Living green

Summer made history in August 2018 when it installed the world's largest 3D printed coral reef just off of its main jetty. Also featured in the guinness book of world records for the world’s largest 3D printed reef, the experiment was formulated to see whether the model could be used for large-scale restoration of reefs damaged by rising sea temperatures. Young corals from the Blue Lagoon nursery were transplanted into the 3D printed reef structure. Less than five years later, the reef shows signs of thriving life with its own marine residents including a giant moray eel!

Summer has ceased the use of single use plastic water bottles in all the rooms and restaurants, and has replaced them with reusable glass bottles, filled with drinking water from the island’s Reverse-Osmosis plant. We have also scrapped plastic soft drinks bottles at the bar and replaced them with recyclable canned soft drinks. Single use plastic bags have been discontinued in the shop, and replaced with cloth bags. Most recently, we replaced the small single use plastic water bottles used on our boats, replacing them with small reusable glass bottles replete with their very own Summer Island wetsuits to avoid breakages! Summer Island is working with UK-based NGO Common Seas, in order to drive out the remaining single use plastic items in our resort and supply chains.

All of the water on Summer Island is heated by the sun, with solar water heaters providing round the clock hot water to our guest rooms. This helps to reduce the island’s consumption of diesel power, reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Summer Island Maldives has started implementing a new, eco-friendly strategy to eliminate mosquitoes from the island, without the need for fogging and using harmful pesticides. The mosquitoes will be eliminated using a revolutionary ‘Integrated Mosquito Management System’ that targets mosquitoes at different stages during their life cycle. This involves setting traps for the mosquitoes, as well as getting rid of potential breeding sites, such as stagnant water. The new process is expected to see dragonflies, honey bees and other pollinators – that were previously eliminated along with mosquitos during fogging – rebound on the island, thereby restoring the balance in the ecosystem.