developmentplans.Witha seriesofhalf-builtvillasin
place,Walkeroriginallyintendedtokeeptheisland
asa privatepropertyforfriendsandfamily.Butas
thebeautyoftheislandcastitsspelloverWalker,he
soonfoundhimselfporingoverplansfora world-
classresort,whichopenedtothepublicinApril2017.
Partofthoseplansincludeda residentmarine
biologisttohelpresearchandprotecttheisland’s
uniquesealifeandbiodiversity.Dublin-bornCliona
O’Flahertyhasoccupiedtherolefortwoyears,and
hasestablisheda numberofinitiatives,including
coralrestoration,mangrovereforestationandmanta
conservationprograms.Guestsareencouraged
tolearnaboutsustainabilitywhilewitnessingthe
programsinaction,includingplantingtheirown
coralintheisland’scoralgarden,andcatching
theirowndinneraspartoftheDock to Dish
sustainable-seafood initiative.KokomositsinsidetheGreatAstrolabeReef,
whichis oneofthelargestreefsintheworld.And
likeallcoralreefs,it is vulnerabletoclimbingsea
temperaturesandchangingclimates.Oneofthefirst
projectsO’Flahertysetupwasthecoralrestoration
program,whichidentifiesheat-resistantcoralspecies
andharvestsclippingstogrowinthecoralgarden,
beforetransplantingthecoralbackintoopenwater
tobuildnewreefs.
Thisyear,shewasjoinedbyanotherfull-time
marinebiologist,VivianaTaubera,astheylaunched
theKokomoMantaConservationProject,which
involvestaggingindividualmantaraysinordertotrack
theirmovementsandidentifyareasofsignificanceto
betterprotectandpreservetheirhabitats.
Buttheyaren’ttheonlyonescommittedto
sustainabilityontheisland.SincemovingtoKokomo
in May, executive chef Corey Campbell – formerly➤Clockwise
fromtop
left:a master
bedroomina
beachfrontvilla;
theinfinitypool
ata beachfront
villa;preparing
a naturalremedy
fromtheisland’s
farm;tropical
fishintheGreat
AstrolabeReef.
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PAGESKokomo
Private Island.Guestsareencouraged to
learn aboutsustainabilityby
plantingtheirown coralinthe
island’s coralgarden andcatching
theirown dinneraspartof
the Dock to Dish initiative.GOURMET TRAVELLER 131PHOTOGRAPHY KOKOMO PRIVATE ISLAND (BEDROOM, CORAL & INFINITY POOL).