelling creatures, but they\u2019re threatened by pollution, boats, coastal development and global warming.<\/p>\n \u201cOur 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,\u201d Haigh said.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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