Description
The Coral Nursery occupies a sheltered lagoon where gentle currents and optimal sunlight create perfect growing conditions. Wooden frames suspended just below the surface hold hundreds of coral fragments, each one carefully harvested from healthy parent colonies and attached to ceramic tiles using traditional binding techniques. The fragments grow slowly but steadily, their calcium carbonate skeletons expanding outward in the branching, plating, and massive forms characteristic of different species.
Nursery workers tend the growing corals daily, removing algae that might smother young polyps, adjusting frame positions to optimize light exposure, and monitoring water quality for signs of stress. They maintain detailed records of each fragment's origin, growth rate, and health, knowledge that helps them select the hardiest specimens for transplanting to the settlement's protective reef barriers.
Mature corals from the nursery serve multiple purposes. Some are transplanted to reinforce natural reef structures that protect the settlement from storm waves. Others are harvested for their limestone skeletons, which can be carved into tools, ground into morite for construction, or burned to produce quickite for waterproofing. The most colorful specimens become decorative elements in important buildings, their living beauty a testament to the Vaitafe's harmony with the sea.
The nursery also serves an educational function, teaching young Vaitafe about reef ecology and the patient art of coral cultivation. Children learn to identify different species, understand the symbiotic relationships that keep corals healthy, and appreciate the decades-long timescales on which reef ecosystems operate.
Benefits
The Coral Nursery produces enough mature coral to reinforce 100 feet of reef barrier per year, improving the settlement's natural defenses against storms and hostile vessels. It also yields 50 gp worth of coral building materials monthly. Workers gain expertise in marine cultivation, providing a +2 bonus on any checks related to reef management. +2 Prestige.