Nestled in the vibrant waters of the Caribbean lies a hidden gem of biodiversity and ecological health — the coral reef of Tela, Honduras.
In an era where the majority of coral reefs are experiencing degradation and decline, Tela’s reefs are a rare example of resilience and hope.
Tela Coral News
Beneath the Surface
#TheRebelReef is going to London—and making a splash! 🇬🇧🪸
This #EarthDay, something special is happening at Piccadilly Lights. 🚀🌊 @oceanculturelife is hosting a celebration of science, storytelling, and hope! This multi-day gathering will unite ocean advocates, astronauts, and changemakers to explore the deep connections between our planet and the people protecting it.
As part of the celebration, OCL Storytelling Grant Winners—including our very own @rebelreeffilm —will showcase our shorts on the big screen at Picadilly Lights as part of the Sea & Space Event. If you’re in town on Sunday, April 20, join us for our first international screening 🎉! An incredible panel of Stories from the Sea will also inspire over the incredible weekend 🌏.
A massive thank you to @oceanculturelife for bringing our story to the big city! If you attend in person, please tag us in your posts, stories, and reels—we’d love to experience it with you!
Learn more about the event here 👉 https://oceanculturelife.com/celebrating-sea-and-space
#ExploraHonduras #VisitHonduras #Coral #CoralReefs #Ocean #OceanConservation #CoralRestoration #ReefRestoration #OceanClimateAction #WINGS #WINGSWomenOfDiscovery #WINGSFlag #WomenInScience #WomenInStem #WomenEmpowerment #WomenSupportingWomen #WomensLeadership #SheInspiresMe #Exploration #Honduras #tela
#TheRebelReef is going to London—and making a splash! 🇬🇧🪸
This #EarthDay, something special is happening at Piccadilly Lights. 🚀🌊 @oceanculturelife is hosting a celebration of science, storytelling, and hope! This multi-day gathering will unite ocean advocates, astronauts, and changemakers to explore the deep connections between our planet and the people protecting it.
As part of the celebration, OCL Storytelling Grant Winners—including our very own @rebelreeffilm —will showcase our shorts on the big screen at Picadilly Lights as part of the Sea & Space Event. If you’re in town on Sunday, April 20, join us for our first international screening 🎉! An incredible panel of Stories from the Sea will also inspire over the incredible weekend 🌏.
A massive thank you to @oceanculturelife for bringing our story to the big city! If you attend in person, please tag us in your posts, stories, and reels—we’d love to experience it with you!
Learn more about the event here 👉 https://oceanculturelife.com/celebrating-sea-and-space
#ExploraHonduras #VisitHonduras #Coral #CoralReefs #Ocean #OceanConservation #CoralRestoration #ReefRestoration #OceanClimateAction #WINGS #WINGSWomenOfDiscovery #WINGSFlag #WomenInScience #WomenInStem #WomenEmpowerment #WomenSupportingWomen #WomensLeadership #SheInspiresMe #Exploration #Honduras #tela
The birds and the bees? More like the corals and the seas. #TheRebelReef is making more magic happen 👶🪸
This March, we went back to Tela to check on our underwater “nurseries” — terracotta tiles placed last May — and guess what?! We found coral babies across two different sites (Kiscis and Harati). Let’s get a closer look at these cuties!
The tiles were teeming with life, including one from the outer reef that had seven (!!!) polyps. When we hit some of these corals with UV light... they glowed neon green 💚. This glow comes from GFP (green fluorescent protein) and, while we don’t fully know why corals produce it, we DO love the sci-fi vibes 🛸 it gives our babies!
Even better: this is the SECOND year in a row that we’ve discovered reproducing corals all across Tela Bay — both offshore AND nearshore! That’s HUGE because in many other parts of the Caribbean, reefs are too sparse for successful spawning. But in Tela? Life finds a way 🎉🎉
Every polyp is proof that healthy reefs can rebound, giving us yet another reason to love working on #TheRebelReef.
👉🏻 Swipe to check out more out of this world coral babies and learn more about coral babies here - https://telacoral.org/coral-babies/
#ExploraHonduras #VisitHonduras #Coral #CoralReefs #Ocean #OceanConservation #CoralRestoration #ReefRestoration #OceanClimateAction #WINGS #WINGSWomenOfDiscovery #WINGSFlag #WomenInScience #WomenInStem #WomenEmpowerment #WomenSupportingWomen #WomensLeadership #SheInspiresMe #Exploration #Honduras #tela
The birds and the bees? More like the corals and the seas. #TheRebelReef is making more magic happen 👶🪸
This March, we went back to Tela to check on our underwater “nurseries” — terracotta tiles placed last May — and guess what?! We found coral babies across two different sites (Kiscis and Harati). Let’s get a closer look at these cuties!
