Rather than continue living a comfortable urban life, this British family has sold their London home in favor of launching the world's smallest nature reserve to save a nation's coral reef system. Karolina and Barry Seath— along with their two young daughters—are preparing to move to an island in the Seychelles (非洲塞舌尔群岛) measuring just 1,300 feet long by 980 feet wide (400 by 300 meters).
They've launched a charity and teamed up with (与.....合作) local biologists in an effort to bring the coral reefs back to life in the smallest African country, which have been almost wiped out by rising sea temperatures. Their land-based coral farm will be only the second of its kind in the world, the other being on Australia's Great Barrier Reef, to specialize in regrowing coral to restore the reefs.
47-year-old Barry, who is a former policeman, said, “We are just a normal husband, wife and two kids, living the sort of life that most others do, but we felt the need to make a positive change for ourselves, our children, and the world we had largely taken for granted.”
Over the course of several vacations to the Seychelles the Seaths witnessed the gradual deterioration (恶化) of the reefs. "Every time we visited, we noticed the coral was getting worse and worse," said Barry. "All the tourists say the same thing. They love the beaches but are really disappointed with the coral. "
Barry felt it was time to make a change and show his daughters an alternative way of eco-friendly living. He then teamed up with experts at the Marine Conservation Society Seychelles in order to develop the facility. Once it is complete, it will be the first large-scale, land-based coral farm in the Indian Ocean. The eco-warriors hope to use the facility to grow around 10,000 corals per year. Barry said, "Our long-term goal is to show everyone that—with just a relatively small investment—you can have a big positive influence on the marine (海的) environment."