Impact & Stories
From a lab in Miami to a living reef
The lead story
At our Native Coral Lab in Miami, corals grown indoors through micro-fragmentation are now being re-planted onto local reefs. It's the full circle of everything CGS builds toward. Infrastructure that grows coral, then returns it to the ocean.
Fragments grown in the lab are actively going back into the water. That includes supply stock for The Reefline, Miami Beach's landmark underwater sculpture park and reef restoration project. (Out-plant photos coming soon.)
01
Design
We engineer a facility tuned to grow healthy, resilient coral.
02
Grow
Corals are micro-fragmented and grown out under controlled conditions.
03
Out-plant
Mature fragments are transplanted onto degraded reef or artificial structure.
04
Living reef
Coral takes hold and grows. The reef begins to recover.
The Reefline Project
Miami's underwater sculpture park and reef restoration effort
The Reefline is a 7-mile underwater sculpture park and artificial reef off the coast of Miami Beach, backed by a $5 million City of Miami Beach bond and the Knight Foundation. It blends world-class public art with large-scale coral reef restoration. Marine-grade concrete sculptures sit offshore, doubling as reef habitat.
The Native Coral Lab, built by CGS, plays a direct role in supplying resilient, lab-grown coral for transplanting onto Reefline structures. Marine biologist Colin Foord of Coral Morphologic, a long-time CGS partner, serves as Director of Science for the project.
The inaugural installation, “Concrete Coral” by artist Leandro Erlich, deployed 22 marine-grade concrete cars arranged as an underwater traffic jam 20 feet deep, 780 feet offshore. It's named one of Time's World's Greatest Places 2026.
Why it matters
Reefs can't wait. Infrastructure is how we buy them time.
Coral reefs face rising temperatures, stronger storms, and disease at a pace nature can't keep up with alone. Restoring them means growing resilient coral in large numbers and protecting it through extreme conditions. That takes serious, weather-tested infrastructure, and that's the work CGS exists to make possible.
Want to restore a reef with us?
We partner with conservancies, foundations, schools, and municipalities.