The tiles were teeming with life, including one from the outer reef that had seven (!!!) polyps. When we hit some of these corals with UV light... they glowed neon green 💚. This glow comes from GFP (green fluorescent protein) and, while we don’t fully know why corals produce it, we DO love the sci-fi vibes 🛸 it gives our babies!
Even better: this is the SECOND year in a row that we’ve discovered reproducing corals all across Tela Bay — both offshore AND nearshore! That’s HUGE because in many other parts of the Caribbean, reefs are too sparse for successful spawning. But in Tela? Life finds a way 🎉🎉
Every polyp is proof that healthy reefs can rebound, giving us yet another reason to love working on #TheRebelReef.
👉🏻 Swipe to check out more out of this world coral babies and learn more about coral babies here - https://telacoral.org/coral-babies/
#ExploraHonduras #VisitHonduras #Coral #CoralReefs #Ocean #OceanConservation #CoralRestoration #ReefRestoration #OceanClimateAction #WINGS #WINGSWomenOfDiscovery #WINGSFlag #WomenInScience #WomenInStem #WomenEmpowerment #WomenSupportingWomen #WomensLeadership #SheInspiresMe #Exploration #Honduras #tela
Big wins for The Rebel Reef! 🎉🏆🪸
#TheRebelReef has won two major grants—the Stanley 1913 (@stanley_brand) 2025 Stanley Creators Fund and the Ocean Culture Life (@oceanculturelife) 2025 Storytelling Grant! Leading the way is our incredible co-founder, Tiff Duong (@tiffmakeswaves), who’s working to amplify the story of this “misbehaving reef” like never before.
Here’s what these game-changing grants will help us achieve:
🏆🌊 Stanley Creators Fund – The grant recognizes emerging changemakers driven by a shared mission: to create a better way, for a better world. This year, Stanley 1913 awarded eight talented individuals with $50,000 USD to their organizations, investing in a new generation of Creators, Builders, and Inventors who are building a better future for all. Tela Coral will use this generous support to build a coral biobank to safeguard Tela’s resilient corals and to more easily study how they can help us rebuild reefs around the world. We’re also creating a VR cave at Tela Marine so that anyone, regardless of whether they can swim or dive, can experience the magical underwater world firsthand.
🏆 🎥 Ocean Culture Life Storytelling Grant – This grant will bring the story of The Rebel Reef to an even wider audience by funding an all-Spanish trailer for our short documentary to play during previews in Honduran and Latin American theaters. Making this film more accessible means more people can connect with and protect this irreplaceable ecosystem! Let’s spread the rebellion of hope!
THANK YOU @stanley_brand and @oceanculturelife for believing in the powers of creating, of community, and of purpose. Your support gives us wings, and we are so grateful! Follow us all to stay updated on the journey!
#ExploraHonduras #VisitHonduras #Coral #CoralReefs #Ocean #OceanConservation #CoralRestoration #ReefRestoration #OceanClimateAction #WINGS #WINGSWomenOfDiscovery #WINGSFlag #WomenInScience #WomenInStem #WomenEmpowerment #WomenSupportingWomen #WomensLeadership #SheInspiresMe #Exploration #Honduras #tela
Big wins for The Rebel Reef! 🎉🏆🪸
#TheRebelReef has won two major grants—the Stanley 1913 (@stanley_brand) 2025 Stanley Creators Fund and the Ocean Culture Life (@oceanculturelife) 2025 Storytelling Grant! Leading the way is our incredible co-founder, Tiff Duong (@tiffmakeswaves), who’s working to amplify the story of this “misbehaving reef” like never before.
Here’s what these game-changing grants will help us achieve:
🏆🌊 Stanley Creators Fund – The grant recognizes emerging changemakers driven by a shared mission: to create a better way, for a better world. This year, Stanley 1913 awarded eight talented individuals with $50,000 USD to their organizations, investing in a new generation of Creators, Builders, and Inventors who are building a better future for all. Tela Coral will use this generous support to build a coral biobank to safeguard Tela’s resilient corals and to more easily study how they can help us rebuild reefs around the world. We’re also creating a VR cave at Tela Marine so that anyone, regardless of whether they can swim or dive, can experience the magical underwater world firsthand.
🏆 🎥 Ocean Culture Life Storytelling Grant – This grant will bring the story of The Rebel Reef to an even wider audience by funding an all-Spanish trailer for our short documentary to play during previews in Honduran and Latin American theaters. Making this film more accessible means more people can connect with and protect this irreplaceable ecosystem! Let’s spread the rebellion of hope!
THANK YOU @stanley_brand and @oceanculturelife for believing in the powers of creating, of community, and of purpose. Your support gives us wings, and we are so grateful! Follow us all to stay updated on the journey!
#ExploraHonduras #VisitHonduras #Coral #CoralReefs #Ocean #OceanConservation #CoralRestoration #ReefRestoration #OceanClimateAction #WINGS #WINGSWomenOfDiscovery #WINGSFlag #WomenInScience #WomenInStem #WomenEmpowerment #WomenSupportingWomen #WomensLeadership #SheInspiresMe #Exploration #Honduras #tela
👋 Hi! I want to introduce you to one of the loves of my life.
