Junior SeaKeepers Fossilized Reef Snorkel 2026

On Saturday, May 9, 2026, The International SeaKeepers Society partnered with the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Biscayne Nature Center for another Floating Classroom with the 2025-2026 cohort of Junior SeaKeepers. We were joined by four Junior SeaKeepers at Biscayne Nature Center where we met our naturalist, Taylor, who would be leading us on a snorkel excursion at the fossilized reef of of Key Biscayne. As we walked through the park to the entrance site, Taylor explained to us how the fossilized reef is largely made of fossilized mangrove roots and seagrass, creating a unique, shallow, brackish water habitat for many species of fish and invertebrates in Key Biscayne. We waded into the water with masks, fins and snorkels to begin exploring the reef and the seagrass meadows in the bay. Although the visibility was a bit poor, we were able to see tons of species of fish, including juvenile and adult sergeant majors, parrotfish, grunts, checkered pufferfish and barracuda. We also saw a lot of sea hares, hermit crabs, sea snails and urchins. We had an amazing experience exploring this coastal ecosystem and learning about its history while practicing our snorkel skills and working on organism identification! We are so grateful to Biscayne Nature Center for their partnership during this activity, and to all of our Junior SeaKeepers who joined us for this incredible experience.