On May 1-3, the Florida Keys Aquatic Preserves (FKAP) partnered with Reef Relief and SeaCamp to host cleanups as part of this year’s I.CARE Trash Derby. The Trash Derby features two days of debris collection, sunrise to sunset, throughout the Florida Keys.

On March 13, the Florida Keys Aquatic Preserves' Ecosystems Assessment Specialist, Noah Singer, joined the Reef Injury Prevention and Response team as they conducted an assessment of a section of the coral reef in John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park that was damaged by a ship grounding. Teams from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and Pennekamp also joined the project.

Last week, DEP participated in the third annual ReeFLorida Symposium at the Philip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science (Frost Science), including leadership from ORCP and the Southeast Region and staff from the Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP).

Noah Singer, Ecosystem Assessment Specialist, and Robin Sarabia, AP Manager, of the Florida Keys Aquatic Preserve, met with representatives from SeaBase and SeaCamp to initiate the beginning stages of a partnership with both the organizations. These organizations host camp and school groups throughout the year to provide marine science-based activities to children of all ages.

On October 25, Noah Singer, Marine Debris and Outreach Specialist, of the Florida Keys Aquatic Preserve (FKAP) team participated in a beach cleanup organized by CoastLove, a non-profit conservation organization in South Florida. He was one of 40 attendees who collected over 800 lbs. of trash in just under 3 hours. Over half the volunteers were youth from the local community!

DEP Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS) and Florida Keys Aquatic Preserve (FKAP) teams completed semi-annual seagrass and hardbottom benthic surveys and Disturbance Response Monitoring (DRM) one month early! Both teams were prepared on all field days to make monitoring and sampling go smoothly. Everyone did a great job working hard this field season.