This is Casita, and she’s my favorite coral 🪸 in the entire world. She gained her name because she’s as big as a garden shed, or tiny house. We estimate 80 feet across, 25 feet tall, and a couple hundred years old. Dr. Judith Lang visited her and estimated that she’d started growing in Tela before Christopher Columbus landed in Honduras 🇭🇳
She’s an O.Fav (Orbicella faveolata), or “mountainous star coral” that grows by encrusting. Her layers are impressive, hiding entire little reef worlds 🐠 in their nooks.
Once common throughout the Caribbean, OFavs are now listed as 🚨 “endangered” by the IUCN. In Tela, Casita and her sisters have all grown to an impressive size – perhaps because of their sheltered locations and perhaps because of some of the as-yet undiscovered magic of Tela Bay’s corals.
To know her is to love her, and I hope that you all get to meet her one day! 💕
- @tiffmakeswaves
📽️ editor: @brynnerardin
#ExploraHonduras #VisitHonduras #Coral #CoralReefs #Ocean #OceanConservation #CoralRestoration #ReefRestoration #OceanClimateAction #WINGS #WINGSWomenOfDiscovery #WINGSFlag #WomenInScience #WomenInStem #WomenEmpowerment #WomenSupportingWomen #WomensLeadership #SheInspiresMe #Exploration #Honduras #tela
👋 Hi! I want to introduce you to one of the loves of my life.
This is Casita, and she’s my favorite coral 🪸 in the entire world. She gained her name because she’s as big as a garden shed, or tiny house. We estimate 80 feet across, 25 feet tall, and a couple hundred years old. Dr. Judith Lang visited her and estimated that she’d started growing in Tela before Christopher Columbus landed in Honduras 🇭🇳
She’s an O.Fav (Orbicella faveolata), or “mountainous star coral” that grows by encrusting. Her layers are impressive, hiding entire little reef worlds 🐠 in their nooks.
Once common throughout the Caribbean, OFavs are now listed as 🚨 “endangered” by the IUCN. In Tela, Casita and her sisters have all grown to an impressive size – perhaps because of their sheltered locations and perhaps because of some of the as-yet undiscovered magic of Tela Bay’s corals.
To know her is to love her, and I hope that you all get to meet her one day! 💕
- @tiffmakeswaves
📽️ editor: @brynnerardin
#ExploraHonduras #VisitHonduras #Coral #CoralReefs #Ocean #OceanConservation #CoralRestoration #ReefRestoration #OceanClimateAction #WINGS #WINGSWomenOfDiscovery #WINGSFlag #WomenInScience #WomenInStem #WomenEmpowerment #WomenSupportingWomen #WomensLeadership #SheInspiresMe #Exploration #Honduras #tela
Porites as far as the eye can see!
Also referred to as finger coral or hump coral, porites is a genus of stony coral that is characterized by a finger-like morphology. These corals are found in reefs throughout the world including that of #TheRebelReef.
Porites species form some of the largest coral colonies in the world, ranging up to 8 meters in height. These extremely large colonies take an immense amount of time to form since this type of coral has an extremely slow growth rate (about 1 mm per year).
Sightings of porites are always something we enjoy while exploring #TheRebelReef, especially when it comes to a healthy colony like this one.
What other corals do you want to learn more about? Let us know in the comment section below!
📽️: @thecoralqween
#ExploraHonduras #VisitHonduras #Coral #CoralReefs #Ocean #OceanConservation #CoralRestoration #ReefRestoration #OceanClimateAction #WINGS #WINGSWomenOfDiscovery #WINGSFlag #WomenInScience #WomenInStem #WomenEmpowerment #WomenSupportingWomen #WomensLeadership #SheInspiresMe #Exploration #Honduras #tela
Porites as far as the eye can see!
Also referred to as finger coral or hump coral, porites is a genus of stony coral that is characterized by a finger-like morphology. These corals are found in reefs throughout the world including that of #TheRebelReef.
Porites species form some of the largest coral colonies in the world, ranging up to 8 meters in height. These extremely large colonies take an immense amount of time to form since this type of coral has an extremely slow growth rate (about 1 mm per year).
Sightings of porites are always something we enjoy while exploring #TheRebelReef, especially when it comes to a healthy colony like this one.
What other corals do you want to learn more about? Let us know in the comment section below!
📽️: @thecoralqween
#ExploraHonduras #VisitHonduras #Coral #CoralReefs #Ocean #OceanConservation #CoralRestoration #ReefRestoration #OceanClimateAction #WINGS #WINGSWomenOfDiscovery #WINGSFlag #WomenInScience #WomenInStem #WomenEmpowerment #WomenSupportingWomen #WomensLeadership #SheInspiresMe #Exploration #Honduras #tela