Florida Sea Grant - Monroe County 

The Florida Sea Grant program supports research, education, and Extension to conserve coastal resources and enhance economic opportunities for Floridians. Information is available to the public on a variety of marine and environmental topics including water quality, habitat restoration, marine ecology and fishing regulations! Click here to be directed to the Florida Sea Grant Program's Home Page!

Florida Keys Water Watch

The Florida Keys Water Watch program is a volunteer water quality monitoring program that trains individuals to collect water quality data. For more information, or if you are interested in participating in the program, please contact Shelly Krueger at 305-292-4501 or shellykrueger@ufl.edu! 

Water Watch Database

Community Sponge Restoration

The Community Sponge Restoration program hosts events in partnership with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) to provide mitigation for sponge die-offs. Learn more about sponges and our restoration efforts, here. 

Florida Master Naturalists

The Florida Master Naturalist Program is an adult education course that teaches Florida ecology for individuals who desire to know more about their environment. 

Find current course offerings in your area.

Florida Friendly Fishing Guide Certification 

The Florida Friendly Fishing Guide Certification is a program established by UF/IFAS, Florida Sea Grant and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission recognizing fishing guides who are committed to preserving the future of Florida’s fisheries through sustainable boating and fishing techniques.

If you are interesting in becoming a Florida Friendly Fishing Guide, Click HERE for more information or check out this BLOG, and Register HERE!

Citizen Science

The Citizen Science program is a program which facilitates the collection of data by non-scientists. Science is fun, and you don't have to be a scientist to collect valid, usable data!

For World Ocean's Day this year, we celebrated by partnering with Flagler County Extension Services and Florida Microplastic Awareness Project to bring awareness to the tiny plastic particles in our ocean and nearshore environments that never biodegrade and are accidentally injested by marine life. The Florida Microplastic Awareness Project (FMAP) is a citizen-science project that was funded in 2015 by an outreach and education grant from NOAA's Marine Debris Program. Volunteer citizens are collecting coastal water samples, filtering them and looking for microplastics. Please visit this page to learn how you can become a volunteer and be part of the solution. 

Follow the Florida Microplastic Awareness Project page on Facebook to learn more about news, training sessions and volunteer opportunities!

TAKE THE PLEDGE to reduce your contribution to microplastic pollution!