Overview:
Nineteen Meyuns Elementary students rolled up their sleeves for a hands-on Earth Month activity, planting reef stars and clams while helping scientists monitor reef threats—showing how young people are stepping into the frontlines of marine conservation in Palau.
Earth Month event highlights youth role in protecting Marine Protected Areas
By: Laurel Marewibuel
KOROR, Palau (April 18, 2026) — Nineteen students from Meyuns Elementary School helped boost local reef resilience Friday, planting six reef stars and 19 clams while monitoring for Crown‑of‑Thorns Starfish during a scaled‑back Earth Month event.
The activity, held after the main Coral Restoration Day was postponed, aimed to increase biodiversity within the Marine Protected Area, identify areas with high Crown‑of‑Thorns numbers and strengthen community and student engagement in hands‑on reef restoration. Organisers said the event aligns with the Palau Public Reefs (PPR) coral restoration project, which also seeks to enhance diversity in protected waters. Future plans include opportunities for visitors to participate in coral restoration activities.
“The aim of the activities was to increase diversity within the area and identify where Crown‑of‑Thorns Starfish numbers are high, while getting students excited about hands‑on reef restoration,” said the PICRC Communications and Outreach Team. “We want young people to be aware that there is a lot of marine research and coral restoration work going on in Palau and that there is huge potential for them to get involved as a career.”
The Palau International Coral Reef Center (PICRC) added that it will continue outreach with communities and students, inviting them to take part when opportunities arise so they can learn about coral restoration methods, the importance of the work and their local marine environments, including Marine Protected Areas.
In the long term, PICRC plans to expand reef restoration in Palau using climate‑smart methods such as out-planting heat‑tolerant, tested corals and conducting assisted evolution work. The center will also continue spawning corals and out-planting them at sites in need, with the goal of increasing coral cover, genetic diversity and rates of coral adaptation.
The event was supported by partners including PPR, the Environmental Quality Protection Board (EQPB), the Civic Action Team and other organisations on Palau’s Earth Day Committee, who helped make the day’s activities possible.
