On April 24, 2022, a coral planting experience was held in Onna Village, Okinawa Prefecture. The event was organized by Sustainable Okinawa, a community with the mission to "make Okinawa the most sustainable resort in the world." They are implementing direct approaches with Okinawa's Gen Z to achieve local sustainability. This project, launched under the concept of "A Journey Connecting Okinawa for the Next 100 Years," offered an experience that served as an opportunity to contemplate the future of Okinawa's oceans and what we can do.

This time, as part of Sustainable Okinawa's "Uchinaa Journey" planned with local university students, we conducted a coral planting experience with participants from outside the prefecture.

"Uchinaa" is a word referring to people whose hometown is Okinawa. The Uchinaa Journey is a trip where university students born and raised in Okinawa propose "local good things in Okinawa discovered from a student's perspective, not found in tourist magazines."

The reason why these Uchinaa students planned the coral planting experience was their awareness of the current state of Okinawa's seas.

Miku, a third-year university student born and raised in Okinawa, always felt that Okinawa's sea was a source of courage and power, and she found it very beautiful. When she mentioned this to her grandfather, he told her, "Okinawa's sea is certainly beautiful now, but it was even more beautiful in the past." This made Miku realize that environmental pollution and global warming are progressing year by year, and she expressed her fear that Okinawa's beautiful seas might be lost if things continue this way.

For the people of Okinawa, the sea is not just a place to swim and play; there's a strong sense of it being something to "observe" together with friends. Despite living so close to the sea, many haven't actually experienced being in the water to see its condition. Therefore, by seeing it firsthand and taking action, they wanted to preserve Okinawa's beauty for the next 50 to 100 years, which led to the planning of this journey.