Hands on Habitat - Be A Citizen Scientist

More Information on Volunteer Opportunities

 Adopt-A-Reef

 FKNMS’s Adopt-A-Reef volunteer divers, through participating dive operators, clean monofilament and other trash from the reefs. Clean up days usually occur in the spring and fall.

Bleach Watch

 FKNMS and Mote Marine Laboratory are monitoring the corals in the sanctuary for mass coral bleaching. What is coral bleaching? Coral bleaching occurs when corals become stressed and expel the algae living within them. The coral tissue becomes transparent and the observer can see through the tissue to the white calcium carbonate skeleton. The corals appear to have been bleached, but in fact can remain alive and recover if the stressor abates. SCUBA divers and free divers can help by reporting if they observe or do not observe bleaching by fax, mail or on the Internet after they return home.

View the coral bleaching current condition reports.

Coral Reef Classroom

FKNMS’s Coral Reef Classroom volunteers chaperone middle-school students during a snorkel trip to the reef and help students with water quality testing. The program is offered in the spring and fall. Volunteers will be trained in the use of the equipment and procedures.  For more information contact Ivy Kelley at (305) 852-7717 x36.

Team O.C.E.A.N

The Ocean Conservation Education Action Network is an on-water educational and informational service of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary in which volunteers are stationed at popular reefs providing information to visitors about enjoying our reefs without harming them.

For more information on Lower Keys Team O.C.E.A.N. contact: John Nazzaro at (305) 292-0311.

For more information on Upper Keys Team O.C.E.A.N. contact: Rewa Maldonado at (305) 852-7717 x39.

Reef Medic

Volunteer snorkelers assist Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary scientists in locating reef damage done by small boat groundings and monitoring the reefs for coral health. Volunteers are also needed for seagrass propscar restoration.

For more information contact: Nick Tagliareni at (305) 852-7717 x23.

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Queen Conch Restoration Project

Volunteers help to increase conch populations by helping to transplant wild non-spawning conch from nearshore locations into areas near the reef where the conch will begin to spawn. The volunteers locate and tag wild adult conchs and release them in these locations and then help monitor their reproductive activity. Additionally, volunteers collect plankton to determine the origins of the conch larvae that settle in Florida.  For more information contact Gabe Delgado (305) 289-2330.

Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF):

REEF is a non-profit organization that encourages recreational divers and snorkelers to conduct fish surveys during their normal dive activities. Surveying can be conducted year round. In addition, each year during the month of July, REEF coordinates The Great Annual Fish Count, organizing training sessions and dive events so volunteers can collect information on fish observed while diving in any of REEF's survey regions (Caribbean, Florida, South Atlantic, Northeast, California, Pacific Northwest, Hawaii, and Gulf of California).

Find out more information on the fish count event or more information on REEF.

The Nature Conservancy

The Diadema Restoration Project is a program of The Nature Conservancy to replenish populations of the long-spined sea urchin, Diadema antillarum, throughout the Keys. Boat drivers, SCUBA divers, and other volunteers can assist with the monitoring of rubble zone areas, and the relocation of these urchins to nearby stable reef habitats. Volunteers will then visit these rubble zone sites once every couple weeks to monitor the effects of seasonal changes and storms. For information contact Meaghan Johnson, 305-745-8402, ext. 101, or E-mail.

GreenSweep

Assist Nature Conservancy staff and fellow volunteers with removing invasive exotic plants like Brazilian pepper, Australian pine, and Lead tree from public and private lands to protect the biodiversity of the Keys. GreenSweep projects occur during the cooler winter months. For information E-mail.

Friends And Volunteers Of Refuges (FAVOR):

An all-volunteer organization supporting the four National Wildlife Refuges in the Florida Keys. Volunteers can benefit from the knowledge and experience gained, the wildlife and wild lands within the Florida Keys Refuges will benefit from their interest and care. Opportunities to help with habitat restoration, bookstore, trail guides and more. For more information contact National Key Deer Refuge 305-872-0774 or E-mail.